An Overview of Individualized Management of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Dementia

Background: It is estimated that about 11% of adults 65 and older have dementia in the United States. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in the presentation of dementia. These symptoms often result in increased morbidity and mortality, negative patient outcomes, caregiver burden, institutionalized care, and diminished quality of life. The focus of this paper is to analyze the therapeutic effectiveness of nonpharmacologic interventions in the management of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia. Methods: A literature review was conducted to critique current evidence on the use of nonpharmacologic interventions in managing neuropsychiatric symptoms in older adults with dementia. Searches were performed using PubMed, UpToDate, and Google Scholar. Results: Pharmacotherapy should be cautiously considered in treating neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia due to adverse effects and black box warnings. Although further studies are needed, music therapy, tailored bathing routines, bright light therapy, multisensory stimulation, and eliminating the use of elderspeak language are nonpharmacologic interventions that contain some evidence in improving quality of life in dementia. The validation technique is still an ethically controversial approach to communication. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation has worsened in people with dementia. Conclusion: Dementia is a disease that requires multifactorial care in approaching management. Nonpharmacologic interventions are the first-line plan of treatment in managing neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia and present with fewer side effects and are person-centered in implementing. Future research in developing measures for quality of life is needed to study effectiveness of nonpharmacologic therapy

A C57BL/6 Mouse Model of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Recapitulates Age- and Sex-Based Differences in Human COVID-19 Disease and Recovery

We present a comprehensive analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and recovery using wild type C57BL/6 mice and a mouse-adapted virus, and we demonstrate that this is an ideal model of infection and recovery that phenocopies acute human disease arising from the ancestral SARS-CoV-2. Disease severity and infection kinetics are age- and sex-dependent, as has been reported for humans, with older mice and males in particular exhibiting decreased viral clearance and increased mortality. We identified key parallels with human pathology, including intense virus positivity in bronchial epithelial cells, wide-spread alveolar involvement, recruitment of immune cells to the infected lungs, and acute bronchial epithelial cell death. Moreover, older animals experienced increased virus persistence, delayed dispersal of immune cells into lung parenchyma, and morphologic evidence of tissue damage and inflammation. Parallel analysis of SCID mice revealed that the adaptive immune response was not required for recovery from COVID disease symptoms nor early phase clearance of virus but was required for efficient clearance of virus at later stages of infection. Finally, transcriptional analyses indicated that induction and duration of key innate immune gene programs may explain differences in age-dependent disease severity. Importantly, these data demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2-mediated disease in C57BL/6 mice phenocopies human disease across ages and establishes a platform for future therapeutic and genetic screens for not just SARS-CoV-2 but also novel coronaviruses that have yet to emerge

Targets of the Entamoeba histolytica Transcription Factor URE3-BP

The Entamoeba histolytica transcription factor Upstream Regulatory Element 3-Binding Protein (URE3-BP) is a calcium-responsive regulator of two E. histolytica virulence genes, hgl5 and fdx1. URE3-BP was previously identified by a yeast one-hybrid screen of E. histolytica proteins capable of binding to the sequence TATTCTATT (Upstream Regulatory Element 3 (URE3)) in the promoter regions of hgl5 and fdx1. In this work, precise definition of the consensus URE3 element was performed by electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) using base-substituted oligonucleotides, and the consensus motif validated using episomal reporter constructs. Transcriptome profiling of a strain induced to produce a dominant-positive URE3-BP was then used to identify additional genes regulated by URE3-BP. Fifty modulated transcripts were identified, and of these the EMSA defined motif T[atg]T[tc][cg]T[at][tgc][tg] was found in over half of the promoters (54% p<0.0001). Fifteen of the URE3-BP regulated genes were potential membrane proteins, suggesting that one function of URE3-BP is to remodel the surface of E. histolytica in response to a calcium signal. Induction of URE3-BP leads to an increase in tranwell migration, suggesting a possible role in the regulation of cellular motility

MIxS-SA: a MIxS extension defining the minimum information standard for sequence data from symbiont-associated micro-organisms

