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Introduction: Recent estimations have projected a threefold increase in dementia prevalence in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) by 2050, particularly in Maori and Pacific peoples. However, to date, there are no national data on dementia prevalence, and overseas data are used to estimate the NZ dementia statistics. The aim of this feasibility study was to prepare the groundwork for the first full-scale NZ dementia prevalence study that is representative of Māori, European, Pacific and Asian peoples living in NZ. Methods: The main feasibility issues were: (i) Sampling to ensure adequate community representation from the included ethnic groups, (ii) Preparing a workforce to conduct the fieldwork and developing quality control, (iii) Raising awareness of the study in the communities (iv) Maximizing recruitment by door-knocking, (v) Retaining those we have recruited to the study and (vi) Acceptability of study recruitment and assessment using adapted versions of the 10/66 dementia protocol in different ethnic groups living in South Auckland. Results: We found that a probability sampling strategy using NZ Census data was reasonably accurate and all ethnic groups were sampled effectively. We demonstrated that we were able to train up a multi-ethnic workforce consisting of lay interviewers who were able to administer the 10/66 dementia protocol in community settings. The response rate (224/297, 75.5%) at the door-knocking stage was good but attrition at subsequent stages was high and only 75/297 (25.2%) received the full interview. Conclusions: Our study showed that it would be feasible to conduct a population-based dementia prevalence study using the 10/66 dementia protocol in Māori, European and Asian communities living in NZ, utilizing a qualified, skilled research team representative of the families participating in the study. The study has demonstrated that for recruitment and interviewing in Pacific communities a different but culturally appropriate approach is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To interest multicultural, bilingual teenagers in nursing careers, an 8-week culturally focused summer program integrated life planning, mentorship, nursing assistant training, and college application assistance while providing stipends and scholarship opportunities. Twenty-four economically disadvantaged teenagers completed the program and passed the certified nursing assistant examination. (SK)

A study of 202 patients with autism found the incidence of a dodecamer duplication in the HOPA gene was not significantly different between patients and controls. Three female patients inherited the duplication from nonautistic fathers. Also, there was no systematic skewing of X inactivation in female patients with the duplication. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Previous work has shown that purified double mutant A204C/C374A yeast actin is polymerization-deficient in vitro under physiological concentrations. To understand the importance of the 204 residue in subdomain 4, a series of actin proteins with a single mutation at this position were created with Cys-374 retained. Only yeast expressing A204G-, A204S-, or A204C-actin were viable. The A204G and A204S strains were sensitive to cold temperature and hyperosmolarity, whereas the A204C strain showed more profound effects on growth under these conditions. Cells expressing A204Cactin exhibited anomalies previously observed for A204C/C374A actin, including abnormal actin structures. A204G- and A204S-actin proteins had 12- and 13-fold increased critical concentrations, respectively, relative to wild-type. Only at very high concentrations could A204C actin polymerize when ATP was bound; when hydrolyzed, the ADP-containing A204C filaments depolymerized, demonstrating a profound difference in critical concentration between ATP and ADP states with A204C actin. A correlation between size of the residue substituted at position 204 and energy minimization of actin filament models was observed. We propose that the region surrounding residue 204 is involved in interactions that change depending on the phosphorylation state of the bound nucleotide that might reflect different conformations of F-actin subunits. Key words: actin polymerization, mutagenesis, critical concentration, nucleotide. Des travaux anterieurs ont montre que le double mutant purifie A204C/C374A de l'actine de levure possede un defaut de polymerisation in vitro sous des conditions physiologiques. Afin de comprendre l'importance du residu 204 du sous-domaine 4, une serie de proteines comportant une mutation ponctuelle a cette position ont ete produites, en conservant la Cys-374. Seules les levures exprimant les formes A204G, A204S ou A204C de l'actine etaient viables. Les souches A204G et A204S etaient sensibles au froid et a l'hyperosmolarite, alors que la souche A204C montrait des problemes de croissance plus prononces sous ces conditions. Les cellules exprimant l'actine A204C montraient des anomalies deja observe es chez les cellules exprimant la forme A204C/C374A, incluant des structures anormales d'actine. Les proteines A204G et A204S possedaient des concentrations critiques respectivement 12 et 13 fois superieures, relativement au type sauvage. L'actine A204C ne polymerisait qu'a tres haute concentration lorsque l'ATP etait liee; apres hydrolyse, les filaments d'actine A204C contenant l'ADP depolymerisaient, demontrant l'existence d'une difference importante dans les concentrations critiques des formes liees a l'ATP et a l'ADP de l'actine A204C. Une correlation entre la taille des residus substitues en position 204 et la minimisation d'energie des modeles de filaments d'actine a ete observee. Nous proposons que la region environnant le residu 204 est impliquee dans les interactions qui changent selon l'etat de phosphorylation du nucleotide lie, refletant possiblement differentes conformations des sous-unites d'actine. Mots-cles : polymerisation de l'actine, mutagenese, concentration critique, nucleotide. