A Multimodal Approach to Preventing and Treating Alzheimer’s Disease

As of 2015 over 47 million people worldwide are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The incidence of AD increases with age, and affects males and females equally. Current pharmacologic treatment includes two classes of drugs. The purpose of this study was to determine if a multimodal approach (i.e. diet, exercise, cognitive stimulation) towards the prevention and treatment of AD would be more beneficial than pharmacologic therapy alone. Research methods included reviewing peer reviewed journal articles published within the past five years obtained from PubMed, Dynamed, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Clinical Key. Ehret and Chamberlin (2015) found donepezil (Aricept) increased MMSE scores (95% CI, 1.3 to 2.5; P\u3c 0.001); whereas memantine (Namenda) increased MMSE scores (95% CI, 0.6 to 1.8; P\u3c 0.001). Combination therapy of donepezil and memantine revealed no significant improvement of MMSE scores (95% CI, -0.1 to 1.6; P= 0.07). The MIND diet and FINGER studies evaluated multimodal approaches to preventing and treating AD. Morris et al. (2015) found that participants who adhered to the MIND diet significantly reduced the rate of developing AD over an average of 4.5 years by 53% (HR= 0.47; 95% CI: 0.29, 0.76; P= 0.002) compared to those who were the least adherent to the diet. The FINGER study compared four factors between an intervention and control group. Ngandu et al. (2015) found NTB scores revealed a mean difference between groups of 0.022 (95% CI; 0.002 to 0.042; P = 0.030) per year with the intervention group scoring 25% higher at 24 months. The intervention group revealed differences in executive functioning (P = 0.039) 83% higher, and processing speed (P = 0.029) 150% higher than the control group. Memory scores analysis revealed a mean difference in memory decline between the intervention and control groups 1.31 (95% CI; 1.01 to 1.71; P = 0.036) after 24 months. Drug therapy alone provides nominal and short term improvement in cognitive functioning. A multimodal approach can improve or maintain cognitive functioning in those who are at risk for or who already have AD. Primary care providers should consider a multimodal approach to treating patients who have AD or early cognitive decline. Utilizing a multidisciplinary healthcare team by employing the expertise of other health professionals who are trained in working with older adults may be beneficial in the treatment of individuals who are at risk for, or who have AD.https://commons.und.edu/pas-grad-posters/1086/thumbnail.jp

Mendel's laws of heredity on his 200th birthday : What have we learned by considering exceptions?

Peer reviewedPostprin

SNS Use, Risk, and Executive Behavior

Organizations can suffer attacks designed to take advantage of employee vulnerabilities. Successful attacks cause firms to suffer financial damage ranging from minor information breaches to severe financial losses. Cybercriminals focus on organization executives, because the power and influence they wield affords access to more sensitive data and financial resources. The purpose of this research in progress submission is to identify the types of executive behaviors that information security professionals believe introduce risk to an organization, as well as to explore the degree of risk organizations face as a result of these behaviors

Adapting to Climate Change: A Call for Federal Leadership

Recommends creating a strategic planning initiative to set goals, objectives, and priorities; a national climate service to provide information on climate change impacts and adaptation options; and an adaptation research program. Includes case summaries

The Relationship Between Aerobic and Anaerobic Performance in Recreational Runners

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(5): 625-634, 2016. Research has indicated that combined aerobic and anaerobic training (concurrent training) may improve aerobic performance greater than aerobic training alone. The purpose of this investigation was to establish any associations between aerobic and anaerobic performance. Eleven participants (n = 11, age = 34.1 ± 13 years, VO2max = 58.4 ± 7.8) volunteered for this study. Participants were asked for endurance training experience (4.7 ± 3.7 years) and resistance training experience (4.1 ± 4.6 years). To meet training status, participants were to have a VO2max in the 80th percentile as per ACSM guidelines. The Bruce treadmill test was used to measure aerobic performance. In order to measure anaerobic performance, several tests were completed utilizing a force platform. A Pearson Product R Correlation Coefficient was calculated to determine correlations between variables. The results show significant correlation between VO2max and RFD (r = 0.68). Further analyses utilizing Cohen’s effect size indicated a strong association between VO2max and peak force, as well as running efficiency and peak power, relative peak power, and power endurance. These results indicate an existing possibility that anaerobic performance measures such as RFD may have a positive relationship with aerobic performance measures such as VO2max. Therefore, it may be beneficial to integrate specific training components which focus on improving RFD as a method of improving running performance

