Maternal SARS-CoV-2 impacts fetal placental macrophage programs and placenta-derived microglial models of neurodevelopment.

BACKGROUND: The SARS-CoV-2 virus activates maternal and placental immune responses. Such activation in the setting of other infections during pregnancy is known to impact fetal brain development. The effects of maternal immune activation on neurodevelopment are mediated at least in part by fetal brain microglia. However, microglia are inaccessible for direct analysis, and there are no validated non-invasive surrogate models to evaluate in utero microglial priming and function. We have previously demonstrated shared transcriptional programs between microglia and Hofbauer cells (HBCs, or fetal placental macrophages) in mouse models. METHODS AND RESULTS: We assessed the impact of maternal SARS-CoV-2 on HBCs isolated from 24 term placentas (N = 10 SARS-CoV-2 positive cases, 14 negative controls). Using single-cell RNA-sequencing, we demonstrated that HBC subpopulations exhibit distinct cellular programs, with specific subpopulations differentially impacted by SARS-CoV-2. Assessment of differentially expressed genes implied impaired phagocytosis, a key function of both HBCs and microglia, in some subclusters. Leveraging previously validated models of microglial synaptic pruning, we showed that HBCs isolated from placentas of SARS-CoV-2 positive pregnancies can be transdifferentiated into microglia-like cells (HBC-iMGs), with impaired synaptic pruning behavior compared to HBC models from negative controls. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that HBCs isolated at birth can be used to create personalized cellular models of offspring microglial programming.

Understanding the Role of Extension Professionals in Public Health and One Health in Kansas.

This study aims to understand the roles of selected extension professionals (EPs) in the field of public health and One Health and the challenges involved in performing these duties to their communities in the state of Kansas. To evaluate the role of EPs in public health and One Health, researchers interviewed nine (9) EPs following a set of structured questions. Emerging themes were extrapolated from the responses of the EPs. Researchers assigned codes for qualitative analysis and assigned themes related to public health, One Health, and effective delivery of services. Researchers identified the following themes related to the role of EPs in public health (youth development, physical activity, personal health care, proper nutrition, access to transportation), One Health (food safety and food security, environmental health, disease control and prevention) and effective delivery of services (community engagement, collaboration, challenges in implementation). The study provided an overview of the diverse roles that EPs play in public health and One Health, keys on how to engage the community effectively, and challenges in extending services to the community.

Telemedicine and Resource Utilization in Pulmonary Clinic.

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine use increased with the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of telemedicine on resource use in pulmonary clinics is unknown. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study identified adults with pulmonary clinic visits at the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics (January 2018-December 2021). The primary exposure was telemedicine versus in-person visits. Standard statistics were used to describe the cohort and compare patients stratified by visit type. Multivariable logistic regression models evaluated the association of telemedicine with resource use (primarily, computed tomography [CT] orders placed within 7 days of visit). RESULTS: 21,744 clinic visits were included: 5,480 (25.2%) telemedicine and 16,264 (74.8%) in-person. In both, the majority were < 65-years-old, female, and identified as Hispanic white. Patients seen with telemedicine had increased odds of having CT scans ordered within 7 days (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.34, [95% confidence interval 1.04-1.74]); and decreased odds of chest x-rays (aOR 0.37 [0.23-0.57]). Telemedicine increased odds of contact of any kind with our healthcare system within 30-days (aOR 1.56 [1.29-1.88]) and 90-days (aOR 1.39 [1.17-1.64]). Specifically, telemedicine visits had decreased odds of emergency department visits and hospitalizations (30 days: aOR 0.54 [0.38-0.76]; 90 days: aOR 0.68 [0.52-0.89]), but increased odds of phone calls and electronic health record inbox messages (30 days: aOR 3.44 [2.73-4.35]; 90 days: aOR 3.58 [2.95-4.35]). CONCLUSIONS: Telemedicine was associated with an increased odds of chest CT order with a concomitant decreased odds of chest x-ray order. Increased contact with the healthcare system with telemedicine may represent a larger time burden for outpatient clinicians.

Shotgun Metagenomics Reveals Taxonomic and Functional Patterns of the Microbiome Associated with Barbour's Seahorse (Hippocampus barbouri).

