Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) pilot study on genetic and non-genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease among Asian Americans and Canadians.

INTRODUCTION: Clinical research in Alzheimer's disease (AD) lacks cohort diversity despite being a global health crisis. The Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) was formed to address underrepresentation of Asians in research, and limited understanding of how genetics and non-genetic/lifestyle factors impact this multi-ethnic population. METHODS: The ACAD started fully recruiting in October 2021 with one central coordination site, eight recruitment sites, and two analysis sites. We developed a comprehensive study protocol for outreach and recruitment, an extensive data collection packet, and a centralized data management system, in English, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. RESULTS: ACAD has recruited 606 participants with an additional 900 expressing interest in enrollment since program inception. DISCUSSION: ACAD's traction indicates the feasibility of recruiting Asians for clinical research to enhance understanding of AD risk factors. ACAD will recruit > 5000 participants to identify genetic and non-genetic/lifestyle AD risk factors, establish blood biomarker levels for AD diagnosis, and facilitate clinical trial readiness. HIGHLIGHTS: The Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) promotes awareness of under-investment in clinical research for Asians. We are recruiting Asian Americans and Canadians for novel insights into Alzheimer's disease. We describe culturally appropriate recruitment strategies and data collection protocol. ACAD addresses challenges of recruitment from heterogeneous Asian subcommunities. We aim to implement a successful recruitment program that enrolls across three Asian subcommunities.

Stable flies sense and behaviorally respond to the polarization of light.

Insects use their polarization-sensitive photoreceptors in a variety of ecological contexts including host-foraging. Here, we investigated the effect of polarized light on host foraging by the blood-feeding stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, a pest of livestock. Electroretinogram recordings with chromatic adaptation demonstrated that the spectral sensitivity of stable flies resembles that of other calyptrate flies. Histological studies of the flies' compound eye revealed differences in microvillar arrangement of ommatidial types, assumed to be pale and yellow, with the yellow R7 and pale R8 photoreceptors having the greatest polarization sensitivity. In behavioural experiments, stable flies preferred to alight on horizontally polarized stimuli with a high degree of linear polarization. This preferential response disappeared when either ultraviolet (UV) or human-visible wavelengths were omitted from light stimuli. Removing specific wavelength bands further revealed that the combination of UV (330-400 nm) and blue (400-525 nm) wavelength bands was sufficient to enable polarized light discrimination by flies. These findings enhance our understanding of polarization vision and foraging behavior among hematophagous insects and should inform future trap designs.