The Role of Black Churches in Promoting Mental Health for Communities of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Black Americans.

Objective: Churches in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods serve as safe havens in many Black communities. Churches provide faith and charitable services but often have limited resources to address the mental health needs of their communities. This article reports on a collaborative effort, driven by members of a Black church, to understand mental health needs, coping strategies, and resilience factors in a community of socioeconomically disadvantaged Black Americans.

Very-low-birth-weight infant short-term post-discharge outcomes: A retrospective study of specialized compared to standard care.

Objective: Ongoing health care challenges, low breast milk intake, and the need for rehospitalization are common during the first year of life after hospital discharge for very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. This retrospective cohort study examined breast milk intake, growth, emergency department (ED) visits, and non-surgical rehospitalizations for VLBW infants who received specialized post-discharge follow-up in western Canada, compared to VLBW infants who received standard follow-up in central Canada.

Design: Data were collected from two neonatal follow-up programs for VLBW babies (n = 150 specialized-care; n = 205 standard-care).

nematodes colonize ephemeral resource patches in neotropical forests.

Factors shaping the distribution and abundance of species include life-history traits, population structure, and stochastic colonization-extinction dynamics. Field studies of model species groups help reveal the roles of these factors. Species of nematodes are highly divergent at the sequence level but exhibit highly conserved morphology, and many of these species live in sympatry on microbe-rich patches of rotten material.

Selfing is the safest sex for .

Mating systems have profound effects on genetic diversity and compatibility. The convergent evolution of self-fertilization in three species provides a powerful lens to examine causes and consequences of mating system transitions. Among the selfers, is the least genetically diverse and most afflicted by outbreeding depression.

Nutrient Enrichment of Human Milk with Human and Bovine Milk-Based Fortifiers for Infants Born <1250 g: 18-Month Neurodevelopment Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Bovine milk-based fortifiers (BMBF) have been standard of care for nutrient fortification of feeds for very low birth weight (VLBW) infants, however, there is increasing use of human milk-based fortifiers (HMBF) in neonatal care despite additional costs and limited supporting data. No randomized clinical trial has followed infants fed these fortifiers after initial hospitalization.

Objective: To compare neurodevelopment in infants born weighing <1250 g fed maternal milk with supplemental donor milk and either a HMBF or BMBF.

Novel recruitment strategy to enrich for LRRK2 mutation carriers.

The LRRK2 G2019S mutation is found at higher frequency among Parkinson disease (PD) patients of Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) ancestry. This study was designed to test whether an internet-based approach could be an effective approach to screen and identify mutation carriers. Individuals with and without PD of AJ ancestry were recruited and consented through an internet-based study website.

Mapping the differences in care for 5,000 spinal muscular atrophy patients, a survey of 24 national registries in North America, Australasia and Europe.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterised by the degeneration of motor neurons and progressive muscle weakness. It is caused by homozygous deletions in the survival motor neuron gene on chromosome 5. SMA shows a wide range of clinical severity, with SMA type I patients often dying before 2 years of age, whereas type III patients experience less severe clinical manifestations and can have a normal life span.

The enzymatic activity of apoptosis-inducing factor supports energy metabolism benefiting the growth and invasiveness of advanced prostate cancer cells.

Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) promotes cell death yet also controls mitochondrial homeostasis and energy metabolism. It is unclear how these activities are coordinated, and the impact of AIF upon human disease, in particular cancer, is not well documented. In this study we have explored the contribution of AIF to the progression of prostate cancer.

Cholinergic microvillous cells in the mouse main olfactory epithelium and effect of acetylcholine on olfactory sensory neurons and supporting cells.

The mammalian olfactory epithelium is made up of ciliated olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), supporting cells, basal cells, and microvillous cells. Previously, we reported that a population of nonneuronal microvillous cells expresses transient receptor potential channel M5 (TRPM5). Using transgenic mice and immunocytochemical labeling, we identify that these cells are cholinergic, expressing the signature markers of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and the vesicular acetylcholine transporter.

Progression in prediagnostic Huntington disease.

Objective: To examine rates of decline in individuals at risk for Huntington disease (HD).

Methods: 106 individuals at risk for HD completed a battery of neurocognitive, psychomotor and oculomotor tasks at two visits, approximately 2.5 years apart.

Test-retest reliability of saccadic measures in subjects at risk for Huntington disease.

Purpose: Abnormalities in saccades appear to be sensitive and specific biomarkers in the prediagnostic stages of Huntington disease (HD). The goal of this study was to evaluate test-retest reliability of saccadic measures in prediagnostic carriers of the HD gene expansion (PDHD) and normal controls (NC).

Methods: The study sample included 9 PDHD and 12 NC who completed two study visits within an approximate 1-month interval.

Visual scanning and cognitive performance in prediagnostic and early-stage Huntington's disease.

The objective of this study was to evaluate visual scanning strategies in carriers of the Huntington disease (HD) gene expansion and to test whether there is an association between measures of visual scanning and cognitive performance. The study sample included control (NC, n = 23), prediagnostic (PDHD, n = 21), and subjects recently diagnosed with HD (HD, n = 19). All participants completed a uniform clinical evaluation that included examination by neurologist and molecular testing.

Ten-year rate of longitudinal change in neurocognitive and motor function in prediagnosis Huntington disease.

Longitudinal studies of neurocognitive function in prediagnosis Huntington disease (pre-HD) have been few, and duration of follow-up has been brief. In this study, 155 individuals at-risk for HD completed a battery of cognitive and motor tasks at two study visits approximately 10 years apart. Participants were classified as: (1) at-risk, without the CAG expansion (healthy controls, NC; n = 112), or (2) CAG expanded (CAG+; n = 43).