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Body Composition, Vascular Health, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Lung Function, Muscle Architecture, and Physical Activity in People with Young Onset Dementia : A Case-Control Study

Background Body composition, blood pressure, estimated maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), lung function, physical activity, muscle architecture, and endothelial function had not previously been examined in people with young onset dementia. Therefore, the study measured these variables in a young onset dementia group, compared them to age-matched controls. Methods Estimated VO2max (via the Astrand-Rhyming test), body composition, blood pressure, lung function (via spirometry), muscle architecture (via ultrasonography) and endothelial function (via flow mediated dilation) were assessed. Physical activity was measured using ActiGraph accelerometers for 7 days. Results We recruited 33 participants (16 young onset dementia, 17 controls). The young onset dementia group had shorter fascicle lengths of the vastus lateralis, were sedentary for longer over a seven-day period, and completed less moderate-vigorous physical activity than controls (p=0.028, d=0.81; large effect, p=0.029, d=0.54; moderate effect, and p=0.014, d=0.97; large effect, respectively for pairwise comparisons). Pairwise comparisons suggest no differences at the p<0.05 level between young onset dementia and controls for estimated VO2max (despite a moderate effect size [d=0.66]), height, body mass, BMI, blood pressure, light physical activity, lung function, muscle thickness, pennation angle, or endothelial function. Conclusion This study highlights differences between people with young onset dementia and controls, underscoring the need for multicomponent exercise interventions. Future interventions should target muscle architecture, increase moderate-vigorous physical activity, and reduce sedentariness, with the goal of improving quality of life and promoting functional independence

Passive immunisation of convalescent human anti-Zika plasma protects against challenge with New World Zika virus in cynomolgus macaques.

Zika virus (ZIKV) causes neurological complications in susceptible individuals, highlighted in the recent South American epidemic. Natural ZIKV infection elicits host responses capable of preventing subsequent re-infection, raising expectations for effective vaccination. Defining protective immune correlates will inform viral intervention strategies, particularly vaccine development. Non-human primate (NHP) species are susceptible to ZIKV and represent models for vaccine development. The protective efficacy of a human anti-ZIKV convalescent plasma pool (16/320-14) developed as a candidate reference material for a WHO International Standard was evaluated in macaques. Convalescent plasma administered to four cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) intra-peritoneally 24 hrs prior to sub-cutaneous challenge with 103 pfu ZIKVPRVABC59 protected against detectable infection, with absence of detectable ZIKV RNA in blood and lymphoid tissues. Passively immunised anti-ZIKV immunoglobulin administered prior to time of challenge remained present only at very low levels 42 days post-challenge. Absence of de novo antibody responses in passively immunised macaques indicate sterilising immunity compared with naïve challenge controls that exhibited active ZIKV-specific IgM and IgG responses post-challenge. Demonstration that the presence of convalescent anti-ZIKV at levels of 400 IU/mL neutralising antibody protects against virus challenge provides a scientific framework for development of anti-ZIKV vaccines and facilitates regulatory approval

Integrated therapist and online CBT for depression in primary care (INTERACT): study protocol for a multi-centre randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for depression. Self-directed online CBT interventions have made CBT more accessible at a lower cost. However, adherence is often poor and, in the absence of therapist support, effects are modest and short-term. Delivering CBT online using instant messaging is clinically and cost-effective; however, most existing platforms are limited to instant messaging sessions, without the support of between-session "homework" activities. The INTERACT intervention integrates online CBT materials and 'high-intensity' therapist-led CBT, delivered remotely in real-time. The INTERACT trial will evaluate this novel integration in terms of clinical and cost-effectiveness, and acceptability to therapists and clients. METHODS: Pragmatic, two parallel-group multi-centre individually randomised controlled trial, with 434 patients recruited from primary care practices in Bristol, London and York. Participants with depression will be identified via General Practitioner record searches and direct referrals. INCLUSION CRITERIA: aged ≥ 18 years; score ≥ 14 on Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II); meeting International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) criteria for depression. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: alcohol or substance dependency in the past year; bipolar disorder; schizophrenia; psychosis; dementia; currently under psychiatric care for depression (including those referred but not yet seen); cannot complete questionnaires unaided or requires an interpreter; currently receiving CBT/other psychotherapy; received high-intensity CBT in the past four years; participating in another intervention trial; unwilling/unable to receive CBT via computer/laptop/smartphone. Eligible participants will be randomised to integrated CBT or usual care. Integrated CBT utilises the standard Beckian intervention for depression and comprises nine live therapist-led sessions, with (up to) a further three if clinically appropriate. The first session is 60-90 min via videocall, with subsequent 50-min sessions delivered online, using instant messaging. Participants allocated integrated CBT can access integrated online CBT resources (worksheets/information sheets/videos) within and between sessions. Outcome assessments at 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-month post-randomisation. The primary outcome is the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) score at 6 months (as a continuous variable). A nested qualitative study and health economic evaluation will be conducted. DISCUSSION: If clinically and cost-effective, this model of integrated CBT could be introduced into existing psychological services, increasing access to, and equity of, CBT provision. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN, ISRCTN13112900. Registered on 11/11/2020. Currently recruiting participants. Trial registration data are presented in Table 1

