Georgia State University

Kiessling C.M., Greenlund S., Bullows J.E., Samuels C., Aboderin F., Ramirez N., Chin K.

ABSTRACT The efficient carbon source utilization in dynamic environments, including anoxic subsurface contaminated by aromatic compounds , is a challenge for anaerobic bacteria such as Geotalea daltonii strain FRC-32. The aim of this study was to elucidate the metabolic pathways employed by G. daltonii FRC-32 during anaerobic benzoate oxidation in the presence of acetate, a key intermediate in anaerobic organic matter degradation, to predict carbon source transport and utilization strategies. Simultaneous carbon source oxidation and monoauxic growth were observed in G. daltonii FRC-32 cultures grown on 1 mM benzoate + 5 mM acetate, 1 mM benzoate + 2 mM acetate, and 2 mM acetate spiked with 1 mM benzoate. Sequential carbon source oxidation and diauxic growth were observed only in cultures grown on 5 mM acetate spiked with 1 mM benzoate. Benzoate accumulation in G. daltonii FRC-32 whole cell lysates indicated that intracellular benzoate transport occurred during benzoate oxidation in the presence of acetate. Expression analyses of putative benzoate transporter BenK and protein-ligand binding affinity prediction suggested BenK’s specificity for transporting benzoate. Relative expression levels for the gene benK, encoding BenK, and the genes bamNOPQ, involved in the benzoyl-CoA pathway, were significantly higher in cultures grown on both benzoate and acetate than in cultures grown on acetate as sole carbon source, indicating that intracellular benzoate accumulation facilitated the regulation of bamNOPQ . Our results demonstrated that G. daltonii FRC-32 can perform differential benzoate oxidation in the presence of acetate, by either simultaneous or sequential carbon source oxidation, which indicated the metabolic plasticity of G. daltonii FRC-32 in response to varying carbon source availability. IMPORTANCE The contamination of anaerobic subsurface environments by crude oil derivatives including aromatic compounds is a global concern due to the persistence and toxicity of these pollutants. Anaerobic bacteria play a crucial role in the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons under anoxic conditions; however, the potential mechanisms involved in metabolic regulation of aromatic degradation pathways are not well understood. This study contributed to elucidating how G. daltonii strain FRC-32 efficiently utilizes benzoate as a carbon source in the presence of acetate. Findings of intracellular benzoate accumulation and regulation of key genes associated with benzoate oxidation contributed to the understanding of G. daltonii FRC-32’s aromatic degradation pathways, provided significant insights into potential mechanisms that modulate anaerobic benzoate oxidation in the presence of the energetically favorable carbon source acetate, and indicated metabolic strategies of G. daltonii FRC-32 in response to dynamic environmental conditions.

Guan X., Verma A.K., Liu Q., Palacios M., Odle A.E., Perlman S., Du L.

Background. The pathogenic coronaviruses (CoVs) MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, which are responsible for the MERS outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively, continue to infect humans, with significant adverse outcomes. There is a continuing need to develop mucosal vaccines against these respiratory viral pathogens to prevent entry and replication at mucosal sites. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the CoV spike (S) protein is a critical vaccine target, and glycan masking is a unique approach for designing subunit vaccines with improved neutralizing activity. Methods. We evaluated the efficacy of mucosal immunity, broad neutralizing activity, and cross-protection afforded by a combined glycosylated mucosal subunit vaccine encoding the RBDs of the original SARS-CoV-2 strain (SARS2-WT-RBD), the Omicron-XBB.1.5 variant (SARS2-Omi-RBD), and MERS-CoV (MERS-RBD). Results. Intranasal administration of the three-RBD protein cocktail induced effective, durable IgA and systemic IgG antibodies specific for the S protein of these CoVs, thereby neutralizing infection by pseudotyped SARS-CoV-2-WT, Omicron-XBB.1.5, and MERS-CoV. The mucosal vaccine cocktail protected immunized mice from challenge with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron-XBB.1.5 and MERS-CoV, leading to a significant reduction in the viral titers in the lungs. By contrast, the individual glycosylated RBD proteins only induced such immune responses and neutralizing antibodies against either SARS-CoV-2 or MERS-CoV, protecting against subsequent challenge with either SARS-CoV-2 or MERS-CoV; they did not provide simultaneous protection against both CoVs. Conclusions. This study describes a unique strategy for designing efficacious mucosal subunit vaccines that induce durable mucosal immunity, cross-neutralizing activity, and cross-protection against SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV, highlighting the potential for the design of mucosal vaccines against other pathogens.

Zia Q., Jan A., Yang D., Zhang H., Li Y.