This study aimed to investigate the taxonomic and functional patterns of the microbiome associated with Barbour's seahorse (Hippocampus barbouri) using a combination of shotgun metagenomics and bioinformatics. The analyses revealed that Pseudomonadota and Bacillota were the dominant phyla in the seahorse skin microbiome, whereas Pseudomonadota and, to a lesser extent, Bacillota and Bacteroidota were the dominant phyla in the seahorse gut microbiome. Several metabolic pathway categories were found to be enriched in the skin microbiome, including amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, cofactor and vitamin metabolism, energy metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, as well as membrane transport, signal transduction, and cellular community-prokaryotes. In contrast, the gut microbiome exhibited enrichment in metabolic pathways associated with the metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides, biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites, xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism, and quorum sensing. Additionally, although the relative abundance of bacteriocins in the skin and gut was slightly similar, notable differences were observed at the class level. Specifically, class I bacteriocins were found to be more abundant in the skin microbiome, whereas class III bacteriocins were more abundant in the gut microbiome. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first comprehensive examination of the taxonomic and functional patterns of the skin and gut microbiome in Barbour's seahorse. These findings can greatly contribute to a deeper understanding of the seahorse-associated microbiome, which can play a pivotal role in predicting and controlling bacterial infections, thereby contributing to the success of aquaculture and health-promoting initiatives.

Serum Proteomics Distinguish Subtypes of NMO Spectrum Disorder and MOG Antibody-Associated Disease and Highlight Effects of B-Cell Depletion.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: AQP4 antibody-positive NMOSD (AQP4-NMOSD), MOG antibody-associated disease (MOGAD), and seronegative NMOSD (SN-NMOSD) are neuroautoimmune conditions that have overlapping clinical manifestations. Yet, important differences exist in these diseases, particularly in B-cell depletion (BCD) efficacy. Yet, the biology driving these differences remains unclear. Our study aims to clarify biological pathways distinguishing these diseases beyond autoantibodies and investigate variable BCD effects through proteomic comparisons. METHODS: In a retrospective study, 1,463 serum proteins were measured in 53 AQP4-NMOSD, 25 MOGAD, 18 SN-NMOSD, and 49 healthy individuals. To identify disease subtype-associated signatures, we examined serum proteins in patients without anti-CD20 B-cell depletion (NoBCD). We then assessed the effect of BCD treatment within each subtype by comparing proteins between BCD-treated and NoBCD-treated patients. RESULTS: In NoBCD-treated patients, serum profiles distinguished the 3 diseases. AQP4-NMOSD showed elevated type I interferon-induced chemokines (CXCL9 and CXCL10) and TFH chemokine (CXCL13). MOGAD exhibited increased cytotoxic T-cell proteases (granzyme B and granzyme H), while SN-NMOSD displayed elevated Wnt inhibitory factor 1, a marker for nerve injury. Across all subtypes, BCD-treated patients showed reduction of B-cell-associated proteins. In AQP4-NMOSD, BCD led to a decrease in several inflammatory pathways, including IL-17 signaling, cytokine storm, and macrophage activation. By contrast, BCD elevated these pathways in patients with MOGAD. BCD had no effect on these pathways in SN-NMOSD. DISCUSSION: Proteomic profiles show unique biological pathways that distinguish AQP4-NMOSD, MOGAD, or SN-NMOSD. Furthermore, BCD uniquely affects inflammatory pathways in each disease type, providing an explanation for the disparate therapeutic response in AQP4-NMOSD and MOGAD.

Genetic regulators of a resource polyphenism interact to couple predatory morphology and behaviour.

Phenotypic plasticity often requires the coordinated response of multiple traits observed individually as morphological, physiological or behavioural. The integration, and hence functionality, of this response may be influenced by whether and how these component traits share a genetic basis. In the case of polyphenism, or discrete plasticity, at least part of the environmental response is categorical, offering a simple readout for determining whether and to what degree individual components of a plastic response can be decoupled. Here, we use the nematode Pristionchus pacificus, which has a resource polyphenism allowing it to be a facultative predator of other nematodes, to understand the genetic integration of polyphenism. The behavioural and morphological consequences of perturbations to the polyphenism's genetic regulatory network show that both predatory activity and ability are strongly influenced by morphology, different axes of morphological variation are associated with different aspects of predatory behaviour, and rearing environment can decouple predatory morphology from behaviour. Further, we found that interactions between some polyphenism-modifying genes synergistically affect predatory behaviour. Our results show that the component traits of an integrated polyphenic response can be decoupled and, in principle, selected upon individually, and they suggest that multiple routes to functionally comparable phenotypes are possible.

Understanding the Phase Behavior of a Multistimuli-Responsive Elastin-like Polymer: Insights from Dynamic Light Scattering Analysis.

