Multiple Contributors Research Articles

Sequencing and characterization of complete mitogenome DNA of worldwide turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) populations

The history of turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) domestication can be traced back to the period between 700 and 200 BC in Mexico. This process involved multiple contributors and resulted in the development of modern local turkey breeds. This research investigates the complete mitochondrial diversity across a diverse range of local turkeys. Seventy-three turkeys were sampled from various populations, including autochthonous Italian breeds, an American breed (Narragansett), as well as wild turkeys from the USA and Mexico. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was employed as a powerful tool for biodiversity and breed phylogeny investigation. An analysis of the entire mtDNA was conducted to identify breed-specific unique traits, mitochondrial-specific characteristics, and the phylogenetic relationship among turkey populations. A total of 44 polymorphic sites were identified. Brianzolo and Narragansett birds were characterized as genetically homogeneous populations. Thirty-two different haplotypes were identified when our samples were compared with mtDNA D-loop of 96 online available turkeys from various geographical countries. H1 and H2, differing for one mutation, were the most abundant, comprising 132 of the 185 sequences. H1 included samples coming from every region, while H2 was predominantly characterized by Italian samples. USA and Mexican samples appear to be more variable in their mtDNA than the other populations.

Multiple beta cell-independent mechanisms drive hypoglycemia in Timothy syndrome

The canonical G406R mutation that increases Ca2+ influx through the CACNA1C-encoded CaV1.2 Ca2+ channel underlies the multisystem disorder Timothy syndrome (TS), characterized by life-threatening arrhythmias. Severe episodic hypoglycemia is among the poorly characterized non-cardiac TS pathologies. While hypothesized from increased Ca2+ influx in pancreatic beta cells and consequent hyperinsulinism, this hypoglycemia mechanism is undemonstrated because of limited clinical data and lack of animal models. We generated a CaV1.2 G406R knockin mouse model that recapitulates key TS features, including hypoglycemia. Unexpectedly, these mice do not show hyperactive beta cells or hyperinsulinism in the setting of normal intrinsic beta cell function, suggesting dysregulated glucose homeostasis. Patient data confirm the absence of hyperinsulinism. We discover multiple alternative contributors, including perturbed counterregulatory hormone responses with defects in glucagon secretion and abnormal hypothalamic control of glucose homeostasis. These data provide new insights into contributions of CaV1.2 channels and reveal integrated consequences of the mutant channels driving life-threatening events in TS.

Morphological and Autofluorescence Dataset for ‘Touch’ Epidermal Cell Populations Collected with Imaging Flow Cytometry

Background New methods for processing ‘touch’ or trace biological samples is an ongoing priority for forensic caseworking laboratories. These samples often contain materials from multiple individuals in varying quantities and/or degrees of degradation. Rapid characterization of cellular material before DNA profiling can allow laboratories to screen samples for the presence of multiple contributors or the amount of biological material present. Methods This dataset contains autofluorescence and morphological profiles of epidermal cell populations analyzed using Imaging Flow Cytometry. The epidermal samples were aged for varying amounts of time prior to analysis. Multiple samples from the same individual were also collected to assess profile variations within and across the contributors. Conclusions This data set may be used to investigate variability in epidermal cell populations from different individuals and potential forensic signatures contained within the non-genetic components that comprise touch biological evidence.

Adapting a Preparatory Skills-Building Programme for Carers of People With Cancer Through Co-Design: The iCanSupport Project.

