Association of a multiplex immune marker panel with incident cognitive impairment and dementia: The Northern Manhattan Study.

Objective: To determine whether a panel of immune markers adds significant information to known correlates of risk of dementia and cognitive impairment.

Background: The impact of immune mechanisms on dementia risk is incompletely characterized.

Design/methods: A subsample of the Northern Manhattan Study, a prospective cohort study in the racially/ethnically diverse population of New York City, underwent comprehensive neuropsychological testing up to three times, at approximately 5-year intervals.

Does SARS-CoV-2 Infection Increase Risk of Neuropsychiatric and Related Conditions? Findings from Difference-in-Differences Analyses.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased neuropsychiatric conditions in children and youths, with evidence suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 infection may contribute additional risks beyond pandemic stressors. This study aimed to assess the full spectrum of neuropsychiatric conditions in COVID-19 positive children (ages 5-12) and youths (ages 12-20) compared to a matched COVID-19 negative cohort, accounting for factors influencing infection risk. Using EHR data from 25 institutions in the RECOVER program, we conducted a retrospective analysis of 326,074 COVID-19 positive and 887,314 negative participants matched for risk factors and stratified by age.

Sex Differences in Long COVID.

Importance: A substantial number of individuals worldwide experience long COVID, or post-COVID condition. Other postviral and autoimmune conditions have a female predominance, but whether the same is true for long COVID, especially within different subgroups, is uncertain.

Objective: To evaluate sex differences in the risk of developing long COVID among adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Racial/ethnic differences in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 in children and adolescents in the United States.

Racial/ethnic differences are associated with the symptoms and conditions of post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) in adults. These differences may exist among children and warrant further exploration. We conducted a retrospective cohort study with difference-in-differences analyzes to assess these differences in children and adolescents under the age of 21.

2024 Update of the RECOVER-Adult Long COVID Research Index.

Importance: Classification of persons with long COVID (LC) or post-COVID-19 condition must encompass the complexity and heterogeneity of the condition. Iterative refinement of the classification index for research is needed to incorporate newly available data as the field rapidly evolves.

Objective: To update the 2023 research index for adults with LC using additional participant data from the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER-Adult) study and an expanded symptom list based on input from patient communities.

Contrast-Enhanced Digital Breast Tomosynthesis Compared With Contrast-Enhanced Mammography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Assessment of Breast Lesions: A Pilot Study.

Objectives: Contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) is an accurate competitor for contrast-enhanced breast magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI), but the examination is limited by the lack of 3D information. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) allows better lesion detection and characterization compared with mammography. The availability of quasi-3D contrast imaging could further improve the performance of CEM.

Pediatric Long COVID Subphenotypes: An EHR-based study from the RECOVER program.

Pediatric Long COVID has been associated with a wide variety of symptoms, conditions, and organ systems, but distinct clinical presentations, or subphenotypes, are still being elucidated. In this exploratory analysis, we identified a cohort of pediatric (age <21) patients with evidence of Long COVID and no pre-existing complex chronic conditions using electronic health record data from 38 institutions and used an unsupervised machine learning-based approach to identify subphenotypes. Our method, an extension of the Phe2Vec algorithm, uses tens of thousands of clinical concepts from multiple domains to represent patients' clinical histories to then identify groups of patients with similar presentations.

Patterns of morphological evolution in the raptorial appendages of praying mantises.

Mantodea (praying mantises) is a group of exclusively predatory insects, which, together with nonraptorial blattodeans (cockroaches and termites) and groups exclusively found in the fossil record, form the group Dictyoptera. A central characteristic of Mantodea is the specialization of their first pair of legs as raptorial grasping appendages, but the evolution from walking to raptorial legs is not yet fully understood. Here, we trace the evolution of the raptorial appendages in Dictyoptera through time using a morphometric (morphospaces) approach.

Pediatric Gastrointestinal Outcomes During the Post-Acute Phase of COVID-19: Findings from RECOVER Initiative from 29 Hospitals in the US.

Importance: The profile of gastrointestinal (GI) outcomes that may affect children in post-acute and chronic phases of COVID-19 remains unclear.