Funder: Marsden Fund (Royal Society of New Zealand).Funder: US NIH (grant reference number: RO1CA164719)Funder: FEDER (Grant reference number: InFoBioS n°EX011185)Funder: US NIH (Grant reference number: R01AI144016-01)Funder: EU horizon 2020 (Grant reference number: 773830)Abstract: The symbiont-associated (SA) environmental package is a new extension to the minimum information about any (x) sequence (MIxS) standards, established by the Parasite Microbiome Project (PMP) consortium, in collaboration with the Genomics Standard Consortium. The SA was built upon the host-associated MIxS standard, but reflects the nestedness of symbiont-associated microbiota within and across host-symbiont-microbe interactions. This package is designed to facilitate the collection and reporting of a broad range of metadata information that apply to symbionts such as life history traits, association with one or multiple host organisms, or the nature of host-symbiont interactions along the mutualism-parasitism continuum. To better reflect the inherent nestedness of all biological systems, we present a novel feature that allows users to co-localize samples, to nest a package within another package, and to identify replicates. Adoption of the MIxS-SA and of the new terms will facilitate reports of complex sampling design from a myriad of environments

Survey methodology and prevalence estimates from the SPAACE (surveying the prevalence of food allergy in all Canadian environments) study

Introduction: Low income, less educated and immigrant populations are notorious for having low response rates in research studies. Therefore, it is not surprising that when attempting to estimate food allergy prevalence in Canada, the SCAAALAR study (Surveying Canadians to Assess the Prevalence of Common food Allergies and Attitudes towards food LAbeling and Risk), which attained a response rate of only 34.6% , underrepresented several vulnerable populations (those of low socioeconomic status, non post-secondary graduates, new Canadians, residents of the territories and Aboriginals).Objective: The objective of this thesis is two fold: 1) to determine an effective methodology for obtaining high response rates in the vulnerable populations not adequately represented in SCAAALAR and 2) to attain food allergy prevalence estimates for these vulnerable populations.Methods: To increase response rates and adequately sample the desired populations, a pilot study was conducted to evaluate the effect of unconditional incentives in vulnerable populations for a telephone survey. Households in low income/high immigrant postal codes were randomly selected and randomly assigned to receive either an unconditional incentive or no incentive. The difference in response rate and 95% confidence interval was calculated using a normal approximation to the difference of two binomial distributions. The pilot study informed the methodology employed in the SPAACE study (Surveying the8Prevalence of Food Allergy in All Canadian Environments), which subsequently addressed the second objective of this Thesis. SPAACE then estimated the prevalence of food allergy for those of low socioeconomic status, non post-secondary graduates, new Canadians, residents of the territories and Aboriginals. Prevalence estimates among vulnerable populations were compared to their comparator populations (i.e., those of high socioeconomic status, post-secondary graduates, individuals born in Canada, residents of the provinces and non-Aboriginals); between population differences and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using normal approximations to the difference of two binomial distributions.Results: The response rates were 38.4% and 31.4% for the incentive and non-incentive groups respectively, with a between group difference of 0.070 (-0.013, 0.15). The cooperation rates, which exclude non-contacts from the calculation, were 47.3% and 40.0% for the incentive and non-incentive group respectively, with a between group difference of 0.073 (-0.023, 0.17). Prevalence estimates for those of low socioeconomic status, new Canadians and Aboriginals were lower than their comparator population's prevalence (between population differences respectively: -2.44% (95% CI: -3.52%, -1.35%); -2.66% (95% CI: -3.5%, -1.82%); -2.17% (95% CI: -3.18%, -1.16%)) .Discussion: Although wide confidence intervals preclude definitive conclusions, our results suggest that unconditional incentives are an effective means of9increasing response rates in vulnerable populations for telephone surveys. Additionally, the results of SPAACE demonstrate that socioeconomic status, birthplace and ethnicity are associated with the prevalence of food allergy. These findings are indicative of potential lifestyle, cultural, and genetic factors that may influence the development of food allergy.Introduction : Les populations immigrantes, moins nanties and moins éduquées sont reconnues comme ayant des taux de réponses peu élevés lors d'études. Il est alors peu surprenant de constater que l'étude SCAAALAR (Surveying Canadians to Assess the Prevalence of Common food Allergies and Attitudes towards food LAbeling and Risk), qui a atteint un taux de réponse de seulement de 34.6%, ait sous-représenté plusieurs groupes de la population (ceux de statut socioéconomique moins élevé, de non-gradués postsecondaire, de nouveaux arrivants au Canada, de résidents des territoires et des amérindiens). Objectif : L'objectif de cette thèse est en deux parties : 1) déterminer une méthodologie efficace pour obtenir un haut taux de réponse au sein des populations vulnérables mal-représentées avec SCAAALAR et 2) obtenir des estimés de prévalences d'allergies alimentaires pour ces populations vulnérables. Méthodologie : Pour améliorer les taux de réponse et de sonder adéquatement les populations désirées, une étude pilote a été réalisée pour évaluer les effets des incitatifs inconditionnels sur les populations vulnérables lors d'un sondage téléphonique. Les ménages situés dans les codes postaux à faibles revenus et à haute présence d'immigrants ont été sélectionnés et assignés de manière aléatoire à recevoir un incitatif inconditionnel ou à ne pas en recevoir. La différence du taux de réponse et de l'intervalle de confiance à 95% a été calculé en utilisant une approximation normale jusqu'à 2 distribution binômes. L'étude pilote a informé la11méthodologie employée dans l'étude SPAACE (Surveying the Prevalence of Food Allergy in All Canadian Environments), qui a par la suite adressé le deuxième objectif de cette thèse. SPAACE a ensuite estimé la prévalence d'allergies alimentaires pour les populations non graduées d'études postsecondaire, les immigrants, les résidents des territoires et des amérindiens. Les estimés de prévalences au sein des populations vulnérables ont été comparés à leurs populations comparatives (i.e., celles de statut socioéconomique plus élevé, les gradués postsecondaire, les canadiens nés au pays, les résidents des provinces et des non-Amérindiens); les différences entre populations et les intervalles à 95% de confiance ont été calculés en utilisant des estimés normaux de différences entre 2 distributions binômes.Résultats : Les taux de réponse ont atteint 38.4% et 31.4% pour les groupes avec et sans incitatifs, respectivement, avec une différence entre groupes de 0.070 (-0.013, 0.15). Les taux de coopération, ce qui exclu les non-contacts des calculs, ont été de 47.3% et 40.0% pour les groupes avec et sans incitatifs, respectivement, avec une différence entre groupes de 0.073 (-0.023, 0.17). Les estimés de prévalences pour les populations de statut socioéconomique moins élevé, les immigrants, et les amérindiens étaient moins élevés que les prévalences de leurs populations comparatives (différences entre populations, respectivement : -2.44% (95% CI : -3.52%, -1.35%); -2.66% (95% CI : -3.5%, -1.82%); -2.17% (95% CI : -3.18%, -1.16%)).12 Discussion : Bien que de larges intervalles de confiance excluent des conclusions définitives, nos résultats suggèrent que des incitatifs inconditionnels sont une manière efficace d'augmenter le taux de réponse lors de sondages téléphoniques auprès des populations vulnérables. De plus, les résultats de SPAACE démontrent que le statut socioéconomique, le lieu de naissance et l'ethnie sont associés à la prévalence des allergies alimentaires. Ces découvertes indiquent que des facteurs culturels, génétiques et des habitudes de vie peuvent influencer le développement des allergies alimentaires