Health services rely upon carers to provide care for loved ones with cancer, yet many carers often feel ill-prepared for this role. Despite a multitude of programmes to support carer mental health, programmes that help carers feel better equipped to support a person with cancer are lacking. This study aimed to address this need by adapting an evidence-based intervention to be suitable for carers of people with cancer. This study used an exploratory, qualitative design consisting of experienced-based co-design and an in-depth stakeholder engagement strategy. An existing evidence-based programme to promote resilience in the context of providing care was adapted for relevance to carers for people with cancer via two co-design workshops with carers and healthcare professionals (n = 8). The resulting prototype programme was refined based on stakeholder consultations with staff and consumer members of cancer and carer support organisations across Australia (n = 16). Transcripts of the workshops, meetings and written feedback from carers were thematically analysed. Major programme developments were guided by three themes that emerged from the co-design workshops: 'creating value for carers', 'multiple contributors to carer distress' and 'the need for flexible implementation'. Analysis of the stakeholder consultation data showed that the themes of 'diversity in carer journeys' and 'creating impact for carers' were key to further tailoring the programme for applicability to practice. An adapted programme called 'iCanSupport' resulted from the process, with key adaptations being more relevant case study scenarios for carers and greater flexibility in accessing and engaging with the intervention to accommodate a range of carer circumstances. Programmes to build skills for becoming a carer for someone with cancer are absent, yet they are desired by carers. Using co-design provided a user-centric approach to adapt an existing evidence-based programme. Programme evaluation is required to determine the effectiveness of the co-designed approach in improving carer preparedness among a range of cohorts. Carers and consumers with lived experience and others involved in supporting consumers made valuable contributions to co-designing and refining the programme in addition to providing ongoing guidance in the unfolding analysis and reporting of this research.

Performance comparison of a previously validated microhaplotype panel and a forensic STR panel for DNA mixture analysis

Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) are the most widespread markers in forensic genetics. However, STR stutter peaks can mask alleles from a minor contributor when analysing mixtures, hindering the interpretation of complex profiles. In this study we compared the performance of a previously described panel of microhaplotypes (MHs), an alternative type of forensic marker, against a standard STR kit. The parameters evaluated included: capability of determining the minimum number of contributors in the mixture; percentages of allele drop-outs and drop-ins; retrieval of alleles belonging to the minor contributor, and estimation of likelihood ratio (LR) values. In addition, the capacity of EuroForMix software to estimate each donor’s percentage of contribution was tested, as well as the impact on results when using manually, or automatically prepared libraries. The MH panel showed better performance than STRs for the detection of 2-contributor mixtures, but the lower degree of polymorphism per MH marker hindered the task of deconvolution with multiple contributors. MHs presented higher drop-in rates and lower drop-out rates, a higher capability to recover the minor contributor’s alleles and provided higher LR values than STRs, likely due to the much higher number of loci combined in the panel. Estimations of contributor ratios using EuroForMix showed promising results and marginal differences were found in these values between manually and automatically prepared libraries. Overall, results showed that the mixture detection performance of the MH panel was better or equal to the standard forensic autosomal STR panel, indicating microhaplotypes are informative markers for this purpose.

Heterogeneity of factors associated with cognitive decline and cortical atrophy in early- versus late-onset Alzheimer’s disease

The objectives of this study were to investigate the variable factors associated with cognitive function and cortical atrophy and estimated variable importance of those factors in affecting cognitive function and cortical atrophy in patients with EOAD and LOAD. Patients with EOAD (n = 40), LOAD (n = 34), and healthy volunteers with normal cognition were included (n = 65). All of them performed 3T MRI, [18F]THK5351 PET (THK), [18F]flutemetamol PET (FLUTE), and detailed neuropsychological tests. To investigate factors associated with neuropsychological test results and cortical thickness in each group, we conducted multivariable linear regression models, including amyloid, tau, cerebral small vessel disease markers on MRI, and vascular risk factors. Then, we estimated variable importance in associating cognitive functions and cortical thickness, using relative importance analysis. In patients with EOAD, global THK retention was the most important contributor to the model variances for most neuropsychological tests, except for memory. However, in patients with LOAD, multiple contributors beyond tau were important in explaining variance of neuropsychological tests. In analyses with mean cortical thickness, global THK retention was the main contributor in patients with EOAD, while in LOAD patients, multiple factors contributed equally to mean cortical thickness. Therefore, EOAD and LOAD may have different pathomechanistic courses.