Elastin-like polymers are a class of stimuli-responsive protein polymers that hold immense promise in applications such as drug delivery, hydrogels, and biosensors. Yet, understanding the intricate interplay of factors influencing their stimuli-responsive behavior remains a challenging frontier. Using temperature-controlled dynamic light scattering and zeta potential measurements, we investigate the interactions between buffer, pH, salt, water, and protein using an elastin-like polymer containing ionizable lysine residues. We observed the elevation of transition temperature in the presence of the common buffering agent HEPES at low concentrations, suggesting a "salting-in" effect of HEPES as a cosolute through weak association with the protein. Our findings motivate a more comprehensive investigation of the influence of buffer and other cosolute molecules on elastin-like polymer behavior.

Allele frequency dynamics under sex-biased demography and sex-specific inheritance in a pedigreed jay population.

Sex-biased demography, including sex-biased survival or migration, can alter allele frequency changes across the genome. In particular, we can expect different patterns of genetic variation on autosomes and sex chromosomes due to sex-specific differences in life histories, as well as differences in effective population size, transmission modes, and the strength and mode of selection. Here, we demonstrate the role that sex differences in life history played in shaping short-term evolutionary dynamics across the genome. We used a 25-year pedigree and genomic dataset from a long-studied population of Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) to directly characterize the relative roles of sex-biased demography and inheritance in shaping genome-wide allele frequency trajectories. We used gene dropping simulations to estimate individual genetic contributions to future generations and to model drift and immigration on the known pedigree. We quantified differential expected genetic contributions of males and females over time, showing the impact of sex-biased dispersal in a monogamous system. Due to female-biased dispersal, more autosomal variation is introduced by female immigrants. However, due to male-biased transmission, more Z variation is introduced by male immigrants. Finally, we partitioned the proportion of variance in allele frequency change through time due to male and female contributions. Overall, most allele frequency change is due to variance in survival and births. Males and females make similar contributions to autosomal allele frequency change, but males make higher contributions to allele frequency change on the Z chromosome. Our work shows the importance of understanding sex-specific demographic processes in characterizing genome-wide allele frequency change in wild populations.

Gut microbiota composition links to variation in functional domains across psychiatric disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Changes in microbial composition are observed in various psychiatric disorders, but their specificity to certain symptoms or processes remains unclear. This study explores the associations between the gut microbiota composition and the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) domains of functioning, representing symptom domains, specifically focusing on stress-related and neurodevelopmental disorders in patients with and without psychiatric comorbidity. METHODS: The gut microbiota was analyzed in 369 participants, comprising 272 individuals diagnosed with a mood disorder, anxiety disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and/or substance use disorder, as well as 97 psychiatrically unaffected individuals. The RDoC domains were estimated using principal component analysis (PCA) with oblique rotation on a range of psychiatric, psychological, and personality measures. Associations between the gut microbiota and the functional domains were assessed using multiple linear regression and permanova, adjusted for age, sex, diet, smoking, medication use and comorbidity status. RESULTS: Four functional domains, aligning with RDoC's negative valence, social processes, cognitive systems, and arousal/regulatory systems domains, were identified. Significant associations were found between these domains and eight microbial genera, including associations of negative valence with the abundance of the genera Sellimonas, CHKCI001, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Oscillibacter, and Flavonifractor; social processes with Sellimonas; cognitive systems with Sporobacter and Hungatella; and arousal/regulatory systems with Ruminococcus torques (all pFDR < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate associations between the gut microbiota and the domains of functioning across patients and unaffected individuals, potentially mediated by immune-related processes. These results open avenues for microbiota-focused personalized interventions, considering psychiatric comorbidity. However, further research is warranted to establish causality and elucidate mechanistic pathways.

The UK clinical eye research strategy: refreshing research priorities for clinical eye research in the UK.