Independent and Interactive Associations of Negative Affect, Restraint, and Impulsivity in Relation to Binge Eating Among Women

There is growing recognition that impulsivity may serve as an underlying risk factor for binge eating. In addition, the association of impulsivity with binge eating may be moderated by other affective and cognitive risk factors. This study examined independent and interactive associations of negative affect, dietary restraint, and facets of impulsivity with binge eating. A diverse sample of 566 undergraduate women completed online questionnaires of study variables. Results revealed a three-way interaction of negative affect, dietary restraint, and attentional impulsivity in relation to binge eating. Women who were high on each of these three variables reported the greatest levels of binge eating. In addition, a two-way interaction was found for negative affect and nonplanning impulsivity in relation to binge eating, such that nonplanning impulsivity strengthened the association between negative affect and binge eating. Attentional and nonplanning facets of impulsivity may function as an underlying trait-level risk factor interacts with affective and/or cognitive risk (e.g., negative affect, dietary restraint) factors to predict elevated binge eating

A Taxonomy of Software Delivery Performance Profiles: Investigating the Effects of DevOps Practices

This research develops a taxonomy of Software Delivery Performance Profiles for DevOps development settings. We base the underlying Software Delivery Performance measure on the application of the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model to software development. Consistent with the objectives of both, development and operations departments, the measure includes attributes for throughput (release frequency and lead-time to delivery) and for stability (mean time to restore). Using a sample of 7,522 DevOps professionals globally, we conduct a hierarchical cluster analysis and find that the throughput and stability measures move in tandem and form three distinct Software Delivery Performance Profiles. Further analysis will show how the use of individual DevOps practices impacts Performance Profiles of development settings. When completed, the study will support the utility of DevOps and the effectiveness of individual DevOps practices

Democracy Derived? New Trajectories in Pluripotent Stem Cell Research

How has the development of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) modified the trajectory of stem cell research? Here, coauthorship networks of stem cell research articles and analysis of cell lines used in stem cell research indicate that hiPSCs are not replacing human embryonic stem cells, but instead, the two cell types are complementary, interdependent research tools. Thus, we conclude that a ban on funding for embryonic stem cell research could have unexpected negative ramifications on the nascent field of hiPSCs

A FAP46 Mutant Provides New Insights into the Function and Assembly of the C1d Complex of the Ciliary Central Apparatus

Virtually all motile eukaryotic cilia and flagella have a \u279+2\u27 axoneme in which nine doublet microtubules surround two singlet microtubules. Associated with the central pair of microtubules are protein complexes that form at least seven biochemically and structurally distinct central pair projections. Analysis of mutants lacking specific projections has indicated that each may play a unique role in the control of flagellar motility. One of these is the C1d projection previously shown to contain the proteins FAP54, FAP46, FAP74 and FAP221/Pcdp1, which exhibits Ca(2+)-sensitive calmodulin binding. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii null mutant for FAP46. This mutant, fap46-1, lacks the C1d projection and has impaired motility, confirming the importance of this projection for normal flagellar movement. Those cells that are motile have severe defects in phototaxis and the photoshock response, underscoring a role for the C1d projection in Ca(2+)-mediated flagellar behavior. The data also reveal for the first time that the C1d projection is involved in the control of interdoublet sliding velocity. Our studies further identify a novel C1d subunit that we term C1d-87, give new insight into relationships between the C1d subunits, and provide evidence for multiple sites of calmodulin interaction within the C1d projection. These results represent significant advances in our understanding of an important but little studied axonemal structure