Ecological insights into the microbiology of food using metagenomics and its potential surveillance applications.

A diverse array of micro-organisms can be found on food, including those that are pathogenic or resistant to antimicrobial drugs. Metagenomics involves extracting and sequencing the DNA of all micro-organisms on a sample, and here, we used a combination of culture and culture-independent approaches to investigate the microbial ecology of food to assess the potential application of metagenomics for the microbial surveillance of food. We cultured common foodborne pathogens and other organisms including , spp.

Audio-visual concert performances synchronize audience's heart rates.

People enjoy engaging with music. Live music concerts provide an excellent option to investigate real-world music experiences, and at the same time, use neurophysiological synchrony to assess dynamic engagement. In the current study, we assessed engagement in a live concert setting using synchrony of cardiorespiratory measures, comparing inter-subject, stimulus-response, correlation, and phase coherence.

Visceral Pain in Preterm Infants with Necrotizing Enterocolitis: Underlying Mechanisms and Implications for Treatment.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a relatively rare but very severe gastrointestinal disease primarily affecting very preterm infants. NEC is characterized by excessive inflammation and ischemia in the intestines, and is associated with prolonged, severe visceral pain. Despite its recognition as a highly painful disease, current pain management for NEC is often inadequate, and research on optimal analgesic therapy for these patients is lacking.

PD-L1 expression in high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer is not a biomarker of response to BCG.

Purpose: Up to 50% of high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC) patients fail Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) treatment, resulting in a high risk of progression and poor clinical outcomes. Biomarkers that predict outcomes after BCG are lacking. The antitumor effects of BCG are driven by a cytotoxic T cell response, which may be controlled by immune checkpoint proteins like Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1).

Development and Validation of a Neurosurgical Phantom for Simulating External Ventricular Drain Placement.

This study aimed to develop and validate a cost-effective, customizable patient-specific phantom for simulating external ventricular drain placement, combining image segmentation, 3-D printing and molding techniques. Two variations of the phantom were created based on patient MRI data, integrating a realistic skin layer with anatomical landmarks, a 3-D printed skull, an agarose polysaccharide gel brain, and a ventricular cavity. To validate the phantom, 15 neurosurgeons, residents, and physician assistants performed 30 EVD placements.

Stability of expansion effects following Miniscrew-assisted Rapid Palatal expansion: a prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the dental and skeletal stability one year after Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion (MARPE) by using 3D image data.

Methods: Patients with transverse maxillary deficiency from the age of 16 onwards were enrolled consecutively in this prospective longitudinal cohort study. The MARPE appliance was digitally and individually designed and fabricated.

An extra pair of eyes: adopting innovative approaches to detect integrity issues in Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology.

Scientific integrity has been increasingly challenged by scientific misconduct and paper mills, resulting in an increase in retractions. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology has been significantly impacted by fraudulent submissions, resulting in numerous retractions. By analyzing retraction notes and utilizing a post-publication surveillance strategy, this editorial discusses how this journal continues to deal with problematic publications, uncovers image- and physiological-related integrity issues, and responds to fraudulent activity.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Psychosis occurs in 30-40% of individuals with AD. New insights into disease mechanisms may lead to novel pharmacological targets and treatments. Previous studies have focused on bulk tissue analysis with limited results.

Deconstructing the Self-Other Binary in Care Networks by Unravelling Professional' Perspectives through an Intersectional Lens.