Inflammatory aspects of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer´s disease (AD) stands out as the most common chronic neurodegenerative disorder. AD is characterized by progressive cognitive decline and memory loss, with neurodegeneration as its primary pathological feature. The role of neuroinflammation in the disease course has become a focus of intense research. While microglia, the brain's resident macrophages, have been pivotal to study central immune inflammation, recent evidence underscores the contributions of other cellular entities to the neuroinflammatory process. In this article, we review the inflammatory role of microglia and astrocytes, focusing on their interactions with AD's core pathologies, amyloid beta deposition, and tau tangle formation. Additionally, we also discuss how different modes of regulated cell death in AD may impact the chronic neuroinflammatory environment. This review aims to highlight the evolving landscape of neuroinflammatory research in AD and underscores the importance of considering multiple cellular contributors when developing new therapeutic strategies.

Collaboration Practices for the Cybersecurity of Supply Chains to Critical Infrastructure

This work describes the collaboration practices of a community of interest in the UK that brings together cybersecurity professionals with a shared interest in improving supply chain cybersecurity for Operational Technology (OT) environments. This research emphasizes the need for collective responsibility between organizations and provides a set of principles for adopting a code of practice and partnership approach to supply chain cybersecurity. This work has enabled cybersecurity experience from several critical infrastructure sectors, including energy, rail, aviation, water, health, and food, to analyze the uptake and practical use of existing supply chain guidance, identifying gaps and challenges. The community has examined touch points with the supply chain and identified improvements related to the communication of cybersecurity requirements, technical and commercial engagement between customers and suppliers, and in the tailoring of implementations towards operational technology contexts. Communicating the context of securing cyber-physical systems is an essential perspective for this community. This work exemplifies a partnership framework and is translating experiences into useful guidance, particularly for OT systems, to improve cybersecurity levels across multiple contributors to critical infrastructure systems.

Genetic Polymorphisms in Exon 5 and Intron 5 and 7 of AIRE Are Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk in a Hungarian Population.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is chronically persistent synovitis and systemic inflammation. Although multiple contributors are detected, only one is pivotal in the neonatal period: the negative selection of autoimmune naïve T-cells by the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) transcriptional factor. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the DNA-binding site of AIRE may determine its function and expression. We intended to analyse site-specific allelic polymorphisms in two exon (rs878081 and rs1055311) and three intron (rs1003853, rs2075876, and rs1003854) loci with an RA risk. Our analytical case-control study analysed 270 RA patients and 322 control subjects in five different genetic models using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) with TaqMan® assays. Statistically significant differences were found between the odds of allelic polymorphisms in the loci of rs878081, rs1003854, and rs1003853 among the controls and RA patients, and the disease activity seemed to be significantly associated with the genotypic subgroups of rs878081 and rs1055311. Our in silico analysis supported this, suggesting that allele-specific alterations in the binding affinity of transcriptional factor families might determine RA activity. Our findings highlight the involvement of neonatal self-tolerance in RA pathogenesis, providing novel insights into disease development and paving the way for an analysis of further site-specific genetic polymorphisms in AIRE to expand the intervention time for RA.

A model of contributors to a trusting patient-physician relationship: a critical review using a systematic search strategy

BackgroundThe lack of trust between patients and physicians has a variety of negative consequences. There are several theories concerning how interpersonal trust is built, and different studies have investigated trust between patients and physicians that have identified single factors as contributors to trust. However, all possible contributors to a trusting patient-physician relationship remain unclear. This review synthesizes current knowledge regarding patient-physician trust and integrates contributors to trust into a model.MethodsA systematic search was conducted using the databases MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), and Eric (Ovid). We ran simultaneous searches for a combination of the phrases: patient-physician relationship (or synonyms) and trust or psychological safety. Six-hundred and twenty-five abstracts were identified and screened using pre-defined criteria and later underwent full-text article screening. We identified contributors to trust in the eligible articles and critically assessed whether they were modifiable.ResultsForty-five articles were included in the review. Patient-centered factors that contributed modifiable promoters of trust included psychological factors, levels of health education and literacy, and the social environment. Physician-centered factors that added to a trusting patient-physician relationship included competence, communication, interest in the patient, caring, the provisioning of health education, and professionalism. The patient-physician alliance, time spent together, and shared decision-making also contributed to trusting relationships between patients and physicians. External contributors included institutional factors, how payments are made, and additional healthcare services.DiscussionOur model summarized modifiable contributors to a trusting patient-physician relationship. We found that providing sufficient time during patient-physician encounters, ensuring continuity of care, and fostering health education are promising starting points for improving trust between patients and physicians. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of interventions that address multiple modifiable contributors to a trusting patient-physician relationship.

