Prevalence and Correlates of HIV-Risk Behaviors among Homeless Adults in a Southern City

This paper aims to describe the prevalence and correlates of HIV-risk behaviors among adults receiving transitional and emergency housing services in Memphis, Tennessee. A cross-sectional, interviewer-administered survey was conducted with a convenience-based sample (N=116) of homeless adults. Sex without a condom, sex while on drugs or drunk, and sex with an unknown person emerged as the three most prevalent HIV-risk behaviors. Sex while drunk or high on drugs was also assessed as a significant predictor for sex without a condom and sex with an unknown person. Multivariate logistic regressions revealed that mental health status, duration of homelessness, incarceration history, and sex while drunk or high on drugs were significant predictors of HIV-risk behaviors. Consideration of these important correlates in designing HIV prevention programs for this vulnerable sub-group of adults is warranted

Early role of vascular dysregulation on late-onset Alzheimer's disease based on multifactorial data-driven analysis

Multifactorial mechanisms underlying late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) are poorly characterized from an integrative perspective. Here spatiotemporal alterations in brain amyloid-β deposition, metabolism, vascular, functional activity at rest, structural properties, cognitive integrity and peripheral proteins levels are characterized in relation to LOAD progression. We analyse over 7,700 brain images and tens of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Through a multifactorial data-driven analysis, we obtain dynamic LOAD–abnormality indices for all biomarkers, and a tentative temporal ordering of disease progression. Imaging results suggest that intra-brain vascular dysregulation is an early pathological event during disease development. Cognitive decline is noticeable from initial LOAD stages, suggesting early memory deficit associated with the primary disease factors. High abnormality levels are also observed for specific proteins associated with the vascular system's integrity. Although still subjected to the sensitivity of the algorithms and biomarkers employed, our results might contribute to the development of preventive therapeutic interventions

Design of Lung Transplant Go (LTGO): A randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of a telerehabilitation behavioral exercise intervention to improve physical activity, physical function, and blood pressure control after lung transplantation

Background: Lung transplantation is an established treatment option for persons with advanced lung disease. After transplantation, lung function typically returns to near normal levels, however exercise capacity remains low due to chronic deconditioning, limited physical function, and inactive lifestyles which undermine the intended benefits of the highly selective, resource-intensive transplant procedure. Pulmonary rehabilitation is recommended to improve fitness and activity tolerance, however due to multiple barriers, lung transplant recipients either never participate, or fail to complete, pulmonary rehabilitation programs. Purpose: To describe the design of Lung Transplant Go (LTGO), a trial modified for the remote environment based on recommendations to preserve trial integrity during COVID. The aims are to evaluate a behavioral exercise intervention to improve physical function, physical activity, and blood pressure control in lung transplant recipients conducted safely and effectively using a telerehabilitation (telerehab) platform, and to explore the role of potential mediators and moderators of the relationship between LTGO and outcomes. Methods: Single-site, 2-group randomized controlled trial with lung transplant recipients randomized 1:1 to either the LTGO intervention (a 2-phased, supervised, telerehab behavioral exercise program), or to enhanced usual care (activity tracking and monthly newsletters). All study activities, including intervention delivery, recruitment, consenting, assessment, and data collection, will be performed remotely. Conclusion: If efficacious, this fully scalable and replicable telerehab intervention could be efficiently translated to reach large numbers of lung recipients to improve and sustain self-management of exercise habits by overcoming barriers to participation in existing, in-person pulmonary rehabilitation programs

Predicting missing biomarker data in a longitudinal study of Alzheimer disease

Objective:To investigate predictors of missing data in a longitudinal study of Alzheimer disease (AD).Methods:The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is a clinic-based, multicenter, longitudinal study with blood, CSF, PET, and MRI scans repeatedly measured in 229 participants with normal cognition (NC), 397 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 193 with mild AD during 2005–2007. We used univariate and multivariable logistic regression models to examine the associations between baseline demographic/clinical features and loss of biomarker follow-ups in ADNI.Results:CSF studies tended to recruit and retain patients with MCI with more AD-like features, including lower levels of baseline CSF Aβ42. Depression was the major predictor for MCI dropouts, while family history of AD kept more patients with AD enrolled in PET and MRI studies. Poor cognitive performance was associated with loss of follow-up in most biomarker studies, even among NC participants. The presence of vascular risk factors seemed more critical than cognitive function for predicting dropouts in AD.Conclusion:The missing data are not missing completely at random in ADNI and likely conditional on certain features in addition to cognitive function. Missing data predictors vary across biomarkers and even MCI and AD groups do not share the same missing data pattern. Understanding the missing data structure may help in the design of future longitudinal studies and clinical trials in AD