OBJECTIVES: To validate and update the 2013 James Lind Alliance (JLA) Sight Loss and Vision Priority Setting Partnership (PSP)'s research priorities for Ophthalmology, as part of the UK Clinical Eye Research Strategy. METHODS: Twelve ophthalmology research themes were identified from the JLA report. They were allocated to five Clinical Study Groups of diverse stakeholders who reviewed the top 10 research priorities for each theme. Using an online survey (April 2021-February 2023), respondents were invited to complete one or more of nine subspecialty surveys. Respondents indicated which of the research questions they considered important and subsequently ranked them. RESULTS: In total, 2240 people responded to the survey (mean age, 59.3 years), from across the UK. 68.1% were female. 68.2% were patients, 22.3% healthcare professionals or vision researchers, 7.1% carers, and 2.1% were charity support workers. Highest ranked questions by subspecialty: Cataract (prevention), Cornea (improving microbial keratitis treatment), Optometric (impact of integration of ophthalmic primary and secondary care via community optometric care pathways), Refractive (factors influencing development and/or progression of refractive error), Childhood onset (improving early detection of visual disorders), Glaucoma (effective and improved treatments), Neuro-ophthalmology (improvements in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of neurodegeneration affecting vision), Retina (improving prevention, diagnosis and treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration), Uveitis (effective treatments for ocular and orbital inflammatory diseases). CONCLUSIONS: A decade after the initial PSP, the results refocus the most important research questions for each subspecialty, and prime targeted research proposals within Ophthalmology, a chronically underfunded specialty given the substantial burden of disability caused by eye disease.

Barriers to neurosurgery for medical students: a national study focused on the intersectionality of gender and race.

OBJECTIVE: Despite 51.2% of medical school graduates being female, only 29.8% of neurosurgery residency applicants are female. Furthermore, only 12.6% of neurosurgery applicants identify as underrepresented in medicine (URM). Evaluating the entry barriers for female and URM students is crucial in promoting the equity and diversity of the neurosurgical workforce. The objective of this study was to evaluate barriers to neurosurgery for medical students while considering the interaction between gender and race. METHODS: A Qualtrics survey was distributed widely to US medical students, assessing 14 factors of hesitancy toward neurosurgery. Likert scale responses, representing statement agreeability, converted to numeric values on a 7-point scale were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U-test and ANOVA comparisons with Bonferroni correction. RESULTS: Of 540 respondents, 68.7% were female and 22.6% were URM. There were 22.6% male non-URM, 7.4% male URM, 53.5% female non-URM, and 15.2% female URM respondents. The predominant reasons for hesitancy toward neurosurgery included work/life integration, length of training, competitiveness of residency position, and perceived malignancy of the field. Females were more hesitant toward neurosurgery due to maternity/paternity needs (p = 0.005), the absence of seeing people like them in the field (p < 0.001), and opportunities to pursue health equity work (p < 0.001). Females were more likely to have difficulties finding a mentor in neurosurgery who represented their identities (p = 0.017). URM students were more hesitant toward neurosurgery due to not seeing people like them in the field (p < 0.001). Subanalysis revealed that when students were stratified by both gender and URM status, there were more reasons for hesitancy toward neurosurgery that had significant differences between groups (male URM, male non-URM, female URM, and female non-URM students), suggesting the importance of intersectionality in this analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The authors highlight the implications of gender and racial diversity in the neurosurgical workforce on medical student interest and recruitment. Their findings suggest the importance of actively working to address these barriers, including 1) maternity/paternity policy reevaluation, standardization, and dissemination; and 2) actively providing resources for the creation of mentorship relationships for both women and URM students in an effort to create a workforce that aligns with the changing demographics of medical graduates to continue to improve diversity in neurosurgery.

Drugs, guns, and violent crime in California.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence linking use of controlled substances with perpetration of interpersonal violence. While the United States constitution protects the right to own a firearm, federal law prohibits firearm purchase and possession by persons believed to be at high risk for violence, including those who use controlled substances unlawfully. METHODS: We report here the results of a 13-year prospective observational study on the risk of violent crime associated with a history of criminal drug charges in a cohort of 79,678 legal purchasers of handguns in California in 2001. The main outcomes were post-purchase charges for any violent crime, violent Crime Index crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault), and firearm-related violent crimes. The main exposure of interest was a history of pre-purchase charge(s) for drug-related offenses; we examined as a secondary exposure a history of marijuana-related charges. We estimated adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) using Cox proportional hazards multiple events models. RESULTS: We found that legal handgun purchasers in California with a history of drug-related charges, even those with marijuana charges only, had triple the risk of a post-purchase violent crime charge compared to purchasers with no criminal charges (drug charges only: aHR=2.9, 95 % CI 2.2-3.8; marijuana charges only: aHR=3.3, 95 % CI 1.8-6.0). In addition, a criminal history of drug charges only vs. no criminal history was associated with increased risk of one or more violent crime charges after the first post-purchase arrest event (aHR=1.6, 95 % CI 1.2-2.3). CONCLUSION: It is incumbent on researchers and policy makers to understand the nature and causes of this risk in order to take effective steps towards mitigation.