Prevalence of HIV-related stigma manifestations and their contributing factors among people living with HIV in Sweden – a nationwide study

BackgroundWith access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) HIV infection is a chronic manageable condition and non-sexually transmissible. Yet, many people living with HIV still testify about experiencing HIV-related stigma and discrimination. It is well-documented that HIV-related stigma and discrimination continue to be critical barriers to prevention, treatment, care and quality of life. From an individual stigma-reduction intervention perspective, it is essential to identify individual and interpersonal factors associated with HIV-related stigma manifestations. To address this issue and to expand the literature, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of HIV-related stigma manifestations and their associated factors among a diverse sample of people living with HIV in Sweden.MethodData from 1 096 participants were derived from a nationally representative, anonymous cross-sectional survey ”Living with HIV in Sweden”. HIV-related stigma manifestations were assessed using the validated Swedish 12-item HIV Stigma Scale encompassing four HIV-related stigma manifestations: personalised stigma, concerns with public attitudes towards people living with HIV, concerns with sharing HIV status, and internalized stigma. Variables potentially associated with the HIV-related stigma manifestations were divided into four categories: demographic characteristics, clinical HIV factors, distress and ART adherence, and available emotional HIV-related support. Four multivariable hierarchical linear regression analyses were employed to explore the associations between multiple contributors and HIV-related stigma manifestations.ResultsThe most dominating stigma feature was anticipation of HIV-related stigma. It was manifested in high scores on concerns with sharing HIV status reported by 78% of the participants and high scores on concerns about public attitudes towards people living with HIV reported by 54% of the participants. High scores on personalised stigma and internalized stigma were reported by around one third of the participants respectively. Between 23 and 31% of the variance of the four reported HIV-related stigma manifestations were explained mainly by the same pattern of associated factors including female gender, shorter time since HIV diagnosis, feelings of hopelessness, non-sharing HIV status, and lack of available emotional HIV-related support.ConclusionThe most dominating stigma feature was anticipation of stigma. Female gender, shorter time since HIV diagnosis, feelings of hopelessness, non-sharing HIV status, and lack of available emotional HIV-related support constituted potential vulnerability factors of the four HIV-related stigma manifestations. Our findings highlight the vital necessity to support people living with HIV to increase their resilience to stigma in its different forms. Exploring associated factors of HIV-related stigma manifestations may give an indication of what circumstances may increase the risk of stigma burden and factors amenable to targeted interventions. As individual stigma-reductions interventions cannot be performed isolated from HIV-related stigma and discrimination in society, a key challenge is to intensify anti-stigma interventions also on the societal level.

Post-stroke arrhythmia could be a potential predictor for post-stroke depression

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is regarded as the consequence of multiple contributors involving the process of cognition, mood and autonomic system, with the specific mechanism unclear yet. As a common type of stroke-heart syndromes, post-stroke arrhythmia shared some common pathogenesis with PSD. We presumed that post-stroke arrhythmia might be an early distinguishable marker for the presence of PSD and aimed to verity their association in this study. Patients with first-ever ischemic stroke were enrolled. The presence of post-stroke ectopic arrhythmia and the symptoms of arrhythmia were recorded with anti-arrhythmia drugs prescribed when necessary. Patients were followed up 3 months later to identify their presence and severity of PSD using Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and also presence and severity of arrhythmia. Characteristics including the prevalence of various types of arrhythmias were compared between PSD and non-PSD groups. The HAMD scores were compared between patients with and without arrhythmia in PSD group. Logistic regression was used to identify the independent predictor of PSD. Patients with PSD had higher prevalence of post-stroke arrhythmia especially newly-detected arrhythmia, symptomatic arrhythmia and poor-controlled arrhythmia. In PSD group, patients of post-stroke arrhythmia had higher scores of HAMD than those without arrhythmia. Presence of newly-detected, symptomatic and poor-controlled arrhythmias were independent predictor of PSD. post-stroke arrhythmia especially newly-detected arrhythmia and symptomatic arrhythmia could be an early predictor of PSD. Successful control of arrhythmia was associated with reduced prevalence and severity of PSD.