Predicting missing biomarker data in a longitudinal study of Alzheimer disease

Objective:To investigate predictors of missing data in a longitudinal study of Alzheimer disease (AD).Methods:The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is a clinic-based, multicenter, longitudinal study with blood, CSF, PET, and MRI scans repeatedly measured in 229 participants with normal cognition (NC), 397 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 193 with mild AD during 2005–2007. We used univariate and multivariable logistic regression models to examine the associations between baseline demographic/clinical features and loss of biomarker follow-ups in ADNI.Results:CSF studies tended to recruit and retain patients with MCI with more AD-like features, including lower levels of baseline CSF Aβ42. Depression was the major predictor for MCI dropouts, while family history of AD kept more patients with AD enrolled in PET and MRI studies. Poor cognitive performance was associated with loss of follow-up in most biomarker studies, even among NC participants. The presence of vascular risk factors seemed more critical than cognitive function for predicting dropouts in AD.Conclusion:The missing data are not missing completely at random in ADNI and likely conditional on certain features in addition to cognitive function. Missing data predictors vary across biomarkers and even MCI and AD groups do not share the same missing data pattern. Understanding the missing data structure may help in the design of future longitudinal studies and clinical trials in AD

Higher CSF sTREM2 attenuates ApoE4-related risk for cognitive decline and neurodegeneration

Background!#!The Apolipoprotein E ε4 allele (i.e. ApoE4) is the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). TREM2 (i.e. Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2) is a microglial transmembrane protein brain that plays a central role in microglia activation in response to AD brain pathologies. Whether higher TREM2-related microglia activity modulates the risk to develop clinical AD is an open question. Thus, the aim of the current study was to assess whether higher sTREM2 attenuates the effects of ApoE4-effects on future cognitive decline and neurodegeneration.!##!Methods!#!We included 708 subjects ranging from cognitively normal (CN, n = 221) to mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 414) and AD dementia (n = 73) from the Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative. We used linear regression to test the interaction between ApoE4-carriage by CSF-assessed sTREM2 levels as a predictor of longitudinally assessed cognitive decline and MRI-assessed changes in hippocampal volume changes (mean follow-up of 4 years, range of 1.7-7 years).!##!Results!#!Across the entire sample, we found that higher CSF sTREM2 at baseline was associated with attenuated effects of ApoE4-carriage (i.e. sTREM2 x ApoE4 interaction) on longitudinal global cognitive (p = 0.001, Cohen's f!##!Conclusion!#!Our results suggest that a higher CSF sTREM2 levels are associated with attenuated ApoE4-related risk for future cognitive decline and AD-typical neurodegeneration. These findings provide further evidence that TREM2 may be protective against the development of AD

NANCY: Next-generation All-sky Near-infrared Community surveY

International audienceThe Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is capable of delivering an unprecedented all-sky, high-spatial resolution, multi-epoch infrared map to the astronomical community. This opportunity arises in the midst of numerous ground- and space-based surveys that will provide extensive spectroscopy and imaging together covering the entire sky (such as Rubin/LSST, Euclid, UNIONS, SPHEREx, DESI, SDSS-V, GALAH, 4MOST, WEAVE, MOONS, PFS, UVEX, NEO Surveyor, etc.). Roman can uniquely provide uniform high-spatial-resolution (~0.1 arcsec) imaging over the entire sky, vastly expanding the science reach and precision of all of these near-term and future surveys. This imaging will not only enhance other surveys, but also facilitate completely new science. By imaging the full sky over two epochs, Roman can measure the proper motions for stars across the entire Milky Way, probing 100 times fainter than Gaia out to the very edge of the Galaxy. Here, we propose NANCY: a completely public, all-sky survey that will create a high-value legacy dataset benefiting innumerable ongoing and forthcoming studies of the universe. NANCY is a pure expression of Roman's potential: it images the entire sky, at high spatial resolution, in a broad infrared bandpass that collects as many photons as possible. The majority of all ongoing astronomical surveys would benefit from incorporating observations of NANCY into their analyses, whether these surveys focus on nearby stars, the Milky Way, near-field cosmology, or the broader universe

NANCY: Next-generation All-sky Near-infrared Community surveY

International audienceThe Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is capable of delivering an unprecedented all-sky, high-spatial resolution, multi-epoch infrared map to the astronomical community. This opportunity arises in the midst of numerous ground- and space-based surveys that will provide extensive spectroscopy and imaging together covering the entire sky (such as Rubin/LSST, Euclid, UNIONS, SPHEREx, DESI, SDSS-V, GALAH, 4MOST, WEAVE, MOONS, PFS, UVEX, NEO Surveyor, etc.). Roman can uniquely provide uniform high-spatial-resolution (~0.1 arcsec) imaging over the entire sky, vastly expanding the science reach and precision of all of these near-term and future surveys. This imaging will not only enhance other surveys, but also facilitate completely new science. By imaging the full sky over two epochs, Roman can measure the proper motions for stars across the entire Milky Way, probing 100 times fainter than Gaia out to the very edge of the Galaxy. Here, we propose NANCY: a completely public, all-sky survey that will create a high-value legacy dataset benefiting innumerable ongoing and forthcoming studies of the universe. NANCY is a pure expression of Roman's potential: it images the entire sky, at high spatial resolution, in a broad infrared bandpass that collects as many photons as possible. The majority of all ongoing astronomical surveys would benefit from incorporating observations of NANCY into their analyses, whether these surveys focus on nearby stars, the Milky Way, near-field cosmology, or the broader universe