Effect of Adult Attachment on the Resiliency of Youth in Behavior Disordered Classrooms

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect that adult attachment has on the resiliency of at-risk youth . The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment was revised to measure the degree of attachment to a significant adult and was administered along with the Children\u27 s Resiliency Attitudes Scale to students in behavior disordered classrooms (n = 41). The assessments were given during one class period in six behavior disordered classrooms at one school. The results found that those students who feel strong attachments to at least one adult were also more resilient and able to deal with adversity. These findings emphasized the importance of involving adults from various facets of life and the community in the development of community and school based youth programs

Cyanobacterial Blooms in Highland Lake, ME

Cyanobacterial blooms, like algal blooms, are a much studied phenomena; and many triggers that cause these blooms are well understood. Usually, excess nutrients (such as soluble nitrogen or phosphate) are prerequisite for a bloom to occur. Since 2013, annual summer cyanobacterial blooms have been observed at Highland Lake (HL), located in Cumberland County, Maine. Data going back more than 15 years, collected by the Highland Lake Association, shows this is a new phenomenon in this body of water. Other investigators have shown HL water chemistry to have high aluminum to phosphorous and aluminum to iron ratios. These metals bind phosphate making it unavailable to most microbes, decreasing the probability a bloom will occur. This raises the questions of what particular cyanobacteria are present, and the source of phosphate

Acceptability of Aggression Among Children Who Reside With Substance-Abusing Parents: The Influence of Behavioral Dysregulation, Exposure to Neighborhood Violence, and Interparental Violence

The present study examined how interparental violence, neighborhood violence, behavioral regulation during parental conflict, and age predicted beliefs about the acceptability of aggression and the acceptance of retaliation against an aggressive peer among youths. Participants were 110 families (mothers, fathers, and children) in which one or both parents met criteria for substance use disorder. Results of a bootstrapped multivariate regression model revealed higher exposure to neighborhood violence predicted greater acceptability of general aggression, whereas higher father-to-mother violence perpetration predicted lower acceptability of general aggression. Higher exposure to neighborhood violence, behavioral dysregulation during parental conflict, and older child age predicted greater approval of retaliation toward an aggressive peer. Findings are interpreted as related to the cognitive-contextual framework

Development and evaluation of a remote training strategy for the implementation of mental health evidence-based practices in rural schools: pilot study protocol.

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of schools in rural settings are implementing multi-tier positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) to address school-climate problems. PBIS can be used to provide the framework for the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) to address children\u27s mental health concerns. Given the large service disparities for children in rural areas, offering EBPs through PBIS can improve access and lead to better long-term outcomes. A key challenge is that school personnel need technical assistance in order to implement EBPs with fidelity and clinical effectiveness. Providing ongoing on-site support is not feasible or sustainable in the majority of rural schools, due to their remote physical location. For this reason, remote training technology has been recommended for providing technical assistance to behavioral health staff (BHS) in under-served rural communities. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to use the user-centered design, guided by an iterative process (rapid prototyping), to develop and evaluate the appropriateness, feasibility, acceptability, usability, and preliminary student outcomes of two online training strategies for the implementation of EBPs at PBIS Tier 2. METHODS: The study will employ a pragmatic design comprised of a mixed-methods approach for the development of the training platform, and a hybrid type 2, pilot randomized controlled trial to examine the implementation and student outcomes of two training strategies: Remote Video vs. Remote Video plus Coaching. DISCUSSION: There is a clear need for well-designed remote training studies focused on training in non-traditional settings. Given the lack of well-trained mental health professionals in rural settings and the stark disparities in access to services, the development and pilot-testing of a remote training strategy for BHS in under-served rural schools could have a significant public health impact. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The project was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board. Results will be submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov and disseminated to community partners and participants, peer-reviewed journals, and academic conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicialTrials.gov, NCT05034198 and NCT05039164

A map of neurofilament light chain species in brain and cerebrospinal fluid and alterations in Alzheimer\u27s disease