Sodium bicarbonate and intubation in severe diabetic ketoacidosis: are we too quick to dismiss them?

Management of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) has internationally established guidelines. However, management of severe, refractory DKA with multiple contributors to acidosis, and management of DKA in patients with altered mentation, remain ambiguous. Use of sodium bicarbonate and intubation in DKA are unpopular treatment practices, but warrant consideration in these unique clinical scenarios. This paper describes a 61-year-old Sri Lankan female who presented with severe DKA, seizures and altered level of consciousness. In her case, the acidosis was secondary to DKA, hyperlactatemia, hyperchloraemic acidosis and acute kidney injury (AKI). Intravenous sodium bicarbonate was used in the management of acidosis. She was intubated due to altered level of consciousness with inadequate respiratory drive to compensate for metabolic acidosis. The outcome in her case was favorable. Intravenous sodium bicarbonate in DKA should be considered for patients with severe, refractory acidosis with hemodynamic instability, hyperkalemia and compounding acidosis due to normal anion gap acidosis or AKI. Intubation should be considered for patients with obtunded mentation unable to achieve respiratory compensation and obtunded mentation where reversal of DKA is unlikely to improve consciousness. Both strategies should be personalized with consideration of individual risk vs benefit.

Postpartum Hospital Discharge: Birthing Parent Perspectives on Supportive Practices and Areas for Improvement.

Postpartum hospital care and individualized discharge preparedness should be part of person-focused health services. Yet, there are limited descriptions of birthing parents' experiences to identify clinical practice strengths and opportunities to improve systems of care. To explore birthing parents' perspectives on supportive healthcare practices and areas for improvement around postpartum hospital discharge. In this mixed-methods study, participants completed an online questionnaire and a semistructured, telephone interview at 2 to 3 weeks postpartum. Researchers summarized responses to 2 quantitative questions and conducted a thematic content analysis of interview data. Forty birthing parents participated (90% non-White). According to quantitative responses, most birthing parents were prepared to be discharged (82.5%). Responses to the interview generated 6 broad factors related to postpartum hospital discharge preparedness: inpatient postpartum support, physical and emotional health, patient priorities and agency, clear and relevant information, holistic care, and scheduling and continuity of care. Researchers further identified themes around specific healthcare practices participants described to be supportive and opportunities for improvement. Birthing parents articulated multiple contributors to their preparation for postpartum hospital discharge. These perspectives offer insights for strengthening systems of perinatal care and inform measures of quality postpartum care.

Cross-Border Migration and Its Influence on Mental Health Dynamics in Thailand: An Empirical Analysis of Provincial Data

While previous research has examined the impact of cross-border migrants on economic development and other social issues, limited studies have focused on the potential effects of migrants on the mental health of the native population. This paper investigates the impact of cross-border migrants on the mental health of natives in Thailand, considering various mental health disorders. This study analyzes 77 provincial data sets from 2016 to 2021 using a spatial panel autoregressive model. The findings suggest that the presence of migrants did not have an adverse influence on the mental health of the native population at a 5% significance level. Notably, there is a reduction in the prevalence of substance abuse disorders associated with the presence of migrants at the 5% significance level. Additionally, unemployment, education, public health services, technological infrastructure, health risk behavior, and age are significant contributors to the mental health of natives at a 5% significance level. The study underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to developing effective mental health policies and initiatives that address these multiple contributors.

Well-being balance and lived experiences assessment: a valid, comprehensive measure of positive well-being.