The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of fentanyl administered via transdermal patch in horses.

Introduction: Understanding the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of fentanyl in horses is crucial for optimizing pain management strategies in veterinary medicine. Methods: Six adult horses were enrolled in a randomized crossover design. Treatments included: placebo, two 100 mcg/h patches (LDF), four 100 mcg/h patches (MDF), and six 100 mcg/h patches (HDF). Patches were in place for 72 h. Blood was obtained for fentanyl plasma concentration determination, thermal threshold, mechanical threshold, heart rate, respiratory rate, and rectal temperature were obtained prior patch placement and at multiple time points following patch placement for the following 96 h. Fentanyl plasma concentration was determined using LC-MS/MS. Data were analyzed using a generalized mixed effects model. Results: Mean (range) maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), time to Cmax, and area under the curve extrapolated to infinity were 1.39 (0.82-1.82), 2.64 (1.21-4.42), 4.11 (2.78-7.12) ng/ml, 12.7 (8.0-16.0), 12.7 (8.0-16.0), 12 (8.0-16.0) h, 42.37 (27.59-55.56), 77.24 (45.62-115.06), 120.34 (100.66-150.55) h ng/ml for LDF, MDF, and HDF, respectively. There was no significant effect of treatment or time on thermal threshold, mechanical threshold, respiratory rate, or temperature (p > 0.063). There was no significant effect of treatment on heart rate (p = 0.364). There was a significant effect of time (p = 0.003) on heart rate with overall heart rates being less than baseline at 64 h. Conclusions: Fentanyl administered via transdermal patch is well absorbed and well tolerated but does not result in an anti-nociceptive effect as measured by thermal and mechanical threshold at the doses studied.

Dsg2 ectodomain organization increases throughout desmosome assembly.

Desmosomes are intercellular junctions that regulate mechanical integrity in epithelia and cardiac muscle. Dynamic desmosome remodeling is essential for wound healing and development, yet the mechanisms governing junction assembly remain elusive. While we and others have shown that cadherin ectodomains are highly organized, how this ordered architecture emerges during assembly is unknown. Using fluorescence polarization microscopy, we show that desmoglein 2 (Dsg2) ectodomain order gradually increases during 8 h of assembly, coinciding with increasing adhesive strength. In a scratch wound assay, we observed a similar increase in order in desmosomes assembling at the leading edge of migratory cells. Together, our findings indicate that cadherin organization is a hallmark of desmosome maturity and may play a role in conferring adhesive strength.

Social media use, brand engagement, and tobacco product initiation among youth: Evidence from a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether frequent social media use and liking/following tobacco brand accounts was associated with increased risk of tobacco and polytobacco initiation over approximately 1-year follow-up among youth with no prior tobacco use. METHODS: Associations between measures of social media engagement (daily social media use and liking/following tobacco brands) and tobacco initiation risk were examined using data from Waves 2 and 3 (2014-2015) of the US Population Assessment for Tobacco and Health study. Separate log-binomial models, accounting for missing data via multiple imputation and using propensity score adjustment to address confounding, estimated the adjusted relative risk (aRR) of any tobacco initiation and poly-use (2 + products) initiation at 1-year follow-up. RESULTS: Among the 8,672 youth with no prior tobacco use (49.3% female, mean [SD] age 14.1 [1.7]), 63.5% used social media at least daily, and 3.3% reported liking/following ≥ 1 tobacco brands on social media. Those reporting daily or more frequent social media use (compared to less) were at increased risk for tobacco (aRR 1.67; 95% CI 1.38-2.02) and polytobacco initiation (aRR 1.32; 95% CI 0.98-1.78). Although results were imprecise, liking/following ≥ 1 tobacco brands on social media (versus none) was associated with tobacco (aRR 1.34; 95% CI 0.95-1.89) or polytobacco initiation (aRR 1.60; 95% CI 0.99-2.60). In sensitivity analyses, liking/following cigarette or cigarillo brands was associated with polytobacco initiation. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to a growing evidence-base describing the exposure of youth to tobacco-related social media content. Such content-often generated by tobacco companies-may contribute to youth tobacco initiation.

Functional and immunological mapping of domains of the reticulocyte binding protein, Plasmodium vivax PvRBP2a.