In many western countries informal care is conceived as the answer to the increasing care demand. Little is known how formal and informal caregivers collaborate in the context of an diverse ageing population. The aim of this study was to gain insight in how professionals' perspectives regarding the collaboration with informal carers with a migration background are framed and shaped by intersecting aspects of diversity.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Prolonged exposure to LED-light has been associated with impaired sleep quality and pathogenesis of various diseases, including Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Red light therapy has been indicated as a non-invasive way of reducing anxiety, mood and sleep optimization in neurodegenerative disorders but its endogenous mechanisms are insufficiently comprehended. Hence, we assessed the effects of scheduled red-light exposure on clock genes-Bmal1 and Per 1 expression, feacal boli frequency, and anxiety-like responses in prolonged LED-light exposed rats.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: The TMEM106B protein is critical for proper functioning of the endolysomal system, which is utilised by all cells to traffic and degrade molecular cargo. Genome-wide association studies identified a haplotype in the TMEM106B gene that is associated with increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TAR DNA binding protein inclusions (FTLD-TDP). However, the causal variant that drives the association has thus far remained elusive.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Psychosis (broadly delusions and hallucinations) has a cumulative disease prevalence of around 40% in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The epigenomic, genomic, and neuropathological data provide powerful evidence that AD+P has a distinct neurobiological profile. Here, we used the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) method to investigate DNA methylation associated with AD+P in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of 153 post-mortem brain samples.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: The onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been widely linked with inflammation both in the periphery and within the brain. Indeed, infections during life can increase the risk of developing dementia and the rate of cognitive decline in AD patients, with many AD sufferers ultimately dying with a systemic infection. One of the aims of this study is to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the brain's response to systemic infections in AD through the analysis of gene expression changes.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Published data have highlighted associations between Alzheimer's disease (AD) susceptibility loci and AD-related brain changes. The amyloid imaging to prevent AD (AMYPAD) consortium is a European collaboration consisting of several parent cohorts, four of which had raw genotype array data available. We sought to integrate and harmonise the genetic data, calculate AD polygenic risk scores (PRS), and investigate their association with global amyloid deposition.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Recent studies highlight distinct patterns of cortical atrophy between amnestic (typical) and non-amnestic (atypical, with subtypes: behavioural, dysexecutive, logopenic and visuospatial) clinical phenotypes of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The current study aimed to assess regional MRI patterns of cortical atrophy across AD phenotypes, and their association with amyloid-beta (Aβ), phosphorylated tau (pTau), axonal degeneration (NfL) and microvascular deterioration (COLIV).

Method: Postmortem In-situ 3DT1 3T-MRI data was collected for 33 AD (17 typical, 16 atypical) and 16 control brain donors.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Current evidence suggests that hippocampal subfields have partially different genetic architecture and may improve the sensitivity of the detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we investigated whether genetic predisposition to AD contributes to the accelerated rate of hippocampal volume atrophy across sex and AD stages and how this contribution is specifically driven by functional variants located in the APOE gene.

Methods: The study comprised 1,051 participants from ADNI cohort (75.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: The hippocampus is highly vulnerable to amyloid-b (Aβ) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau), and shows synaptic loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, the loss of synapses correlates strongly with cognitive decline and leads to neuronal network dysfunction. Here, we aim to map the selective synaptic loss in hippocampal and parahippocampal subregions in AD and its association to the severity of neuropathology, axonal damage and cognitive decline.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have identified 86 SNPs associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). GWAS-SNPs are markers of genetic variation in linkage disequilibrium (LD), which may drive the association with AD. One major class of genetic variation are Structural Variants (SVs), which can regulate transcription and translation of nearby genes.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Murine studies have identified blood proteins that influence brain aging, but translating these findings to humans remains challenging. We used an innovative approach to investigate whether genetically predicted blood levels of proteins linked to brain aging in animal models are associated with cognitive performance in individuals at risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) [Figure 1].

Method: Through systematic review, we identified 13 circulating proteins with an aging/rejuvenating effect on the mouse brain.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: SORL1 encodes the retromer-associated receptor SORLA that functions in endosomal recycling. Rare variants in SORL1 have been associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and rare pathogenic variants are estimated to occur in up to 2.75% of early onset AD patients and in 1.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: The sortilin-related receptor 1 protein, SORL1, interacts with retromer to regulate trafficking of cargo out of the early endosome. Genetic variants in SORL1 that lead to a premature protein truncation (PTVs) are observed almost exclusively in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, suggesting SORL1's haploinsufficiency may be causal for AD. However, the large majority of SORL1 variants are rare missense variants which affect diverse structural domains, some of which may be causative for disease or (strongly) risk-increasing, while others are (likely) benign.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a rare, hereditary cerebrovascular disease which causes stroke, complex migraine, and cognitive impairment. Given its monogenic nature, CADASIL is considered a 'pure' model of small vessel disease and vascular dementia. CADASIL is caused by NOTCH3 pathogenic variants with a broad resulting phenotypic spectrum.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: The accumulation of misfolded tau proteins, an Alzheimer's disease (AD) hallmark, starts decades before the emergence of cognitive decline and clinical diagnosis. Autopsy studies support a predictable progression of tau pathology through large-scale systems. However, less is known about the specific progression patterns.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with only motor impairment (ALS-pure motor) and the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) are hypothesized to be the extreme ends of the ALS-bvFTD spectrum. This spectrum also encompasses ALS patients with mild to severe cognitive impairment (ALSci) and/or behavioral impairment (ALSbi), including ALS with concomitant bvFTD. In a previous study, using magnetoencephalography (MEG), in early symptomatic ALS patients we showed resting-state functional connectivity changes in frontal, limbic and subcortical regions that overlap considerably with bvFTD.