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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) represents a significant global health challenge and affects approximately 50 million people worldwide. This overview of published reviews provides a comprehensive understanding of the intricate correlations between AD and body composition, focusing particularly on obesity. We used a systematic approach to collect and analyze relevant reviews on the topic of obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. A comprehensive search of electronic databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar, was conducted. We searched keywords such as “Alzheimer’s disease”, “body composition”, “lean mass”, “bone mass”, and “fat mass”. We considered only reviews written within the past 5 years and in English. Fifty-six relevant reviews were identified that shed light on the multiple connections between AD and body composition. The review involves several aspects, including the impact of lean mass, bone mass, and endocrinological factors related to obesity, as well as inflammation, neuroinflammation, and molecular/genetic factors. The findings highlight the complex interplay of these elements in the development of AD, underscoring the need for holistic approaches to reduce the risk of AD and to explore innovative strategies for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.

The purpose of this study is to examine the school selection process of parents whose children attended an urban school district in Northern California. Like numerous urban school districts across the United States, the district highlighted in this study also encountered students exiting its schools for the past decade. The findings shared in this paper from a mixed methods case study of parents whose children attend school in the district. Data were based on a quantitative survey and qualitative focus groups. The data indicate parents consider several key factors when selecting schools for their children including academics, class size, and differentiated instruction and support for their children; the school and administration's relationship to diversity and the community; and the overall enrollment process. The parents' narratives also revealed educational leaders must create a culturally relevant learning community in order to ensure parents, students, and community stakeholders will garner the support, resources, curricula, and learning activities to stop the exodus of children from schools within the school district.

Through a case study of two doctoral programs situated in the United States, this essay highlights how doctoral programs designed to prepare leaders in K-16 institutions and other contexts can be "framed around questions of equity, ethics, and social justice to bring about solutions to complex problems of practice" (CPED, 2016; Buss, Zambo, Zambo, Perry, & Williams, 2017; Zambo, Buss & Zambo; 2015). More specifically, we argue that programs should be able to clearly and explicitly articulate their distinctive understanding of "social justice" and trace the ways that this understanding is operationalized in particular facets of their program. In the following sections, we first offer a brief overview of our educational contexts, our programmatic definitions of social justice, and the ways we put that definition to work in our courses. Importantly, we offer the following as work-in-progress examples to serve as entry points into a larger conversation about operationalizing specific understandings of social justice in education doctorate programs, rather than as exemplars or models.

Despite the clarion call from educational leaders, scholars, and doctoral students for educational leadership preparation to provide learning experiences to ensure students persist to become transformative school leaders, most educational leadership programs struggle to make this happen. The purpose of this reflective essay is to capture how converting a doctoral educational leadership program from a quarter system to a semester system afforded two faculty members the opportunity to redesign their doctoral program into one that specifically focuses on social justice. We not only capture how the semester conversion process afforded us the opportunity to ensure the program was tied to preparing transformative school leaders, but highlight how it allowed us to implement programmatic supports predicated on ensuring that more students graduate. We believe the insights we gleaned from redesigning the Ed.D. program will assist other educational leadership faculty and directors. They will be able to graduate more leaders who are equipped to build socially-just schools and solve complex problems facing the communities they serve.

Ewing sarcoma is the second most common bone cancer in children, and while patients who present with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis have a dismal prognosis. Ewing sarcoma tumors are driven by the fusion gene EWS/Fli1, and while these tumors are genetically homogenous, the transcriptional heterogeneity can lead to a variety of cellular processes including metastasis. In this study, we demonstrate that in Ewing sarcoma cells, the canonical Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway is heterogeneously activated in vitro and in vivo, correlating with hypoxia and EWS/Fli1 activity. Ewing sarcoma cells predominantly express β-Catenin on the cell membrane bound to CDH11, which can respond to exogenous Wnt ligands leading to the immediate activation of Wnt/β-Catenin signaling within a tumor. Knockdown of CDH11 leads to delayed and decreased response to exogenous Wnt ligand stimulation, and ultimately decreased metastatic propensity. Our findings strongly indicate that CDH11 is a key component of regulating Wnt//β-Catenin signaling heterogeneity within Ewing sarcoma tumors, and is a promising molecular target to alter Wnt//β-Catenin signaling in Ewing sarcoma patients.

