Molecular detection of Rickettsia species in ectoparasites collected from two southern provinces of Cambodia.

Arthropod-borne rickettsioses comprise a wide variety of subtypes that are endemic in Cambodia, but there remains very little data on the geographic distribution of the pathogens or their vectors. Surveys were conducted in Koh Kong and Preah Sihanouk Provinces between September 2017 and June 2018 to collect ectoparasites from peridomestic animals and the environment using dragging and flagging methods. Collected ectoparasites were sorted and identified morphologically, then pooled by species, host, and location for molecular detection using Rickettsia genus- and species-specific qPCR and/or multilocus sequence typing (MLST) assays.

Learning to reconstruct accelerated MRI through K-space cold diffusion without noise.

Deep learning-based MRI reconstruction models have achieved superior performance these days. Most recently, diffusion models have shown remarkable performance in image generation, in-painting, super-resolution, image editing and more. As a generalized diffusion model, cold diffusion further broadens the scope and considers models built around arbitrary image transformations such as blurring, down-sampling, etc.

Failure in a population: Tauopathy disrupts homeostatic set-points in emergent dynamics despite stability in the constituent neurons.

Homeostatic regulation of neuronal activity is essential for robust computation; set-points, such as firing rate, are actively stabilized to compensate for perturbations. The disruption of brain function central to neurodegenerative disease likely arises from impairments of computationally essential set-points. Here, we systematically investigated the effects of tau-mediated neurodegeneration on all known set-points in neuronal activity.

AI-based differential diagnosis of dementia etiologies on multimodal data.

Differential diagnosis of dementia remains a challenge in neurology due to symptom overlap across etiologies, yet it is crucial for formulating early, personalized management strategies. Here, we present an artificial intelligence (AI) model that harnesses a broad array of data, including demographics, individual and family medical history, medication use, neuropsychological assessments, functional evaluations and multimodal neuroimaging, to identify the etiologies contributing to dementia in individuals. The study, drawing on 51,269 participants across 9 independent, geographically diverse datasets, facilitated the identification of 10 distinct dementia etiologies.

Target engagement and immunogenicity of an active immunotherapeutic targeting pathological α-synuclein: a phase 1 placebo-controlled trial.

Investigational therapeutics that target toxic species of α-synuclein (αSyn) aim to slow down or halt disease progression in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Here this 44-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, single-center phase 1 study investigated safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of UB-312, an active immunotherapeutic targeting pathological αSyn, in patients with PD. The primary outcome measures were adverse event frequency and change in anti-αSyn antibody titers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Veteran Single Parents: Surviving but Not Thriving.

The demographics of the veteran population are changing. Veterans who served after September 11, 2001 (post-9/11 veterans), are more likely to be female and identify as a person of color than their older counterparts. They are also more likely to be raising children, many of them without support from a partner.

A proof of concept for a targeted enrichment approach to the simultaneous detection and characterization of rickettsial pathogens from clinical specimens.

Infection with either or is common, yet diagnostic capabilities are limited due to the short window for positive identification. Until now, although targeted enrichment had been applied to increase sensitivity of sequencing-based detection for various microorganisms, it had not been applied to sequencing of R. prowazekii in clinical samples.

AI-based differential diagnosis of dementia etiologies on multimodal data.

Differential diagnosis of dementia remains a challenge in neurology due to symptom overlap across etiologies, yet it is crucial for formulating early, personalized management strategies. Here, we present an AI model that harnesses a broad array of data, including demographics, individual and family medical history, medication use, neuropsychological assessments, functional evaluations, and multimodal neuroimaging, to identify the etiologies contributing to dementia in individuals. The study, drawing on 51,269 participants across 9 independent, geographically diverse datasets, facilitated the identification of 10 distinct dementia etiologies.

Investigating alpha-synuclein co-pathology in Alzheimer's disease by means of cerebrospinal fluid alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay.

Introduction: Lewy body disease, a frequently observed co-pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD), can be identified antemortem in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by α-synuclein seed amplification assay (αS-SAA). The prevalence and clinical impact of CSF αS-SAA positivity in AD are still unknown.

Methods: αS-SAA was performed on CSF samples from 240 AD patients (preclinical, prodromal, and dementia stages), 85 controls, 84 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and 21 patients with PD with dementia or dementia with Lewy bodies.

Ultrasound evaluation of brain parenchyma in preterm infants with prenatal opioid exposure.

Objective: To evaluate whether preterm infants with prenatal opioid exposure had differences in brain size on head ultrasounds (HUS) in comparison to non-exposed infants.

Study Design: Preterm infants ≤34 weeks with prenatal opioid exposure (n = 47) and matched non-exposed infants (n = 62) with early HUSs were examined. Fifteen brain measurements were made and linear regression models performed to evaluate differences.

Tauopathy severely disrupts homeostatic set-points in emergent neural dynamics but not in the activity of individual neurons.