Examination of Differential Target Reduced Energy Spinal Cord Stimulation for Neuropathic Pain in an Animal Model

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an effective pain management therapy used to reduce chronic, neuropathic pain for individuals whom traditional methods, particularly opioid use, have not been completely successful. SCS provides neural stimulation via an electrode array attached to the dorsal section of the spinal cord epidurally. The electrode emits an oscillating electric field that disrupts the action potential of neuronal signals, decreasing pain responses. A wide variety of stimulation parameters have been studied in an attempt to find the ideal frequency for clinical treatment. However, many of these methods have a high rate of energy use, which can affect battery life and lead to less compliance with the ideal treatment regimen. Differential target multiplexed programming (DTMP) seeks to overcome this barrier by providing electrical stimulation at timed intervals. If proven as effective as traditional methods, this method would result in much more practical implementation of SCS for daily use. For this study, Sprague-Dawley rats were used for the animal model due to the physiological similarities to the human nervous system. Male, adult rats received a spared nerve injury (SNI) to the sciatic nerve which is a well-established rat model of chronic pain. The rats were then randomly assigned to one of the five following groups: Naïve, No-SCS, DTRE1-SCS, DTRE2-SCS, or Low-Rate (LR)-SCS. DTRE1-SCS provided a 15 minute on/15 minute off stimulation pattern while DTRE2-SCS provided a 15 minute on/30 minute off stimulation pattern, and LR-SCS provided continuous stimulation. The animal\u27s pain threshold was observed prior and post intervention examining the paw withdrawal thresholds (PWT) with Von Frey filaments. Results found that both reduced energy conditions (DTRE1-SCS, DTRE2-SCS groups) significantly decreased pain responses compared to the Naive and No-SCS groups and the more traditional LS-SCS approach, and thus, should be considered for potential human use