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Actin is a 42 kDa cytoskeletal protein involved in a plethora of physiological processes. Polymerization into long filaments (F-actin) is a fundamental activity of the actin protein. F-actin can [...]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tibs.2005.12.007 Byline: Susan P. Yates (a), Rene JA[cedilla]rgensen (a), Gregers R. Andersen (b), A. Rod Merrill (a) Abstract: Diphtheria toxin and exotoxin A are well-characterized members of the ADP-ribosyltransferase toxin family that function as virulence factors in the pathogenic bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Recent high-resolution structural data of the Michaelis (enzyme-substrate) complex of the P. aeruginosa toxin with an NAD.sup.+ analog and eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) have provided insights into the mechanism of inactivation of protein synthesis caused by these protein factors. In addition, rigorous steady-state and stopped-flow kinetic analyses of the toxin-catalyzed reaction, in combination with inhibitor studies, have resulted in a quantum leap in our understanding of the mechanistic details of this deadly enzyme mechanism. It is now apparent that these toxins use stealth and molecular mimicry in unleashing their toxic strategy in the infected host eukaryotic cell. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada (b) Centre for Structural Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, University of Aarhus, Gustav Wieds Vej 10C, DK-8000, Denmark

Author(s): René Jørgensen [1, 5]; A. Rod Merrill (corresponding author) [2, 5]; Susan P. Yates [2]; Victor E. Marquez [4]; Adrian L. Schwan [3]; Thomas Boesen [1]; Gregers R. Andersen [...]

The Somali population in New Zealand is a rapidly growing one that should be of interest to mental health professionals due to their experience of resettlement stressors and the refugee [...]

Context: Compared to Europeans, Māori and Pacific peoples living with dementia in the Counties Manukau District Health Board region are three times less likely to use Aged Residential Care (ARC). Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether reduced ARC utilisation by Māori and Pacific peoples living with dementia is equitably compensated by an increase in Home Based Support Service (HBSS). Methods: Routinely collected sociodemographic and clinical data for people diagnosed with dementia at an NZ memory service (2013-2019) were linked with administrative ARC and HBSS invoicing data. Two-part models were used to estimate adjusted costs of HBSS utilisation or ARC placement. Findings: six hundred fifty-seven people of European, Māori and Pacific ethnicity were included in the analysis. Compared to Europeans, both unadjusted and adjusted ARC costs per person-year were significantly lower for both Māori (-NZD$3580, 95%CI: -$6890, -$140) and Pacific peoples (-NZD$3110, 95%CI: -$5590, -$540) but HBSS cost per person-year was only higher for Pacific peoples (+NZD$640, 95%CI: $100, $1180) and not Māori (+NZD$180, 95%CI: -$470, $840). There was no significant difference in the combined HBSS and ARC cost per person-year for Māori (-NZD3460, 95%CI -7200, 280) or Pacific peoples (-NZD2490 95%CI -5090, 110). Conclusions: Lower ARC utilisation amongst Māori and Pacific peoples living with dementia does not translate to an equitable increase in HBSS spend. The difference is likely to be compensated by care provided by unpaid family carers. Addressing the wider determinants of long-term care use in these populations and providing alternative culturally appropriate services must be prioritised to address this inequity in allocation of public sector resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over 50% of dementia in NZ may be due to high prevalence of risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. If so, a better understanding of the relationships may present ways to mitigate the risk of dementia. Community‐based epidemiological studies would provide definitive evidence but are resource‐intensive so we need to explore alternative sources of data such as routinely collected health information. The overarching aim of our research is to use a machine learning model to identify population groups at high risk of cognitive decline and/or dementia. But first we need to gauge the appetite of service users to have their personal data used in this way. This study aimed to explore the attitudes and preferences of people aged 55+ living in Counties Manukau regarding the use of their de‐identified health data and understanding their concerns and degree of comfort in different scenarios. Method: An anonymous online survey was conducted with people aged 55+ from NZ European, Māori, Pacific, Chinese and Indian communities currently engaged with older adult health services in Counties Manukau District in 2022. We offered service users the opportunity to complete the survey by telephone if preferred, and the opportunity to be interviewed in languages other than English to ensure adequate representation of the local population. Result: Over 85% of the participants were aware of how their health information was used for service development and assessing population trends, and about 80% were comfortable or very comfortable with data being used in this way, assuming data were stored securely and confidentiality was assured. Participants generally felt that patients' permission was required if data were being analysed by people other than health professionals or being used by commercial