Alzheimer’s Disease as a Cause of Death in the U.S.: Estimates and Projections

The phrase the demography of Alzheimer\u27s disease may be the best litmus test to distinguish demographers from epidemiologists. A typical reaction to this phrase from a demographer is why Alzheimer\u27s disease? A typical reaction from an epidemiologist is why demography? It is always tricky to describe the exact boundaries that separate two similar disciplines and this is especially true of the difference between demographic and epidemiologic approaches to mortality and health. What made Preston\u27s work on smoking and mortality demography rather than epidemiology? What differentiates a demographer\u27s or a sociologist\u27s work on factors affecting residence in nursing homes from an epidemiologist\u27s work on the same topic

Neuronal and non-neuronal signals regulate <i>Caernorhabditis elegans</i> avoidance of contaminated food

One way in which animals minimise the risk of infection is to reduce their contact with contaminated food. Here we establish a model of pathogen-contaminated food avoidance using the nematode worm Caernorhabditis elegans. We find that avoidance of pathogen-contaminated food protects C. elegans from the deleterious effects of infection and, using genetic approaches, demonstrate that multiple sensory neurons are required for this avoidance behaviour. In addition, our results reveal that avoidance of contaminated food requires bacterial adherence to non-neuronal cells in the tail of C. elegans that are also required for the cellular immune response. Previous studies in C. elegans have contributed significantly to our understanding of molecular and cellular basis of host-pathogen interactions and our model provides a unique opportunity to gain basic insights into how animals avoid contaminated food

Psychopathic traits influence amygdala-anterior cingulate cortex connectivity during facial emotion processing

There is accumulating evidence that youths with antisocial behavior or psychopathic traits show deficits in facial emotion recognition, but little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying these impairments. A number of neuroimaging studies have investigated brain activity during facial emotion processing in youths with Conduct Disorder (CD) and adults with psychopathy, but few of these studies tested for group differences in effective connectivity – i.e., changes in connectivity during emotion processing. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and psycho-physiological interaction methods, we investigated the impact of CD and psychopathic traits on amygdala activity and effective connectivity in 46 male youths with CD and 25 typically-developing controls when processing emotional faces. All participants were aged 16-21 years. Relative to controls, youths with CD showed reduced amygdala activity when processing angry or sad faces relative to neutral faces, but the groups did not significantly differ in amygdala-related effective connectivity. In contrast, psychopathic traits were negatively correlated with amygdala-ventral anterior cingulate cortex connectivity for angry versus neutral faces, but were unrelated to amygdala responses to angry or sad faces. These findings suggest that CD and psychopathic traits have differential effects on amygdala activation and functional interactions between limbic regions during facial emotion processing

Intact priors for gaze direction in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum conditions

This research was supported by the UK Medical Research Council under project code MC-A060-5PQ50 (Andrew J. Calder). IM was supported by a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant. CC was supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship. SBC was supported by the MRC, the Wellcome Trust and the Autism Research Trust during the period of this work. The research was also supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care East of England at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

A systematic review of oil tanker truck disasters: Identifying prevention targets

Introduction: Oil tanker truck disasters have been reported worldwide; however, the circumstances, causes, and health effects of these disasters have not been described. To address this gap, we performed a systematic review using PRISMA criteria to better understand this public health problem and identify prevention targets. Methods: The academic and lay literatures were systematically searched for terms related to oil tanker truck disasters. Reports about civilian oil tanker truck disasters that occurred from 1997–2017 were included. Details about the disasters were summarized, including circumstances, identifiable causes, and health effects. Results: The search yielded 4713 Nexis Uni articles, 199 Google results, and one PubMed article; 951 records met inclusion criteria, describing 224 oil tanker truck explosions or fires. At least 2909 people died as a result of these disasters, and 3038 additional people were hospitalized. Almost all deaths (94%) occurred in low- and low-middle-income countries (LMIC). This may largely be due to scooping – the practice of collecting spilled oil from disabled tanker trucks for use or resale. Using the Haddon matrix, potential targets for future disaster prevention were identified. Conclusions: These data highlight the circumstances, causes, and health burden related to oil tanker truck disasters. Most began as collisions or rollovers, but nearly half of the fatalities involved scooping. The findings suggest opportunities to promote road safety, improve scene safety and security protocols used by drivers and first responders, and promote public understanding of the dangers of scooping to prevent mass casualty disasters from disabled tanker trucks, particularly in LMIC

World Health Organization critical priority Escherichia coli clone ST648 in magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) of an uninhabited insular environment

Antimicrobial resistance is an ancient natural phenomenon increasingly pressured by anthropogenic activities. Escherichia coli has been used as markers of environmental contamination and human-related activity. Seabirds may be bioindicators of clinically relevant bacterial pathogens and their antimicrobial resistance genes, including extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL) and/or plasmid-encoded AmpC (pAmpC), in anthropized and remote areas. We evaluated cloacal swabs of 20 wild magnificent frigatebirds (Fregata magnificens) of the Alcatrazes Archipelago, the biggest breeding colony of magnificent frigatebirds in the southern Atlantic and a natural protected area with no history of human occupation, located in the anthropized southeastern Brazilian coast. We characterized a highly virulent multidrug-resistant ST648 (O153:H9) pandemic clone, harboring bla, bla, qnrB, tetB, sul1, sul2, aadA1, aac(3)-VIa and mdfA, and virulence genes characteristic of avian pathogenic (APEC) (hlyF, iroN, iss, iutA, and ompT) and other extraintestinal E. coli (ExPEC) (chuA, kpsMII, and papC). To our knowledge, this is the first report of ST648 E. coli co-producing ESBL and pAmpC in wild birds inhabiting insular environments. We suggest this potentially zoonotic and pathogenic lineage was likely acquired through indirect anthropogenic contamination of the marine environment, ingestion of contaminated seafood, or by intra and/or interspecific contact. Our findings reinforce the role of wild birds as anthropization sentinels in insular environments and the importance of wildlife surveillance studies on pathogens of critical priority classified by the World Health Organization

Forum: Parental education and child mortality

None supplied

SROI in the art gallery: valuing social impact

This article considers a project that used the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology to describe and measure the social impact of Turner Contemporary art gallery in Margate, a coastal town in the South East of England. The article details the reasons why the methodology was chosen by the gallery, setting this in the context of the wider debate around evaluation and social impact reporting. A section of the research and analysis, which was carried out by COaST, a consultancy and research centre based within Canterbury Christ Church University, is described in detail, allowing the reader to understand the processes involved in this type of project and the kinds of outcomes that can be delivered using this method. Finally, an account is given of the impact the work had on the management of the gallery, and the ways in which the final report was used