Neurofilament light is a well-established marker of both acute and chronic neuronal damage and is increased in multiple neurodegenerative diseases. However, the protein is not well characterized in brain tissue or body fluids, and it is unknown what neurofilament light species are detected by commercial assays and whether additional species exist. We developed an immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry assay using custom antibodies targeting various neurofilament light domains, including antibodies targeting Coil 1A/1B of the rod domain (HJ30.13), Coil 2B of the rod domain (HJ30.4) and the tail region (HJ30.11). We utilized our assay to characterize neurofilament light in brain tissue and CSF of individuals with Alzheimer\u27s disease dementia and healthy controls. We then validated a quantitative version of our assay and measured neurofilament light concentrations using both our quantitative immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry assay and the commercially available immunoassay from Uman diagnostics in individuals with and without Alzheimer\u27s disease dementia. Our validation cohort included CSF samples from 30 symptomatic amyloid-positive participants, 16 asymptomatic amyloid-positive participants, 10 symptomatic amyloid-negative participants and 25 amyloid-negative controls. We identified at least three major neurofilament light species in CSF, including N-terminal and C-terminal truncations, and a C-terminal fragment containing the tail domain. No full-length neurofilament light was identified in CSF. This contrasts with brain tissue, which contained mostly full-length neurofilament and a C-terminal tail domain fragment. We observed an increase in neurofilament light concentrations in individuals with Alzheimer\u27s disease compared with healthy controls, with larger differences for some neurofilament light species than for others. The largest differences were observed for neurofilament light fragments including NfL165 (in Coil 1B), NfL324 (in Coil 2B) and NfL530 (in the C-terminal tail domain). The Uman immunoassay correlated most with NfL324. This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of neurofilament light in brain and CSF and enables future investigations of neurofilament light biology and utility as a biomarker

Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of Alzheimer\u27s disease in a cohort of adults with Down syndrome

Introduction: Virtually all individuals with Down syndrome (DS) will develop Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) pathology by age 40. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers have characterized AD pathology in cohorts of late-onset AD (LOAD) and autosomal-dominant AD (ADAD). Few studies have evaluated such biomarkers in adults with DS. Methods: CSF concentrations of amyloid beta (Aβ)40, Aβ42, tau, phospho-tau181 (p-tau), neurofilament light chain (NfL), soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (sTREM2), chitinase-3-like protein 1 (YKL-40), alpha synuclein (αSyn), neurogranin (Ng), synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25), and visinin-like protein 1 (VILIP-1) were assessed in CSF from 44 adults with DS from the Alzheimer\u27s Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome study. Biomarker levels were evaluated by cognitive status, age, and apolipoprotein E gene ( Results: Biomarker abnormalities indicative of amyloid deposition, tauopathy, neurodegeneration, synaptic dysfunction, and neuroinflammation were associated with increased cognitive impairment. Age and Discussion: The profile of many established and emerging CSF biomarkers of AD in a cohort of adults with DS was similar to that reported in LOAD and ADAD, while some differences were observed

Effect of race on prediction of brain amyloidosis by plasma Aβ42/Aβ40, phosphorylated tau, and neurofilament light

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether plasma biomarkers of amyloid (Aβ42/Aβ40), tau (p-tau181 and p-tau231), and neuroaxonal injury (neurofilament light chain [NfL]) detect brain amyloidosis consistently across racial groups. METHODS: Individuals enrolled in studies of memory and aging who self-identified as African American (AA) were matched 1:1 to self-identified non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals by age, RESULTS: There were 76 matched pairs of AA and NHW participants (n = 152 total). For both AA and NHW groups, the median age was 68.4 years, 42% were DISCUSSION: Models predicting brain amyloidosis using a high-performance plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 assay may provide an accurate and consistent measure of brain amyloidosis across AA and NHW groups, but models based on plasma p-tau181, p-tau231, and NfL may perform inconsistently and could result in disproportionate misdiagnosis of AA individuals

Comparison of plasma and CSF biomarkers in predicting cognitive decline

OBJECTIVES: Concentrations of amyloid-β peptides (Aβ42/Aβ40) and neurofilament light (NfL) can be measured in plasma or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and are associated with Alzheimer\u27s disease brain pathology and cognitive impairment. This study directly compared plasma and CSF measures of Aβ42/Aβ40 and NfL as predictors of cognitive decline. METHODS: Participants were 65 years or older and cognitively normal at baseline with at least one follow-up cognitive assessment. Analytes were measured with the following types of assays: plasma Aβ42/Aβ40, immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry; plasma NfL, Simoa; CSF Aβ42/Aβ40, automated immunoassay; CSF NfL plate-based immunoassay. Mixed effects models evaluated the global cognitive composite score over a maximum of 6 years as predicted by the fluid biomarkers. RESULTS: Analyses included 371 cognitively normal participants, aged 72.7 ± 5.2 years (mean ± standard deviation) with an average length of follow-up of 3.9 ± 1.6 years. Standardized concentrations of biomarkers were associated with annualized cognitive change: plasma Aβ42/Aβ40, 0.014 standard deviations (95% confidence intervals 0.002 to 0.026); CSF Aβ42/Aβ40, 0.020 (0.008 to 0.032); plasma Nfl, -0.018 (-0.030 to -0.005); and CSF NfL, -0.024 (-0.036 to -0.012). Power analyses estimated that 266 individuals in each treatment arm would be needed to detect a 50% slowing of decline if identified by abnormal plasma measures versus 229 for CSF measures. INTERPRETATION: Both plasma and CSF measures of Aβ42/Aβ40 and NfL predicted cognitive decline. A clinical trial that enrolled individuals based on abnormal plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 and NfL levels would require only a marginally larger cohort than if CSF measures were used