We previously described a novel Plasmodium vivax invasion mechanism into human reticulocytes via the PvRBP2a-CD98 receptor-ligand pair. We assessed the PvRBP2a epitopes involved in CD98 binding and recognised by antibodies from infected patients using linear epitope mapping. We identified two epitope clusters mediating PvRBP2a-CD98 interaction. One cluster named cluster B (PvRBP2a431-448, TAALKEKGKLLANLYNKL) was the target of antibody responses in P. vivax-infected humans. Peptides from each cluster were able to prevent live parasite invasion of human reticulocytes. These results provide new insights for development of a malaria blood stage vaccine against P. vivax.

Development of a multiplex droplet digital PCR assay for simultaneous detection and quantification of Escherichia coli, E. marmotae, and E. ruysiae in water samples.

Escherichia coli are widely used by water quality managers as Fecal Indicator Bacteria, but current quantification methods do not differentiate them from benign, environmental Escherichia species such as E. marmotae (formerly named cryptic clade V) or E. ruysiae (cryptic clades III and IV). Reliable and specific techniques for their identification are required to avoid confounding microbial water quality assessments. To address this, a multiplex droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assay targeting lipB (E. coli and E. ruysiae) and bglC (E. marmotae) was designed. The ddPCR performance was assessed using in silico analysis; genomic DNA from 40 local, international, and reference strains of target and non-target coliforms; and spiked water samples in a range relevant to water quality managers (1 to 1000 cells/100 mL). Results were compared to an analogous quantitative PCR (qPCR) and the Colilert method. Both PCR assays showed excellent sensitivity with a limit of detection of 0.05 pg/µL and 0.005 pg/µl for ddPCR and qPCR respectively, and of quantification of 0.5 pg/µL of genomic DNA. The ddPCR allowed differentiation and quantification of three Escherichia species per run by amplitude multiplexing and showed a high concordance with concentrations measured by Colilert once proportional bias was accounted for. In silico specificity testing underlined the possibility to further detect and distinguish Escherichia cryptic clade VI. Finally, the applicability of the ddPCR was successfully tested on environmental water samples where E. marmotae and E. ruysiae potentially confound E. coli counts based on the Most Probable Number method, highlighting the utility of this novel ddPCR as an efficient and rapid discriminatory test to improve water quality assessments.

AI in Africa: Basics Over Buzz.

When Buti Manamela visited Lengau, Africa's fastest supercomputer, he had more prosaic technology in mind: electricity. South Africa's Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology was at the Center for High Performance Computing in Cape Town for what should have been a showcase tour of a facility providing the country with the computing power needed to run and analyze the kinds of complex models and huge datasets that underpin artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). But Manamela was there to better understand the impact of South Africa's rolling power blackouts on the center's operations. Lengau, which means "cheetah" in Setswana, is one of the most important outposts in Africa's AI infrastructure landscape; yet, it is struggling to operate at full capacity because of unreliable power.

Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratories: Innovating aging research and Alzheimer's care.

This perspective outlines the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratories (AITC) at Johns Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Massachusetts, highlighting their roles in developing AI-based technologies for older adult care, particularly targeting Alzheimer's disease (AD). These National Institute on Aging (NIA) centers foster collaboration among clinicians, gerontologists, ethicists, business professionals, and engineers to create AI solutions. Key activities include identifying technology needs, stakeholder engagement, training, mentoring, data integration, and navigating ethical challenges. The objective is to apply these innovations effectively in real-world scenarios, including in rural settings. In addition, the AITC focuses on developing best practices for AI application in the care of older adults, facilitating pilot studies, and addressing ethical concerns related to technology development for older adults with cognitive impairment, with the ultimate aim of improving the lives of older adults and their caregivers. HIGHLIGHTS: Addressing the complex needs of older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) requires a comprehensive approach, integrating medical and social support. Current gaps in training, techniques, tools, and expertise hinder uniform access across communities and health care settings. Artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies hold promise in transforming care for this demographic. Yet, transitioning these innovations from concept to marketable products presents significant challenges, often stalling promising advancements in the developmental phase. The Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratories (AITC) program, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), presents a viable model. These Collaboratories foster the development and implementation of AI methods and technologies through projects aimed at improving care for older Americans, particularly those with AD, and promote the sharing of best practices in AI and technology integration. Why Does This Matter? The National Institute on Aging (NIA) Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratories (AITC) program's mission is to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and new technologies for the betterment of older adults, especially those with dementia. By bridging scientific and technological expertise, fostering clinical and industry partnerships, and enhancing the sharing of best practices, this program can significantly improve the health and quality of life for older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD).