Gen-Z ambassadors: students supporting persons with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers in the Rio Grande Valley

Background: Youth participation in policy, research, education and community development initiatives is a right embedded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, General Assembly, 1989). However, avenues for youth participation in health promotion and care remains limited. Our Ambassadors program prepares high-school students on the Texas-Mexico border to understand and empathize with persons with Alzheimer’s disease (PwAD) and to empower their family and caregivers, consummating the UNCRC in the service of transformative community change actions. Methods: Our long-term objective is youth participation, defined as practices that involve collaboration between students and various community stakeholders in AD. The initial phase of the program is the design of a curriculum for early high school students to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for that participation. We used a cooperative strategy (a high school students-faculty collaborative), guided by empowerment and ecological theories to achieve optimal youth advancement in the context of the UNCRC social, health and cultural rights of children. Results: The GenZ Ambassadors curricular units were identified through an iterative process in which faculty documented their activities with youth and tested sessions ranging from the biological basis and clinical presentations of AD to family impact, principles of caregiving, youth as change agents, building intergenerational partnerships, and self-reflection exercises. Ambassadors selected settings and strategies designed to empower their peers and to transform communities by skill and confidence building. Discussion: The process implemented and content analysis revealed a variety of themes that benefited persons with AD and their caregivers in the Rio Grande Valley. Several strategies will be tested to generate interactive training materials and culturally and age-competent as well as delivery strategies, including peer-to-peer delivery

Dementia and cognitive impairment in French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa: a comprehensive review on moving out of the shadows of neglect

Dementia is a global public health problem with increasing prevalence and incidence worldwide. The African continent is expected to bear the biggest brunt of the burden of dementia by 2050 because of the rapid demographic changes, including rapid population growth, an increase in life expectancy, and ageing. However, French-speaking Sub-Saharan African (FS-SSA) countries are underrepresented in research on dementia in Africa. While the reasons are diverse and complex, linguistic and cultural barriers to research, disproportionately affect these countries and may be significant factors. Any efforts, therefore, to redress the burden of dementia in Africa must consider the specific demographic, cultural, and linguistic characteristics of FS-SSA countries. This scoping review explores the current state of knowledge in dementia and cognitive impairment in Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting research gaps and specific patterns unique to FS-SSA Africa. We identify pathways for research to bridge the knowledge gaps on dementia in FS-SSA as part of the global endeavor to tackle dementia worldwide

Alzheimer\u27s disease and vascular dementia in developing countries: prevalence, management, and risk factors

Despite mortality due to communicable diseases, poverty, and human conflicts, dementia incidence is destined to increase in the developing world in tandem with the ageing population. Current data from developing countries suggest that age-adjusted dementia prevalence estimates in 65 year olds are high (≥5%) in certain Asian and Latin American countries, but consistently low (1–3%) in India and sub-Saharan Africa; Alzheimer\u27s disease accounts for 60% whereas vascular dementia accounts for ∼30% of the prevalence. Early-onset familial forms of dementia with single-gene defects occur in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Illiteracy remains a risk factor for dementia. The APOE ε4 allele does not influence dementia progression in sub-Saharan Africans. Vascular factors, such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes, are likely to increase the burden of dementia. Use of traditional diets and medicinal plant extracts might aid prevention and treatment. Dementia costs in developing countries are estimated to be US$73 billion yearly, but care demands social protection, which seems scarce in these regions

Cognitive performance and normative data between Hispanic and non-Hispanic cohorts: Results from the South Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC)

Background: The prevalence of Alzheimer\u27s disease and related dementias (ADRD) in the United States was estimated as 6.5 million people in 2022, with a five-fold increase for the Hispanic/Latinx population expected by 2060. The South Texas Alzheimer\u27s Disease Center (STAC) was designated as a new ADRC in 2021 by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) with a specific aim to serve the growing needs of the local underrepresented Hispanic population. As cultural and linguistic factors can impact performance on cognitive tests, the goal of the study was to compare UDS-3 cognitive test raw scores and normative data in Hispanic and non-Hispanic adults without cognitive impairment residing in South Texas. Method: Participants from the STAC cohort completed the Uniform Data Set (UDS), V.3.0, which includes demographics and neuropsychological battery. All batteries were administered in the participants’ preferred language, English. Normative data was calculated using Weintraub et al. (2018)’s age, sex, and education adjusted regression models for UDSNB 3.0. Mean differences between baseline visit raw scores and normative data were compared using independent sample t-tests among Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants. Result: Thirty-four Hispanic (mean age=70.4, 67.6% female) and thirty-eight non-Hispanic (mean age=71.9, 57.9% female) participants were included. Hispanic participants had fewer years of education relative to non-Hispanic participants [M(SD)] = [14.7(2.5)] to [16.5(2.5)], respectively; (t(70.1)=3.0, p =0.004); although, the groups did not differ in age or sex distribution (p\u3e0.05). Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants generally performed equivalently on the neuropsychological battery. However, Hispanics had lower mean raw scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) (t(70.8)= 3.6, p Conclusion: Overall, Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants performed similarly on the UDS-3 neuropsychological battery. However, Hispanics had lower mean raw and normative scores on the MINT, as well as the MoCA which also includes language measures. Our findings highlight the importance of future research validating the sensitivity and specificity of normative data used in underrepresented populations, especially those at higher risk for ADRD