The homeostatic regulation of neuronal activity is essential for robust computation; key set-points, such as firing rate, are actively stabilized to compensate for perturbations. From this perspective, the disruption of brain function central to neurodegenerative disease should reflect impairments of computationally essential set-points. Despite connecting neurodegeneration to functional outcomes, the impact of disease on set-points in neuronal activity is unknown.

Considerations Around the Use of Intensive Outpatient Programs for Service Members Who Experienced Sexual Trauma in the U.S. Military.

Section 702 of the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act directed the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to conduct a pilot study to assess the feasibility and advisability of using intensive outpatient treatment programs to address posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated mental health problems among service members who have experienced sexual harassment or sexual assault while in the military.

Improving Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Prevention from the Bottom-up: a Pilot of Getting To Outcomes in the US Military.

While the Department of Defense (DoD) has given increased attention and priority to preventing sexual assault and sexual harassment (SA/SH), it remains a problem. To build its prevention capacity, DoD piloted Getting To Outcomes (GTO) from 2019 to 2022 at 10 military installations. GTO is an evidence-based planning and implementation support that has been used in many civilian contexts but has only recently been adapted for military SA/SH.

α-Synuclein seed amplification assay as a diagnostic tool for parkinsonian disorders.

Introduction: Synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) can be challenging to diagnose due to the symptom overlap with, for example, atypical parkinsonisms like progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Seed amplification assays (SAA), developed for the detection of α-synuclein (αSyn) aggregates in CSF, have been successful when used as a biomarker evaluation for synucleinopathies. In this study, we investigated the potential of this assay to not only detect αSyn seeds in CSF, but also discriminate between movement disorders.

Bayesian reconstruction of magnetic resonance images using Gaussian processes.

A central goal of modern magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is to reduce the time required to produce high-quality images. Efforts have included hardware and software innovations such as parallel imaging, compressed sensing, and deep learning-based reconstruction. Here, we propose and demonstrate a Bayesian method to build statistical libraries of magnetic resonance (MR) images in k-space and use these libraries to identify optimal subsampling paths and reconstruction processes.

Assessment of heterogeneity among participants in the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative cohort using α-synuclein seed amplification: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Emerging evidence shows that α-synuclein seed amplification assays (SAAs) have the potential to differentiate people with Parkinson's disease from healthy controls. We used the well characterised, multicentre Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) cohort to further assess the diagnostic performance of the α-synuclein SAA and to examine whether the assay identifies heterogeneity among patients and enables the early identification of at-risk groups.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis is based on assessments done at enrolment for PPMI participants (including people with sporadic Parkinson's disease from LRRK2 and GBA variants, healthy controls, prodromal individuals with either rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) or hyposmia, and non-manifesting carriers of LRRK2 and GBA variants) from 33 participating academic neurology outpatient practices worldwide (in Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the UK, and the USA).

A randomized controlled trial of an online alcohol and sexual risk prevention program for college students studying abroad.

Introduction: American college students who study abroad experience increases in their drinking behavior, concerning risky sexual behaviors, and high rates of sexual violence while abroad. Despite these concerns, institutions offer limited programming to students prior to departure to address these risks and no empirically supported interventions currently exist that are targeted toward preventing increased drinking, risky sexual behavior, and sexual violence abroad. To help address alcohol and sexual risk abroad, we designed a brief, single-session online predeparture intervention focused on risk and protective factors known to associate with alcohol and sexual risk abroad.

Accurate Detection of α-Synuclein Seeds in Cerebrospinal Fluid from Isolated Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder and Patients with Parkinson's Disease in the DeNovo Parkinson (DeNoPa) Cohort.

Background: Misfolded α-synuclein (αSyn) aggregates (αSyn-seeds) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are biomarkers for synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease (PD). αSyn-seeds have been detected in prodromal cases with isolated rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD).

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy of the αSyn-seed amplification assay (αS-SAA) in a comprehensively characterized cohort with a high proportion of PD and iRBD CSF samples collected at baseline.

Seed amplification assay for the detection of pathologic alpha-synuclein aggregates in cerebrospinal fluid.

Misfolded alpha-synuclein (αSyn) aggregates are a hallmark event in Parkinson's disease (PD) and other synucleinopathies. Recently, αSyn seed amplification assays (αSyn-SAAs) have shown promise as a test for biochemical diagnosis of synucleinopathies. αSyn-SAAs use the intrinsic self-replicative nature of misfolded αSyn aggregates (seeds) to multiply them in vitro.

Species in Cambodia, Ghana, Laos, and Peru: Results from Vector and Serosurveys.

species are fastidious gram-negative vector-borne bacteria with a wide range of mammalian reservoirs. While it is understood that some species of are human pathogens, the extent of human exposure to species (both pathogenic and nonpathogenic) is yet to be fully understood. To this end, residual sera from participants enrolled in undifferentiated fever studies in Cambodia, Ghana, Laos, and Peru were screened for the presence of IgG antibodies against and , using the FOCUS diagnostics Dual Spot- IgG Immunofluorescence assay.