At a Glance: An Update on Neuroimaging and Retinal Imaging in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Research

Neuroimaging serves a variety of purposes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) research - from measuring microscale neural activity at the subcellular level, to broad topological patterns seen across macroscale-brain networks, and everything in between. In vivo imaging provides insight into the brain’s structure, function, and molecular architecture across numerous scales of resolution; allowing examination of the morphological, functional, and pathological changes that occurs in patients across different AD stages (1). AD is a complex and potentially heterogenous disease, with no proven cure and no single risk factor to isolate and measure, whilst known risk factors do not fully account for the risk of developing this disease (2). Since the 1990’s, technological advancements in neuroimaging have allowed us to visualise the wide organisational structure of the brain (3) and later developments led to capturing information of brain ‘functionality’, as well as the visualisation and measurement of the aggregation and accumulation of AD-related pathology. Thus, in vivo brain imaging has and will continue to be an instrumental tool in clinical research, mainly in the pre-clinical disease stages, aimed at elucidating the biological complex processes and interactions underpinning the onset and progression of cognitive decline and dementia. The growing societal burden of AD/ADRD means that there has never been a greater need, nor a better time, to use such powerful and sensitive tools to aid our understanding of this undoubtedly complex disease. It is by consolidating and reflecting on these imaging advancements and developing long-term strategies across different disciplines, that we can move closer to our goal of dementia prevention. This short commentary will outline recent developments in neuroimaging in the field of AD and dementia by first describing the historical context of AD classification and the introduction of AD imaging biomarkers, followed by some examples of significant recent developments in neuroimaging methods and technologies.

Short Commentary on Approved Medications for COVID -19 Management?

Every clinician who prescribes antiviral drug during COVID-19 should be very careful and needs to assess following factors such as hepatic and renal function status, specialized population such as Geriatric, Pediatric etc, co morbidities of patient, allergic history of drug, COVID-19 severity status, clinical evidence in management of COVID-19 and duration of drug therapy in COVID-19.

Enhancing Tools for Sustainable Health Communication within Covid-19

The paper provides short commentary on key features of public health communication during the current pandemic. The paper contains empirical analysis of field data from international, regional, and local national sources related to the industry, institutions, research in the field of study. The thematic content analysis through the computer-based coding served as the background investigation method. The study provides preliminary data on the key topics within official communication on health care issues during COVID-19, explores challenges to communication on health issues during COVID-19, identifies possible tools for sustainable health communication in the current COVID-19 pandemic, and outlines tentative recommendations to foster sustainable communication on health issues during the pandemic.

An Overview of HIV on World AIDS Day: A Short Commentary

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV infections cause a gradual decrease in CD4+ cells and these cells are an indicator of the immune system including the body’s natural defense system against pathogens and illness.1 AIDS is defined as the advanced stage of HIV infection with CD4 cell count less than 200/mm3. AIDS is characterized by immunosuppression which can result in several opportunistic infections, tumors, and cancers.

Teaching Disability Studies Together: The Importance of Having Instructors with Labels of Intellectual Disabilities

This short commentary has two goals: 1) to share the unique co-teaching experience of two disabled instructors, one of whom has a label of intellectual disability, and 2) to discuss how we, as two white disabled men, try to incorporate the principles of disability justice in our efforts to disrupt bodymind hierarchies within and outside the university classroom and to share some of the resources we use.

Re-introduction of endogenous pathways for propionyl-CoA, 1-propanol and propionate formation in Escherichia coli

In a previous study, we found that 2-ketobutyrate (2-KB) was seriously degraded in Escherichia coli. In the present investigation, we tried to clarify the products of that degradation process, and intriguingly reconfirmed that 2-KB is chopped up to form propionyl-CoA, 1-propanol and propionate. This short commentary re-introduces efficient endogenous pathways for production of value-added odd-chain compounds such as propionyl-CoA-derived chemicals.

Carlos's First Steps in Parapsychology

In this short commentary I describe the early interest that Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado demonstrated toward parapsychology and psychical research. I present some anecdotes when Carlos was in his late teens and his deep interest in the history of the field.

Paying Obeisance to the Humble “Coconut”: A Short Commentary

Short commentary on the occasion of World Coconut Day, celebrated on 2nd September every year

How Many Ways Can Nature Kill the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg? – The Many Mechanisms of Evolved Glyphosate Resistance

Weeding has been the bane of humanity since the dawn of agriculture. For about 70 years, synthetic herbicides have removed much of the drudgery of this onerous task. Glyphosate was introduced as a non-selective herbicide in 1974. Its ideal properties made it a very popular herbicide, and the introduction of glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops allowed its use as a selective herbicide, greatly expanding its use to become the most used herbicide on earth. For farmers who used glyphosate in GR crops, it was the golden age of weed management, as this technology significantly improved the efficacy and reduced the cost of weed management. Weed management was also simplified, an asset that was particularly valuable to part-time farmers. Furthermore, this technology provided the environmental benefits (reduced soil loss and fossil fuel use) of significantly reducing tillage. Farmers saved billions of US$, and weed management became more effective and simple. Indeed, to many farmers, glyphosate with GR crops became the goose that laid the golden egg. After more than 20 years of use, the first cases of GR weeds were reported in the latter 1990s. After a lag period of less than 10 years after the first GR weed was reported, the number of species reported to have evolved glyphosate resistance began to increase in a linear fashion, reaching 53 species in 2021, third only to atrazine (66 species), a much older herbicide and to ALS inhibitors (168 species), which include several different herbicides used in numerous crops since the 1980s. The long lag phase before any resistance was detected led some to believe by the mid-1990s that evolution of resistance was improbable. By this time, glyphosate use was greatly increasing, especially in GR crops, an ideal situation for the evolution of resistance. After this, the number of glyphosate-resistance cases exploded, and the mechanisms of resistance to many of these cases of resistance were determined. A recent, short commentary detailed these mechanisms after a new mechanism of resistance was reported. The number of mechanisms for resistance to no other herbicide comes close to those of glyphosate. In the present paper, we briefly describe the many evolved mechanisms by which weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate.

Alejandro Parra and Dante’s Eighth Circle of Hell

None, as it is a short commentary, but if you need one, here it is. This commentary places Alejandro Parra's very long list of plagiarisms and data missrepresentations within the context of Dante's classification of human foibles. The responses from two Argentinean universities are described, along with continuing examples of Parra's misrepresentations.