companies, and that there should be transparency about these uses. There were some specific cultural concerns about patients' data being used after their death. Conclusion: This study supports the idea that the local population are generally supportive of researchers using their de‐identified routinely collected data for research purposes that will benefit the population from which the data were taken, but specific cultural concerns need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As the economic impact of dementia on health and social care increases, governments require disease-specific epidemiological data that will help inform spending and policy decisions. The aim of this study is to examine predictors of mortality in dementia in consecutive referrals to a New Zealand (NZ) memory service that includes Māori, Pacific Islander, and NZ European patients.Methods: Date of birth, sex, ethnicity, living situation, cognitive function, dementia subtype, dementia severity, physical comorbidity, and medication data were collected from electronic health records. The resulting data set was linked to administrative data on mortality and last hospital contact dates to allow time-dependent survival analyses.Results: The risk of death in people with dementia was increased by age (adjusted HR per year 1.08, 95%CI:1.05-1.12) and lower cognitive score at baseline (adjusted HR for severe impairment:2.54, 95% CI:1.25-5.16), and was reduced by cholinesterase inhibitors (adjusted HR:0.54, 95% CI:0.34-0.88). Compared to NZ Europeans (HR:1.19, 95% CI:0.63-2.25), antipsychotics increased the risk of death three-fold in Māori (adjusted HR:3.62, 95% CI:0.79-16.7) and Pacific Islanders (adjusted HR:2.54, 95%CI:1.10-5.85).Conclusions: Further research is required to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the survival rates in Māori and Pacific Islanders living with dementia in NZ,and their increased risk of death if antipsychotics are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Empowering Dementia Carers in an iSupport Virtual Assistant (e‐DIVA) project aims to develop a website based on the World Health Organisation's iSupport to support carers in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), Australia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The website will be supplemented with culturally‐appropriate videos showing different scenarios in caring. As NZ had limited funding for the adaptation process, we decided to utilise the videos already developed by the Australian team and modify them to be locally‐relevant to NZ culture. There are some similarities in the culture and ethnic populations of the two countries, but also considerable differences. Here we aim to understand the need of cultural adaptation and describe the process of developing locally‐relevant videos for self‐paced dementia training to support carers in NZ. Method: We worked with carers and social and health care practitioners to adapt the iSupport manual for use in NZ. We conducted separate focus groups with carers and care practitioners to agree on adapted videos for use in different modules in iSupport website. We reviewed the scripts and visuals and discussed how to ensure the content (scenario, dialogue) and delivery (music, visuals) were acceptable and relatable for NZ carers from different backgrounds. To adapt for Māori carers, we took the manual and videos that had been adapted for non‐Māori, and conducted focus groups with Māori carers and care practitioners to produce content that was culturally‐appropriate and Māori‐friendly. Result: Using co‐design and consultation with carers and care professionals from specific cultures, we made changes to the backgrounds and visual representation of the characters to better reflect NZ culture, and ensuring inclusion and representation of Māori and Pasifika in the videos. We will present the adapted videos in AAIC 2023 next to the poster. Conclusion: Adapting existing videos can be a low‐cost approach to provide supporting media for an online training tool such as iSupport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has developed 'iSupport for Dementia', a self‐paced training for family carers of people with dementia. Empowering Dementia Carers in an iSupport Virtual Assistant (e‐DIVA) project aims to develop a website based on iSupport to support carers in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), Australia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. We aim to understand carers' perspectives on iSupport to inform the NZ adaptation. Method: We recruited primary unpaid carers through a local non‐government dementia support organisation. We included carers who were aged 18 years old or over, caring for a person living with dementia for at least six months, able to speak English and use internet for video conference. Participants were provided with the original iSupport manual to review for a month. We conducted online focus group discussions with the carers (3‐4 per group) who provided feedback on the original manual. Each group met twice for two hours. The meetings were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically. We then used the results of the thematic analysis to inform the development of the iSupport‐VA NZ website and supporting materials such as videos. Result: Seven carers participated in this study. We identified common feedback which could be grouped into content, delivery, and potential use beyond immediate family carers. Based on the feedback, we split Module 1 into four sections, adding contents on optimising brain health, person‐centred care, and planning for the future. We also rearranged Modules 4 and 5 to start with information that all carers need then moving on to information more relevant to mid‐to‐late stage dementia. We also made changes in the illustration and language used. We amended the school‐like features (right‐or‐wrong approach), but kept the reflective activities. Carers also discussed the possibility of using iSupport as resources for extended family not involved in care and for care professionals. Conclusion: Several changes were required to adapt iSupport for use in NZ. This tool has some potentials for wider use beyond unpaid family carers. A separate research with Māori carers using a similar method started in 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Ethnicity may affect presentation to clinical services in people with dementia; however, no studies have examined this in Māori or Pacific peoples in New Zealand (NZ). Our objective was to examine the routinely collected clinical data from a memory assessment service in South Auckland to examine the presentation of dementia in the major NZ ethnic groups.Methods: A total of 360 patients presenting to a memory service with a new diagnosis of dementia were included in this study. Demographic data (age, sex, and ethnicity) and dementia sub-type and severity were analyzed.Results: There were 142 NZ European (mean age: 79.2, SD 7.4), 43 Māori (mean age: 70.2, SD 7.6), 126 Pacific (mean age: 74.3, SD 7.6), and 49 other ethnicities (mean age: 78.0, SD 8.5) presenting with a new diagnosis of dementia. After adjustment for gender and dementia subtype, Māori and Pacific patients were 8.5 and 5.3 years younger than NZ European patients (P < 0.0001). Pacific peoples tended to present with more advanced dementia (OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 0.98-2.70, P = 0.06) after adjustment for age and gender. There was little difference in the subtypes of dementia between ethnic groups.Conclusions: Māori and Pacific peoples with dementia presented to an NZ memory service at a younger age than NZ Europeans, and Pacific peoples presented with more advanced dementia. A population-based epidemiological study is critical to determine whether Māori and Pacific peoples have indeed a higher risk of developing dementia at a younger age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Urban homeless populations in the UK have been shown to have high rates of active tuberculosis, but less is known about the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of LTBI among individuals using homeless hostels in London.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional survey with outcome follow-up in homeless hostels in London. Our primary outcome was prevalence of LTBI. Recruitment for the study took place between May 2011 and June 2013. To estimate an LTBI prevalence of 10% with 95% CIs between 8% and 13%, we required 500 participants.Results: 491/804 (61.1%) individuals agreed to be screened. The prevalence of LTBI was 16.5% (81/491; 95% CI 13.2 to 19.8). In UK-born individuals, a history of incarceration was associated with increased risk of LTBI (OR 3.49; 95% CI 1.10 to 11.04; P=0.018) after adjusting for age, length of time spent homeless and illicit drug use. Of the three subjects who met English treatment guidelines for LTBI at the time of the study, none engaged with services after referral for treatment. Prevalence of past hepatitis B infection was 10.4% (51/489; 95% CI 7.7 to 13.1), and 59.5% (291/489; 95% CI 55.1 to 63.9) of individuals were non-immune. Prevalence of current hepatitis C infection was 10.4% (51/489; 95% CI 7.8 to 13.1).Conclusions: This study demonstrates the high prevalence of LTBI in homeless people in London and the associated poor engagement with care. There is a large unmet need for LTBI and hepatitis C infection treatment, and hepatitis B vaccination, in this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The switch between the Krebs cycle and the glyoxylate bypass is controlled by isocitrate dehydrogenase kinase/phosphatase (AceK). AceK, a bifunctional enzyme, phosphorylates and dephosphorylates isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) with its unique active site that harbours both the kinase and ATP/ADP-dependent phosphatase activities. AceK was the first example of prokaryotic phosphorylation identified, and the recent characterization of the structures of AceK and its complex with its protein substrate, IDH, now offers a new understanding of both previous and future endeavours. AceK is structurally similar to the eukaryotic protein kinase superfamily, sharing many of the familiar catalytic and regulatory motifs, demonstrating a close evolutionary relationship. Although the active site is shared by both the kinase and phosphatase functions, the catalytic residues needed for phosphatase function are readily seen when compared with the DXDX(T/V) family of phosphatases, despite the fact that the phosphatase function of AceK is strictly ATP/ADP-dependent. Structural analysis has also allowed a detailed look at regulation and its stringent requirements for interacting with IDH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isocitrate dehydrogenase kinase/phosphatase (AceK) regulates entry into the glyoxylate bypass by reversibly phosphorylating isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH). On the basis of the recently determined structure of the AceK-ICDH complex from Escherichia coli, we have classified the structures of homodimeric NADP+-ICDHs to rationalize and predict which organisms likely contain substrates for AceK. One example is Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp). Here we report a crystal structure of Bp-ICDH that exhibits the necessary structural elements required for AceK recognition. Kinetic analyses provided further confirmation that Bp-ICDH is a substrate for AceK. We conclude that the highly stringent AceK binding sites on ICDH are maintained only in Gram-negative bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]