Development of Quantitative PCR Assays Targeting the 16S rRNA Genes of Enterococcus spp. and Their Application to the Identification of Enterococcus Species in Environmental Samples

ABSTRACT The detection of environmental enterococci has been determined primarily by using culture-based techniques that might exclude some enterococcal species as well as those that are nonculturable. To address this, the relative abundances of enterococci were examined by challenging fecal and water samples against a currently available genus-specific assay (Entero1). To determine the diversity of enterococcal species, 16S rRNA gene-based group-specific quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays were developed and evaluated against eight of the most common environmental enterococcal species. Partial 16S rRNA gene sequences of 439 presumptive environmental enterococcal strains were analyzed to study further the diversity of enterococci and to confirm the specificities of group-specific assays. The group-specific qPCR assays showed relatively high amplification rates with targeted species (>98%), although some assays cross-amplified with nontargeted species (1.3 to 6.5%). The results with the group-specific assays also showed that different enterococcal species co-occurred in most fecal samples. The most abundant enterococci in water and fecal samples were Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium , although we identified more water isolates as Enterococcus casseliflavus than as any of the other species. The prevalence of the Entero1 marker was in agreement with the combined number of positive signals determined by the group-specific assays in most fecal samples, except in gull feces. On the other hand, the number of group-specific assay signals was lower in all water samples tested, suggesting that other enterococcal species are present in these samples. While the results highlight the value of genus- and group-specific assays for detecting the major enterococcal groups in environmental water samples, additional studies are needed to determine further the diversity, distributions, and relative abundances of all enterococcal species found in water

Enduring science: Three decades of observing the Northeast Atlantic from the Porcupine Abyssal Plain Sustained Observatory (PAP-SO)

Until the 1980s, the deep sea was generally considered to be a particularly stable environment, free from major temporal variations (Sanders, 1968). Studies in the abyssal northeast Atlantic by Billett et al. (1983), and subsequently Lampitt (1985) discovered seasonal pulses of surface primary production-derived particulate organic matter (phytodetritus), and hence carbon, at abyssal depths. These early observations were subsequently extended to the central oceanic region of the NE Atlantic (Pfannkuche, 1993; Thiel et al., 1989), and prompted the establishment of more concerted time series studies in the Porcupine Abyssal Plain area. Today, the Porcupine Abyssal Plain Sustained Observatory (PAP–SO) is a multidisciplinary open-ocean time series site in the NE Atlantic (48°50′N 16°30′W, 4850 m water depth; Fig. 1), focused on the study of connections between the surface and deep ocean. In situ measurements of climatically and environmentally relevant variables have been made for more than 30 years. This represents an exceptionally long time series - a recent compilation of biological time series data, across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine realms, indicates an average duration of only 13-years (Dornelas et al., 2018). Long-term time series in the deep sea are rare, particularly those collecting data from surface to seabed. The PAP-SO is one of two abyssal long-term time series sites globally (Smith et al. 2015), the other being a thirty-year time series at Station M in the northeastern Pacific Ocean (34°50′N, 123°00′W, ~4000 m water depth), maintained by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (Smith et al., 2020). This ‘sibling’ abyssal time series site also aims to understand the connections between the surface ocean and the seabed, using many similar techniques (Smith et al., 2017), facilitating comparisons between the two sites (e.g. Durden et al., 2019; Durden et al., 2020a; Laguionie-Marchais et al., 2013; Smith et al., 2009). Another source of extended comparison is the 21 year time series Long-Term Ecological Research Observatory HAUSGARTEN, Frontiers in Arctic Marine Monitoring (FRAM) in the Fram Strait between the North Atlantic and the central Arctic Ocean (78.5°N–80°N, 05°W–11°E, 250–5500 m water depth), maintained by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Soltwedel et al., 2016; Soltwedel et al., 2005). Much of our understanding of temporal variation in the deep sea, and connections between the surface ocean and the seabed have been derived from research conducted at these observatories