Real-time decision-making is vital in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). It is essential to improve road safety and ensure traffic efficiency and flow. Integrating digital twins within VANET (DT-VANET) creates virtual replicas of physical vehicles, allowing in-depth analysis and effective decision-making. Many vehicular ad hoc network applications now use convolutional neural networks (CNNs). However, the growing model size and latency make implementing them in real-time systems challenging, and most previous studies focusing on using CNNs still face significant challenges. Some effective models with sustainable performances have recently been proposed. One of the most advanced models among them is EfficientNet. One may consider it a family of network models with significantly fewer parameters and computational costs. This paper proposes EfficientNet-based optimized real-time decision-making in the DT-VANET architecture. This paper investigates the performance of EfficientNet in digital-based vehicular ad hoc networks. Extensive experiments have proved that EfficientNet outperforms CNN models (ResNet50, VGG16) in accuracy, latency, computational efficiency, and convergence time, which proves its effectiveness in real-time applications of DT-VANET.

Mielke M.M., Fowler N.R., Whitson H.E., Klepin H.D., Trammell A.R., Kulshreshtha A., O’Brien K.S., Manchester M., Salive M.E., Williamson J.

Abstract The Alzheimer’s Disease in Older Adults with Chronic Conditions (ADACC) Network is funded by the National Institute on Aging as a U24 cooperative agreement. ADACC is an inclusive, multidisciplinary group across multiple institutions that is charged with the task of developing evidence-based strategies for the use and implementation of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) biomarkers among older adults with cognitive impairment and multiple chronic conditions (MCCs). This report summarizes highlights of the First Annual Symposium of ADACC, which was held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in April 2024. An overview of the ADACC network and goals were initially described, followed by a state of the science integrating biomarkers, AD/ADRD, and multiple chronic conditions. Multiple presentations on a variety of topics were featured, including the significance of MCCs in AD/ADRD, the effects of MCCs on Alzheimer’s blood-based biomarkers, the incorporation of AD/ADRD biomarkers into cancer care, the need to address racial and biomarker disparities, clinician and patient perspectives on plasma AD/ADRD biomarker testing, and ethical considerations. ADACC emphasized the importance of supporting emerging researchers and fostering a collaborative environment.

Ellithorpe M.E., Yao S.X., Rhodes N.

Quarmyne M., Bock F., Lakshmanan S., Attell B.K., Snyder A., Boudreaux J., Sheth S., Bender M.A., Lal A.

ImportanceHemoglobin disorders are a considerable public health issue with more than 500 000 affected infants born annually worldwide. First introduced in the 1970s, newborn screening (NBS) for sickle cell disease (SCD) was included in the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) in 2006, a successful public health promotion and prevention practice that has led to improved childhood survival. Although SCD is the primary target, the screening process also detects many other hemoglobinopathies.ObservationsNBS programs, administered by individual states, vary in their practices for hemoglobinopathy screening, creating health inequities and compromising public health efforts. There is a lack of uniformity in the choice of primary screening test, reporting, and follow-up of abnormal results, exacerbated by inconsistent access to genetic confirmation. Consequently, newborns diagnosed through protein-based screening alone may have diverse genotypes that alter the clinical expression of hemoglobinopathies. This Special Communication considers how the universal adoption of molecular testing for hemoglobinopathy newborn screening can overcome these current shortcomings. Simultaneously, the considerable challenges of primary screening with molecular methods and how these can be overcome are evaluated. Screening with targeted genetic testing of the hemoglobin genes (HbA1, HBA2, HBB) is especially well suited to hemoglobinopathies because there exists an extensive database of variants for the prediction of pathogenicity, averting the need for secondary or multiple testing. Importantly, it would eliminate the health disparities created by location and health insurance on the access to confirmatory testing and facilitate timely referral for definitive care. Standardization of the screening platform with diagnostic specificity has vast implications for public health surveillance and resource allocation. The adoption of molecular testing requires bringing new technology online, training and changes to workflow, potentially increased cost, and concerns for genetic data protection. Some of these barriers can be overcome using high-throughput methods with the potential to multiplex with other disease conditions that use genetic testing for primary screening through the consolidation of platforms.Conclusions and RelevanceThe time has come for a paradigm shift in newborn screening for hemoglobinopathies through the adoption of universal molecular genetic testing.