The Third-party Model: Enhancing Volunteering through Governments, Corporations and Educational Institutes

Volunteering is perceived as important for creating social capital and civil society, and therefore has become a fundamental part of social policies across most Western countries. In this article, we examine the involvement of governments, corporations and educational institutes in encouraging volunteering, and pinpoint their role in developing volunteering circles. Based on essential concepts presented here (volunteerability and recruitability), we develop the third-party model, and show how third parties get involved. We identify new ways in which these parties can enhance volunteering, and discuss their impact on volunteerability and recruitability. The potential negative impacts of volunteerism and ways in which these can be ameliorated are also acknowledged. Finally, issues that arise due to such involvement are also discussed, thereby offering an important contribution to social policy research in the area of volunteerism

Challenges in quantifying changes in the global water cycle

Human influences have likely already impacted the large-scale water cycle but natural variability and observational uncertainty are substantial. It is essential to maintain and improve observational capabilities to better characterize changes. Understanding observed changes to the global water cycle is key to predicting future climate changes and their impacts. While many datasets document crucial variables such as precipitation, ocean salinity, runoff, and humidity, most are uncertain for determining long-term changes. In situ networks provide long time-series over land but are sparse in many regions, particularly the tropics. Satellite and reanalysis datasets provide global coverage, but their long-term stability is lacking. However, comparisons of changes among related variables can give insights into the robustness of observed changes. For example, ocean salinity, interpreted with an understanding of ocean processes, can help cross-validate precipitation. Observational evidence for human influences on the water cycle is emerging, but uncertainties resulting from internal variability and observational errors are too large to determine whether the observed and simulated changes are consistent. Improvements to the in situ and satellite observing networks that monitor the changing water cycle are required, yet continued data coverage is threatened by funding reductions. Uncertainty both in the role of anthropogenic aerosols, and due to large climate variability presently limits confidence in attribution of observed changes

Shotgun Lipidomics Identifies a Paired Rule for the Presence of Isomeric Ether Phospholipid Molecular Species

Ether phospholipids are abundant membrane constituents present in electrically active tissues (e.g., heart and the brain) that play important roles in cellular function. Alterations of ether phospholipid molecular species contents are associated with a number of genetic disorders and human diseases.Herein, the power of shotgun lipidomics, in combination with high mass accuracy/high resolution mass spectrometry, was explored to identify a paired rule for the presence of isomeric ether phospholipid molecular species in cellular lipidomes. The rule predicts that if an ether phospholipid A'-B is present in a lipidome, its isomeric counterpart B'-A is also present (where the ' represents an ether linkage). The biochemical basis of this rule results from the fact that the enzymes which participate in either the sequential oxidation of aliphatic alcohols to fatty acids, or the reduction of long chain fatty acids to aliphatic alcohols (metabolic precursors of ether lipid synthesis), are not entirely selective with respect to acyl chain length or degree of unsaturation. Moreover, the enzymatic selectivity for the incorporation of different aliphatic chains into the obligatory precursor of ether lipids (i.e., 1-O-alkyl-glycero-3-phosphate) is also limited.This intrinsic amplification of the number of lipid molecular species present in biological membranes predicted by this rule and demonstrated in this study greatly expands the number of ether lipid molecular species present in cellular lipidomes. Application of this rule to mass spectrometric analyses provides predictive clues to the presence of specific molecular species and greatly expands the number of identifiable and quantifiable ether lipid species present in biological samples. Through appropriate alterations in the database, use of the paired rule increases the number of identifiable metabolites in metabolic networks, thereby facilitating identification of biomarkers presaging disease states

Neuropathology of wild-type and nef-attenuated T cell tropic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVmac32H) and macrophage tropic neurovirulent SIVmac17E-Fr in cynomolgus macaques

The neuropathology of simian immunodeficiency (SIV) infection in cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) was investigated following infection with either T cell tropic SIVmacJ5, SIVmacC8 or macrophage tropic SIVmac17E-Fr. Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded brain tissue sections were analysed using a combination of in situ techniques. Macaques infected with either wild-type SIVmacJ5 or neurovirulent SIVmac17E-Fr showed evidence of neuronal dephosphorylation, loss of oligodendrocyte and CCR5 staining, lack of microglial MHC II expression, infiltration by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and mild astrocytosis. SIVmacJ5-infected animals exhibited activation of microglia whilst those infected with SIVmac17E-Fr demonstrated a loss of microglia staining. These results are suggestive of impaired central nervous system (CNS) physiology. Furthermore, infiltration by T cells into the brain parenchyma indicated disruption of the blood brain barrier (BBB). Animals infected with the Δnef-attenuated SIVmacC8 showed microglial activation and astrogliosis indicative of an inflammatory response, lack of MHC II and CCR5 staining and infiltration by CD8+ T cells. These results demonstrate that the SIV infection of cynomolgus macaque can be used as a model to replicate the range of CNS pathologies observed following HIV infection of humans and to investigate the pathogenesis of HIV associated neuropathology