Objective: To investigate the risks of GI symptoms and disorders during the post-acute phase (28 days to 179 days after SARS-CoV-2 infection) and the chronic phase (180 days to 729 days after SARS-CoV-2 infection) in the pediatric population.

Design: We used a retrospective cohort design from March 2020 to Sept 2023.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Long-COVID-Associated Symptoms among Pediatrics Population: Findings from Difference-in-differences Analyses in RECOVER Program.

Racial/ethnic differences are associated with the potential symptoms and conditions of post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) in adults. These differences may exist among children and warrant further exploration. We conducted a retrospective cohort study for children and adolescents under the age of 21 from the thirteen institutions in the RECOVER Initiative.

Identification of CD8 T-cell dysfunction associated with symptoms in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID and treatment with a nebulized antioxidant/anti-pathogen agent in a retrospective case series.

Background: Patients with post-acute sequelae of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (PASC, i.e., Long COVID) have a symptom complex highly analogous to many features of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), suggesting they may share some aspects of pathogenesis in these similar disorders.

Fossils in Myanmar amber demonstrate the diversity of anti-predator strategies of Cretaceous holometabolan insect larvae.

Holometabolan larvae are a major part of the animal biomass and an important food source for many animals. Many larvae evolved anti-predator strategies and some of these can even be recognized in fossils. A Lagerstätte known for well-preserved holometabolan larvae is the approximately 100-million-year-old Kachin amber from Myanmar.

Immune Markers Are Associated With Asymptomatic Intracranial Large Artery Stenosis and Future Vascular Events in NOMAS.

Background: Inflammation contributes to atherosclerosis but is incompletely characterized in intracranial large artery stenosis (ICAS). We hypothesized that immune markers would be associated with ICAS and modify the risk ICAS confers on future vascular events.

Methods: This study included a subsample of stroke-free participants in the prospective NOMAS (Northern Manhattan Study), who had blood samples analyzed with a 60-plex immunoassay (collected from 1993 to 2001) and ICAS assessment with time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (obtained from 2003 to 2008).

A multicenter virome analysis of blood, feces, and saliva in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is estimated to affect 0.4%-2.5% of the global population.

Proteomics and cytokine analyses distinguish myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome cases from controls.

Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex, heterogenous disease characterized by unexplained persistent fatigue and other features including cognitive impairment, myalgias, post-exertional malaise, and immune system dysfunction. Cytokines are present in plasma and encapsulated in extracellular vesicles (EVs), but there have been only a few reports of EV characteristics and cargo in ME/CFS. Several small studies have previously described plasma proteins or protein pathways that are associated with ME/CFS.

Occupational life-style programme over 12 months and changes of metabolic risk profile, vascular function, and physical fitness in blue-collar workers.

Purpose: Occupational health programmes have been successfully implemented to improve body composition, physical fitness and cardiovascular risk. However, most programmes have been small and have not included long-term evaluation. Therefore, we evaluated a twelve-month life-style change programme in a German refinery.

Deficient butyrate-producing capacity in the gut microbiome is associated with bacterial network disturbances and fatigue symptoms in ME/CFS.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is characterized by unexplained debilitating fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, gastrointestinal disturbances, and orthostatic intolerance. Here, we report a multi-omic analysis of a geographically diverse cohort of 106 cases and 91 healthy controls that revealed differences in gut microbiome diversity, abundances, functional pathways, and interactions. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Eubacterium rectale, which are both recognized as abundant, health-promoting butyrate producers in the human gut, were reduced in ME/CFS.

Neurovascular anatomy of dwarf dinosaur implies precociality in sauropods.

Macronaria, a group of mostly colossal sauropod dinosaurs, comprised the largest terrestrial vertebrates of Earth's history. However, some of the smallest sauropods belong to this group as well. The Late Jurassic macronarian island dwarf is one of the most peculiar and best-studied sauropods worldwide.

A hatching aphidlion-like lacewing larva in 100 million years old Kachin amber.

We report a fossil aphidlion-like larva preserved with its egg case in 100 million year old Kachin amber, Myanmar. It appears to have been enclosed very shortly after hatching, especially when comparing it with extant aphidlions during hatching. Although hatching aphidlion-like larvae are known from amber from other localities, this is the first case from Myanmar amber, despite the comparably high number of lacewing larvae known from the latter.