Bislick L., Dietz A., Cornelius K., Duncan E.S., Engelhoven A.E., Hart M.K.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to extend previous work using a pilot delayed cohort design with a more geographically and linguistically diverse group of people with aphasia (PWA) to explore the impact of a virtual, adapted, and aphasia-friendly yoga program; expand our original outcome measures to include a self-report of aphasia impact in addition to measures of resilience, stress, sleep disturbance, and pain management; and continue programmatic development through participant feedback about the program structure. Method: A delayed cohort design was used to document the benefits of a virtual, adapted, and aphasia-friendly yoga program for persons with moderate–severe aphasia, replicating our previous work with persons with mild–moderate aphasia. Fourteen PWA participated in an 8-week community yoga program. Perceived stress, resilience, sleep disturbance, pain management, and aphasia impact were assessed pre- and postparticipation in the yoga program via self-report. A brief questionnaire was given at the end of the yoga program to inform programmatic development. Results: Results of group comparisons suggest that participation in an 8-week adapted yoga program may positively impact perceptions of resilience (medium effect), sleep disturbance (medium effect), perceived stress (small effect), and aphasia impact (small effect). No effect was found for pain. Overall, participants reported a positive experience and offered feedback to enhance the structure of the program. Conclusions: Findings are promising and support yoga as a potent adjunct to traditional rehabilitation efforts to support resilience and psychosocial variables that impact quality of life in people with moderate–severe aphasia. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.28514249

Crossley S.A., Kim M., Wan Q., Allen L.K., Tywoniw R., McNamara D.

Ghaffari M., Khan G., Feroz K.

Cohen A.J.

Rodriguez A., Petropoulos H., Sanjuan P.M., Wang Y., Wilson T.W., Calhoun V.D., Stephen J.M.

Current research on the effects of childhood trauma largely focuses on maltreatment. In the current study, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to determine the association between potentially traumatic exposures not related to maltreatment and fractional anisotropy (FA) in 184 youth aged 9–14 years. The Trauma History Profile was used to determine how many traumatic events in different categories were experienced and create low- and high-trauma groups. FA values were compared between groups in twelve a priori chosen regions of interest (ROIs). Five of the twelve regions showed significantly lower FA in the high-trauma groups when compared to the low-trauma groups, including the body of the corpus callosum, the total corpus callosum, bilateral posterior thalamic radiation, and the left cingulate gyrus projection of the cingulum bundle. Group differences were also observed across a range of behaviors. However, FA was not associated with posttraumatic stress symptomology. The results support the hypothesis that the high-trauma group had lower FA compared to the low-trauma group. The significant ROIs represent a subset of regions identified in studies of adults exposed to traumatic childhood events or children with a history of maltreatment. These results, obtained from typically developing youth, underline the importance of examining childhood trauma exposure in future developmental studies.

Beasley L., Johnson-Pack E.J.

This discourse analysis explored how public discourse on ultramarathoner Amelia Boone’s Instagram negotiates the tension between mental health and athlete identities. We used a three-stage discourse analysis of publicly available comments. The first phase was a structural analysis, which examined the purpose of the discourse. The second phase was an interaction analysis, which examined active versus passive engagement. The final stage was a critical discourse analysis, which analyzed how the discourse supports or challenges cultural structures. Findings interpreted through the concepts of stigma resistance and the sport ethic suggest that discourse was positive but also distanced from mental health content while still emphasizing the sport ethic. There is thus an underlying assumption that an athletic identity is incongruent with a mental health identity, reproducing mental health stigma. Implications include applications for mental health communication in sport and theoretical considerations to create a sport culture that destigmatizes mental health.

Wilder S.A.

Wang S., Zhang C., Li J., Miao Y., Xu H.

Jones K., Smith S., Smith J., Castillo A., Burkes A., Howard A., Garvin M.M., Bolton J.L., Colon-Perez L., Cunningham M.

Women living in an impoverished environment after birth have an increased risk of developing postpartum depression (PP-Dep) and hypertension (PP-HTN). The mechanisms underlying these heightened risks are unknown and understudied. To examine the relation between reduced environmental resources, PP-Dep, and PP-HTN; postpartum rodent dams were exposed to the low-resource limited bedding and nesting (LBN) chronic stress model during weaning. Postpartum dams were divided into control (CTL) and experimental (LBN) groups, in which the experimental group experienced LBN. At six weeks postpartum, blood pressure, sucrose preference test (a proxy for anhedonia and depression), corticosterone, and markers of neuroinflammation were measured. We hypothesized that postpartum dams exposed to LBN will have increased corticosterone, neuroinflammation, depression-like behaviors, and HTN. Results show that postpartum dams exposed to an impoverished environment exhibit decreased sucrose preference, increased circulating corticosterone, and elevated neuroinflammation (~ 150% increased TNF-α and astrocyte activation in the cerebrum). No changes in blood pressure were observed. However, there was a strong correlation between postpartum blood pressure and corticosterone and blood pressure and TNF-α levels. Importantly, this study provides insights into the pathology and development of PP-HTN and PP-Dep in the postpartum period, which will enable the discovery of novel therapeutic approaches.