Widely used measures of self-reported subjective well-being and flourishing generally do not directly measure positive experiences that have been demonstrated to improve subjective well-being and flourishing, which could aid in developing personalized interventions to improve individuals' well-being. The present study evaluated the validity of the Well-being Balance and Lived Experience (WBAL) Model and Assessment, a new model of well-being and corresponding assessment instrument that evaluates the self-reported frequency of positive experiences and positive feelings of well-being, balanced across activation and arousal levels. A total of 496 evaluable subjects completed the WBAL Assessment, the PERMA+ Profiler (PERMA+) and the Well-Being Assessment Adult 24-item (WBA-24). A confirmatory factor model corresponding to the WBAL construct was created, and internal and external validity of the WBAL Assessment were interrogated. The confirmatory factor model showed good fit, indicating that each of the model factors are related but distinct and all items load significantly onto their factors. The WBAL Assessment demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.95) and internal validity across well-being factors and Feelings (r = 0.96) and Experiences (r = 0.94) domains. The WBAL Assessment demonstrated strong convergent validity in comparison to PERMA+ (r = 0.80) and WBA-24 (r = 0.75), indicating that the WBAL Assessment measures a similar overall concept of well-being and flourishing. Discriminant validity of WBAL factors was demonstrated for an average of 14.3 of 17 comparator domains. The main differences between instruments are WBAL's assessment of positive Experiences, the comparator instruments' inclusion of feelings with negative valence, and WBA-24's inclusion of financial stability. The WBAL Assessment is a reliable and valid instrument to comprehensively measure positive aspects of well-being that evaluates multiple modifiable contributors to individuals' well-being to guide design of personalized assessment and intervention programs to enhance positive well-being.

Neuropathic ocular pain: What is it and what to do about it?

Ocular surface pain (OSP) is a nonspecific symptom that can have a tremendous impact on quality of life. Individuals use various descriptors to characterize OSP including “dryness”, “burning”, “grittiness”,” shooting”, “discomfort”, “tenderness” and/or “aching”, to name a few. As feeling your eyes is “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience”, these descriptors fit under the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) definition of pain.” Oftentimes, OSP is chronic in nature, lasting >3 months, although the intensity of pain can wax and wane over time. Furthermore, OSP can occur spontaneously or be triggered by stimuli such as light, wind or temperature change. In the past, OSP was placed under the umbrella term “dry eye”, as tear film abnormalities are one cause of OSP. However, it is now understood that factors beyond tear and ocular surface abnormalities may drive OSP and it is necessary to identify and address all potential contributors to pain. In general, contributors can be split across two broad categories: nociceptive contributors, defined as pain that arises directly from tissue damage at the level of the ocular surface and neuropathic contributors, defined as pain caused by a lesion or disease within peripheral or central nerves that connect the ocular surface to the brain. Or, as is the case in many individuals, pain contributors can arise from a combination of these two entities. Given the multiple potential contributors to OSP, a standardized examination and multimodal approach is necessary. In this presentation, we discuss advances in the diagnosis and management of OSP, with a focus on the diagnosis and treatment of neuropathic ocular surface pain (NOP).

ALZHEIMER DISEASE: WHAT’S NEW, WHAT’S TRUE?

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a devastating disorder estimated to affect 55 million individuals worldwide with 6.2 million cases in the US. AD is a significant clinical problem and numbers are only expected to increase. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by structural changes in the brain including abnormal amyloid beta (Aβ) and neurofibrillary tau aggregation, neuroinflammation, and neuronal death. There is no effective treatment for AD and AD-related dementia (ADRD). For decades, the hypothesis that brain deposition of the amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide initiates AD has dominated research and clinical trials. However, the FDA- approved antibody treatments targeting Aβ have yet to show convincing evidence for slowing the progression of disease symptomatology3, including no benefit to women and ApoE4 carriers over a period of 1.5 years4. Treatment failures can be attributed, at least in part, to an incomplete understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of AD, which underscores the urgent need to examine alternative pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic targets for AD. AD has been increasingly recognized as a multifactorial and heterogeneous disease with multiple contributors to its pathophysiology, where neuroinflammation is considered one of the cardinal features of AD. Traditionally, the pathways of Aβ production and neuroinflammation have been considered independently; however, recent studies suggest that these processes may converge to promote the pathology associated with AD. Surmounting evidence supports chronic dysregulation in inflammatory and immune pathways as drivers of AD neurodegeneration and provides insights into possible microbial mechanisms involved in the onset and progression of AD. Mounting evidence implicates gut microbiome dysbiosis in AD, even at the preclinical/asymptomatic and prodromal stages of the disease. Links have been made between the gut microbiome and established biomarkers of AD, including Aß, ApoE status, and tau. Further, links between the gut microbiota and brain connectivity, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have recently emerged but are poorly understood in AD. Our research group previously demonstrated cerebrovascular dysfunction in prodromal AD, correlated with cognitive dysfunction. Specifically, reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) are associated with lower cognitive functioning in prodromal AD. Findings from our recent cross-sectional study indicate that pro-inflammatory gut bacteria more abundant in prodromal AD are associated with reduced CBF and CVR and elevated arterial transit time (ATT). Conversely, beneficial gut bacteria, more abundant in normal controls, are associated with better CBF and CVR and shorter ATT. Further, we identified the bile acid and lipid metabolism modifying organism and the oral pathogen (causes gingivitis and periodontal disease), to be differentially abundant in prodromal AD and CU cohorts, respectively. These results are undeniably promising for the future of AD in many ways including novel mechanistic discovery, non-invasive diagnostic testing, and novel treatment targets.