HYPOTHETICAL HUMAN IMMUNE GENOME COMPLEX GRADIENT MAY HELP TO EXPLAIN THE CONGENITAL ZIKA SYMDROME CATASTROPHE IN BRAZIL: A NEW THEORY

There are few data considering human genetics as an important risk factor for birth abnormalities related to ZIKV infection during pregnancy, even though sub-Saharan African populations are apparently more resistant to CZS as compared to populations in the Americas. We hypothesized that single nucleotide variants (SNVs), especially in innate immune genes, could make some populations more susceptible to Zika congenital complications than others. Differences in the SNV frequencies among continental populations provide great potential for Machine Learning techniques. We explored a key immune genomic gradient between individuals from Africa, Asia and Latin America, working with complex signatures, using 297 SNVs. We employed a two-step approach. In the first step, decision trees (DTs) were used to extract the most discriminating SNVs among populations. In the second step, machine learning algorithms were used to evaluate the quality of the SNV pool identified in step one for discriminating between individuals from sub-Saharan African and Latin-American populations. Our results suggest that 10 SNVs from 10 genes (CLEC4M, CD58, OAS2, CD80, VEPH1, CTLA4, CD274, CD209, PLAAT4, CREB3L1) were able to discriminate sub-Saharan Africans from Latin American populations using only immune genome data, with an accuracy close to 100%. Moreover, we found that these SNVs form a genome gradient across the three main continental populations. These SNVs are important elements of the innate immune system and in the response against viruses. Our data support the Human Immune Genome Complex Gradient hypothesis as a new theory that may help to explain the CZS catastrophe in Brazil

Test of the Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami picture of metastable decay in a model with microscopic dynamics

The Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (KJMA) theory for the time evolution of the order parameter in systems undergoing first-order phase transformations has been extended by Sekimoto to the level of two-point correlation functions. Here, this extended KJMA theory is applied to a kinetic Ising lattice-gas model, in which the elementary kinetic processes act on microscopic length and time scales. The theoretical framework is used to analyze data from extensive Monte Carlo simulations. The theory is inherently a mesoscopic continuum picture, and in principle it requires a large separation between the microscopic scales and the mesoscopic scales characteristic of the evolving two-phase structure. Nevertheless, we find excellent quantitative agreement with the simulations in a large parameter regime, extending remarkably far towards strong fields (large supersaturations) and correspondingly small nucleation barriers. The original KJMA theory permits direct measurement of the order parameter in the metastable phase, and using the extension to correlation functions one can also perform separate measurements of the nucleation rate and the average velocity of the convoluted interface between the metastable and stable phase regions. The values obtained for all three quantities are verified by other theoretical and computational methods. As these quantities are often difficult to measure directly during a process of phase transformation, data analysis using the extended KJMA theory may provide a useful experimental alternative.Comment: RevTex, 21 pages including 14 ps figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B. One misprint corrected in Eq.(C1

The structure of Chariklo's rings from stellar occultations

Two narrow and dense rings (called C1R and C2R) were discovered around the Centaur object (10199) Chariklo during a stellar occultation observed on 2013 June 3. Following this discovery, we planned observations of several occultations by Chariklo's system in order to better characterize the physical properties of the ring and main body. Here, we use 12 successful occulations by Chariklo observed between 2014 and 2016. They provide ring profiles (physical width, opacity, edge structure) and constraints on the radii and pole position. Our new observations are currently consistent with the circular ring solution and pole position, to within the $\pm 3.3$ km formal uncertainty for the ring radii derived by Braga-Ribas et al. The six resolved C1R profiles reveal significant width variations from $\sim 5$ to 7.5 km. The width of the fainter ring C2R is less constrained, and may vary between 0.1 and 1 km. The inner and outer edges of C1R are consistent with infinitely sharp boundaries, with typical upper limits of one kilometer for the transition zone between the ring and empty space. No constraint on the sharpness of C2R's edges is available. A 1$\sigma$ upper limit of $\sim 20$ m is derived for the equivalent width of narrow (physical width <4 km) rings up to distances of 12,000 km, counted in the ring plane

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Measurement of the t t-bar production cross section in the dilepton channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The t t-bar production cross section (sigma[t t-bar]) is measured in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV in data collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 inverse femtobarns. The measurement is performed in events with two leptons (electrons or muons) in the final state, at least two jets identified as jets originating from b quarks, and the presence of an imbalance in transverse momentum. The measured value of sigma[t t-bar] for a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV is 161.9 +/- 2.5 (stat.) +5.1/-5.0 (syst.) +/- 3.6(lumi.) pb, consistent with the prediction of the standard model.Comment: Replaced with published version. Included journal reference and DO