VNS paired with training enhances recognition memory: mechanistic insights from proteomic analysis of the hippocampal synapse.

Introduction: Recognition memory, an essential component of cognitive health, can suffer from biological limitations of stress, aging, or neurodegenerative disease. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a neuromodulation therapy with the potential to improve cognitive function. This study investigated the effectiveness of multiple sessions of VNS to enhance recognition memory in healthy rodents and the underlying cognitive benefits of VNS by proteomic analysis of the synaptosome.

Impact of thermal desorption tubes on the variability of exhaled breath data.

Due to the overall low abundance of volatile compounds in exhaled breath, it is necessary to preconcentrate the sample prior to traditional thermal desorption (TD) gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis. While certain aspects of TD tubes, such as volatile storage, have been evaluated, many aspects remain uncharacterized. Two common TD tubes, Tenax TA and Biomonitoring 5TD tubes, were evaluated for background content and flow rate variability.

Sterilization and reuse of masks for a standardized exhaled breath collection device by autoclaving.

Exhaled breath research has been hindered by a lack of standardization in collection and analysis methodologies. Recently, the Respiration Collector forAnalysis (ReCIVA) sampling device has illustrated the potential to provide a consistent and convenient method for exhaled breath collection onto adsorbent media. However, the significant costs, compared to exhaled breath bags, associated with the standardized collector is believed to be the reason for limited widespread use by researchers in the exhaled breath field.

Detection of Asthma Inhaler Use via Terahertz Spectroscopy.

Inhaled medications are commonplace for administering bronchodilators, anticholinergics, and corticosteroids. While they have a defined legitimate use, they are also used in sporting events as performance-enhancing drugs. These performance enhancers can be acquired via both legal (i.

Investigation of an individual with background levels of exhaled isoprene: a case study.

Isoprene is one of the most abundant and most frequently evaluated volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath. Recently, several individuals with background levels of exhaled isoprene have been identified. Here, case study data are provided for an individual, identified from a previous study, with this low prevalence phenotype.

Differential comorbidity profiles in avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder and anorexia nervosa: Does age play a role?

Objective: Research comparing psychiatric comorbidities between individuals with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and anorexia nervosa (AN) is limited. ARFID often develops in childhood, whereas AN typically develops in adolescence or young adulthood. Understanding how age may impact differential psychological comorbidity profiles is important to inform etiological conceptualization, differential diagnosis, and treatment planning.

Elevated Fasting Satiety-Promoting Cholecystokinin (CCK) in Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Compared to Healthy Controls.

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is characterized by food avoidance or dietary restriction not primarily motivated by body weight/shape concerns. Individuals with ARFID can report early satiation, post-prandial fullness, and high intermeal satiety, but whether these symptoms are related to differences in the biology underlying appetite regulation is unknown. In male and female children and adolescents, we hypothesized that fasting levels of cholecystokinin (CCK), a satiety hormone, would be elevated in participants with ARFID (full or subthreshold) versus healthy controls (HCs).

Examining Health Conditions, Impairments, and Quality of Life for Pediatric Feeding Disorders.

By understanding health conditions, impairments, and impact on quality of life for pediatric feeding disorders, assessment and treatment approaches can target multiple levels of health-related domains that improve child health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to characterize medical diagnoses and feeding impairments for children with feeding disorders; examine child quality of life and caregiver impact; and compare quality of life differences between children with feeding disorders and children with other conditions. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Greater Boston Area, between October 2017 and June 2018.

Prevalence and Characteristics of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder in Pediatric Neurogastroenterology Patients.

Recent reports document avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) symptoms among 13-40% of adults presenting to neurogastroenterology clinics, but ARFID in pediatrics is understudied. We conducted a retrospective review of charts from 129 consecutive referrals (ages 6-18 years; 57% female) for pediatric neurogastroenterology examination, from January 2016 through December 2018. Eleven cases (8%) met the full criteria for ARFID by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition and 19 cases (15%) had clinically significant avoidant/ restrictive eating behaviors with insufficient information for a definitive ARFID diagnosis.

Pediatric weight management interventions improve prevalence of overeating behaviors.

Objective: To examine changes in prevalence of overeating behaviors in a comparative effectiveness study of two pediatric weight management interventions.

Methods: Four-hundred and seven children, ages 6-12 years, with a BMI ≥ 85th percentile were enrolled in a comparative effectiveness trial of two pediatric weight management interventions. Prevalence of "sneaking, hiding or hoarding food", and 'eating in the absence of hunger' was evaluated at baseline and 12 months.

Characterization of the blood microbiota in children with Celiac disease.

Celiac Disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten ingestion that can develop in genetically predisposed individuals. Alterations in the gut microbiota have been suggested to contribute to development of autoimmune conditions including CD. Recent work suggests the existence of a blood microbiota.

A Moving Target: How We Define Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Can Double Its Prevalence.

The criteria for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) include ambiguities. Diagnostic criteria that allow for clinical judgment are essential for clinical practice. However, ambiguities can have major implications for treatment access and comparability and generalizability of research studies.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for adults with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.