The Eu Isotopic Ratios in CEMP Stars

Understanding the chemical evolution of galaxies requires accurate abundances of chemical elements in various stellar populations, which are then compared with theoretical predictions to probe their nucleosynthetic origin. However, most of the elements have several stable isotopes which are produced by different nucleosynthetic reactions, thus making multiple contributors to their overall abundance. The situation will be more complex in the case of heavy elements produced by different neutron capture processes. Hence, the abundances at the isotopic levels are more important to constrain the conditions at which the nucleosynthesis takes place and also to identify the actual isotopic path followed by the different neutron capture processes. This will help us identify the relative contribution of different neutron capture processes to the abundance of individual elements, and it is an essential ingredient of the GCE models. Moreover, the contribution of different astrophysical sites, such as AGB stars, to the overall chemical enrichment of our Galaxy can be estimated with greater accuracy. Here we present the preliminary results of our attempt to measure the Eu isotopic abundance in a sample of s-process-enhanced stars at various metallicities. The purpose of this analysis is primarily to demonstrate the feasibility of the technique and a detailed quantitative analysis will be presented in a future paper.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Administration Instructions of the Developmental Test of Visual Perception 3rd Edition for isiZulu-Speaking Children

Introduction: Visual perceptual skills are vital for developing academic skills and contribute to language development and socio-cultural participation. The Developmental Test of Visual Perception 3rd Edition evaluates visual perceptual skills but is only available in English. lsiZulu is the most spoken language in South Africa (24,4%), with English being the fourth. Therefore, the English version of the Developmental Test of Visual Perception 3rd Edition cannot be described as a universally authentic assessment instrument in this context. Methodology: This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Developmental Test of Visual Perception 3rd Edition administration instructions into isiZulu using a five-stage qualitatively driven multimethod sequen tial design. Qualitative feedback on the functional, cultural and conceptual equivalence was obtained at various intervals. Results: This study demonstrated a methodology for translating and cross-culturally adapting the administration instructions of the Developmental Test of Visual Perception 3rd Edition into isiZulu to advance the authenticity of the assessment within the South African context. The isiZulu version was found to be functionally, culturally and conceptually equivalent. Conclusion: This research has demonstrated a framework upon which the cross-cultural adaptations of other assessment instruments and other languages in South Africa can be based. Implications for practice • The rigorous methodology demonstrated in this research can be used as a framework to guide other studies in the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of other assessment instruments and into other languages. • This study demonstrated that multiple contributors from various backgrounds are necessary to ensure equivalence during the process of translation and cross-cultural adaptation. However, an emphasis is placed on the value of including occupational therapists with clinical experience when translating and cross-culturally adapting assessment instruments intended to be used within the field of occupational therapy. • Through the rigorous method used to translate and cross-cultural adapt the DTVP-3, this study enhanced its authenticity as an assessment instrument within the South African context. Having isiZulu administration instructions available could provide equal opportunity to children who may not be as proficient in English as in isiZulu. • Once a distribution agreement has been reached with ProEd Inc., the original publisher and licence holder, the isiZulu administration instructions of the DTVP-3 will be made available for use in South Africa with isiZulu-speaking children.