Campus greenscaping : management plan for the first rooftop garden at UBC Vancouver

The new Student Union Building on the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus, which is scheduled for completion in 2014, will feature a rooftop garden with 166m2 dedicated to food crop production. This UBC Food System Project will focus on creating a management plan that will implement a community garden scheme of managing the garden. This rooftop garden has the ability to positively impact the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of the UBC Food System. Methods were conducted through determining if there was demand for community garden space on UBC campus, outlining the goals of the garden by meeting with stakeholders, reviewing past UBCFSP papers, researching the management structure of other community gardens, and creating a management plan by determining the essential components of the rooftop garden by performing a cost-benefit analysis. It was determined that there would be adequate interest in the rooftop garden and the goals of the garden should be to be: student focussed, foster peer-to-peer learning, offer community building opportunities, promote food system and sustainability issues, enhance the sustainability of the UBC Food System, and be cost neutral. It was determined that the garden would need a coordinator in the form of a work study student, directed studies student, or a paid position and the pros and cons of each of these options was discussed. Having an AMS gardening club to provide structure to the operations of the garden was also discussed. The rules that would need to be implemented into the plot-holders contract agreement were also determined, discussed, and put into a draft contract. Stakeholder recommendations were divided into four sections: pre-garden completion, preparation for garden opening, annual garden management, and recommendations for general club functions. The project was then evaluated based on a comparison between the objectives and the results. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofUnreviewedUndergraduat

Young Adolescents' Early Relationship Satisfaction and Motivations for Dating: Links to Attachment to Parents

BACKGROUND: Attachment theory claims that the quality of early attachment relationships influences experiences in later relationships. Indeed, research indicates that positive relationships with parents relate to positive romantic relationship outcomes in mid-adolescence (Roisman et al., 2005), late adolescence (Auslander et al., 2009), and adulthood (Dinero et al., 2008). Further, early insecurity with parents predicts later insecurity with romantic partners (Furman & Collibee, 2018). However, no research has examined how insecurity with parents relates to young adolescents’ romantic relationship satisfaction or to motivations for entering relationships. Early negative dating experiences could contribute to a cascade leading to negative experiences in later relationships, making it essential to examine origins of adolescents’ early dating experiences. STUDY AIMS: We aimed to examine the role of young adolescents’ attachment insecurity with parents in predicting adolescents’ relationship satisfaction and motivations for dating by testing two hypotheses: 1) Attachment avoidance (discomfort with closeness) with mothers and fathers will relate to adolescents’ lower satisfaction in romantic relationships; 2) Attachment avoidance with mothers and fathers will relate to adolescents being motivated to date for external reasons (e.g., “because my friends told me I should date them”) as opposed to internal reasons (e.g., “because I liked spending time with them”). We also explored the role of attachment anxiety (fear of abandonment); however, we had no hypotheses due to the low prevalence of anxiety in previous research with adolescents (Hünefeldt et al., 2013) and in the present sample. METHOD: 8th graders (N = 109, Mage = 13.48) rated their attachment avoidance and anxiety with their mothers and fathers (Relationship Structures Questionnaire; ECR-RS; Fraley et al., 2011) on a 7-pt scale. Adolescents also rated how happy they were in their “most serious relationship” on a 5-pt scale and rated different motivations for entering this relationship on a 7-pt scale (Early Adolescent Romantic Relationships Questionnaire; EARQ; Fitter, 2020). RESULTS: Ordinal logistic and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted in R (R Core Team, 2013). Avoidance with mothers and with fathers (marginally) related to lower odds of adolescents being happy in their relationships (mothers, OR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.57, 0.98], p = .03, fathers, OR = 0.81, 95% CI [0.63, 1.03], p = .09). Avoidance with mothers and with fathers (marginally) related to greater endorsement of deciding to date someone because “my friends told me I should date them” (mothers, ß = 0.25, 95% CI [0.05, 0.44], p = 0.01, fathers, ß = 0.19, 95% CI [-0.01, .040], p = 0.06) and exploratory analyses demonstrated a similar pattern for attachment anxiety (mothers, ß = 0.17, 95% CI [-0.03, 0.37], p = 0.096, fathers, ß = 0.26, 95% CI [0.06, 0.46], p =0.01). DISCUSSION: Results indicate that insecurity with parents relates to young adolescents’ lower romantic relationship satisfaction and greater endorsement of peer-pressure motivating their dating choices. Discussion focuses on possible cascading effects of negative parent-adolescent relationships and the role of dating motivations and poor partner selection in this cascade