There are currently no evidence-based treatments for adults with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and proof-of-concept of cognitive-behavioral therapy for ARFID (CBT-AR) for adults. Males and females (ages 18-55 years) were offered 20-30 outpatient sessions of CBT-AR delivered by one of five therapists.

The Impact of Nutritional Supplementation on Sweat Metabolomic Content: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Sweat is emerging as a prominent biosource for real-time human performance monitoring applications. Although promising, sources of variability must be identified to truly utilize sweat for biomarker applications. In this proof-of-concept study, a targeted metabolomics method was applied to sweat collected from the forearms of participants in a 12-week exercise program who ingested either low or high nutritional supplementation twice daily.

Neurobiology of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder in Youth with Overweight/Obesity Versus Healthy Weight.

Objective: Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) occurs across the weight spectrum, however research addressing the coexistesnce of ARFID with overweight/obesity (OV/OB) is lacking. We aimed to establish co-occurrence of OV/OB and ARFID and to characterize divergent neurobiological features of ARFID by weight.

Method: Youth with full/subthreshold ARFID (12 with healthy weight [HW], 11 with OV/OB) underwent fasting brain fMRI scan while viewing food/non-food images (M age = 16.

Rate normalization for sweat metabolomics biomarker discovery.

As the demand for real-time exercise performance feedback increases, excreted sweat has become a biosource of interest for continuous human performance assessment. For sweat to truly fulfill this requirement, analyte concentrations must be normalized to adequately assess day-to-day differences within and among individuals. In this manuscript, data are presented highlighting the use of accurate localized sweat rate as a means for ion and global metabolomic data normalization.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder: Feasibility, acceptability, and proof-of-concept for children and adolescents.

Objective: Little is known about the optimal treatment of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). The purpose of this study was to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and proof-of-concept for cognitive-behavioral therapy for ARFID (CBT-AR) in children and adolescents.

Method: Males and females (ages 10-17 years) were offered 20-30 sessions of CBT-AR delivered in a family-based or individual format.

The effect of vitamin K insufficiency on histological and structural properties of knee joints in aging mice.

Objective: While a role for vitamin K in maintaining joint tissue homeostasis has been proposed based on the presence of vitamin K dependent proteins in cartilage and bone, it is not clear if low vitamin K intake is causally linked to joint tissue degeneration. To address this gap, we manipulated vitamin K status in aging mice to test its effect on age-related changes in articular cartilage and sub-chondral bone.

Methods: Eleven-month old male C57BL6 mice were randomly assigned to a low vitamin K diet containing 120 mcg phylloquinone/kg diet (n = 32) or a control diet containing 1.

Tagging enhances histochemical and biochemical detection of Ran Binding Protein 9 in vivo and reveals its interaction with Nucleolin.

The lack of tools to reliably detect RanBP9 in vivo has significantly hampered progress in understanding the biological functions of this scaffold protein. We report here the generation of a novel mouse strain, RanBP9-TT, in which the endogenous protein is fused with a double (V5-HA) epitope tag at the C-terminus. We show that the double tag does not interfere with the essential functions of RanBP9.

Evaluation of a standardized collection device for exhaled breath sampling onto thermal desorption tubes.

The Respiration Collector for In Vitro Analysis (ReCIVA) sampler, marketed by Owlstone Medical, provides a step forward in exhaled breath sampling through active sampling directly onto thermal desorption (TD) tubes. Although an improvement to the issues surrounding breath bag sampling, the ReCIVA device, first released in 2015, is a relatively new research and clinical tool that requires further exploration. Here, data are presented comparing two distinct ReCIVA devices.

Maternal Fish Consumption in Pregnancy Is Associated with a -Dominant Microbiome Profile in Infants.

National guidelines suggest that pregnant women consume 2-3 servings of fish weekly and often focus exclusively on limiting mercury exposure. We examined if meeting this recommendation in the third trimester of pregnancy was associated with differences in infant fecal microbiota composition and diversity. We used multinomial regression to analyze data from 114 infant-mother dyads.

Characterization of standardized breath sampling for off-line field use.

Due to several sources of potential variability associated with exhaled breath bag sampling procedures for off-line analysis, the Respiration Collector for in vitro Analysis (ReCIVA) sampler was developed. Although designed to improve upon several pitfalls of sampling with exhaled breath bags, the ReCIVA remains a minimally studied research tool. In this manuscript, several attributes of the ReCIVA sampler are investigated among three individual tests, such as background contamination, control software version, performance of different adsorbent tubes, duplicate sample production, and comparison to exhaled breath bags.

Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Enhances Memory Acquisition and Is Associated with Synaptoneurosome Modification in the Rat Hippocampus.

Transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation approach previously shown to enhance memory acquisition, but more studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Here, we examined the effects of anodal tDCS (0.25 mA for 30 min) on the memory performance of male Sprague Dawley rats in the passive avoidance test (PAT) and the associated modifications to the hippocampal proteomes.