Plasma cells (PC) are found in the CNS of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, yet their source and role in MS remains unclear. We find that some PC in the CNS of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) originate in the gut and produce immunoglobulin A (IgA). Moreover, we show that IgA+ PC are dramatically reduced in the gut during EAE, and likewise, a reduction in IgA-bound fecal bacteria is seen in MS patients during disease relapse. Removal of plasmablast (PB) plus PC resulted in exacerbated EAE that was normalized by the introduction of gut-derived IgA+ PC. Furthermore, mice with an over-abundance of IgA+ PB and/or PC were specifically resistant to the effector stage of EAE, and expression of interleukin (IL)-10 by PB plus PC was necessary and sufficient to confer resistance. Our data show that IgA+ PB and/or PC mobilized from the gut play an unexpected role in suppressing neuroinflammation.

El racismo como fenómeno social, como forma de odio, como ideología y como práctica ha estado durante mucho tiempo en el centro de los estudios sociológicos. El estudio del racismo, de sus lógicas, semánticas, distintas articulaciones, así como de sus bases material y simbólica ha interesado a los científicos sociales durante décadas, pero en todo ese tiempo ha habido una clara ausencia de estudios sobre como contestar eficazmente al racismo. Basándonos en estudios sobre racismo, estudios críticos del discurso y Teoría Crítica, hemos llevado a cabo un análisis empírico-teórico de 149 herramientas de contestación al discurso de odio racista. Partiendo de una crítica inmanente del racismo, presentamos siete lecciones básicas que las herramientas de contestación al discurso de odio racista habrían de cumplir idealmente, para una contestación eficaz al discurso de odio racista.

Twelve leading Social Foundations of Education (SFE) scholars describe their professional work in the field. The research question within this oral history study is: In what ways do SFE scholars express the importance of the Liberal Arts (LA) framework for the community of educational stakeholders in a democracy? The respondents explain the degree to which democratic teaching and learning--building voice, perspective, and point-of-view of the individual within community--supports growth in society and prepares classroom teachers to do such work. Moreover, they identify SFE as a significant field that leverages the LA framework of critique and deep thinking in teacher preparation coursework. The respondents note the importance of a strong relationship between SFE and Schools of Education (SOEs) methods faculty. They describe how SFE, with LA, advances democratic practices, essential to the work of SOE methods faculty, teachers of PreK-20+ classrooms, and the communities they serve.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents a significant global health challenge and affects approximately 50 million people worldwide. This overview of published reviews provides a comprehensive understanding of the intricate correlations between AD and body composition, focusing particularly on obesity. We used a systematic approach to collect and analyze relevant reviews on the topic of obesity and Alzheimer's disease. A comprehensive search of electronic databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar, was conducted. We searched keywords such as "Alzheimer's disease", "body composition", "lean mass", "bone mass", and "fat mass". We considered only reviews written within the past 5 years and in English. Fifty-six relevant reviews were identified that shed light on the multiple connections between AD and body composition. The review involves several aspects, including the impact of lean mass, bone mass, and endocrinological factors related to obesity, as well as inflammation, neuroinflammation, and molecular/genetic factors. The findings highlight the complex interplay of these elements in the development of AD, underscoring the need for holistic approaches to reduce the risk of AD and to explore innovative strategies for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of guiding the development of scholar-practitioners as leaders for social justice is inherently challenging. The dissertation journey, unlike any other journey practitioner-based doctoral students face in urban school settings, provides a steep learning curve as they transition from practitioner to scholar-practitioner. This journey challenges doctoral students, particularly those who represent the marginalized students they serve, as they begin to understand their personal history, how they view themselves, how they view others, and the ethical and political issues (Creswell, 2013) they face as their thinking shifts from that of a mere practitioner to that of a scholar-practitioner. This collection of case studies on dissertation research emerged from the collective work of faculty, students, and program graduates of the Educational Leadership for Social Justice Doctoral Program at California State University at East Bay. As we examine the development of scholar-practitioners' research, we consider the role of faculty in supporting not merely the research, but more importantly the work to pursue more equitable outcomes in schools and society. The selected cases represent the complex task of preparing scholar-practitioners to lead for social justice.

Background/Aims Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) has been increasingly used for achalasia in Latin America, where Chagas disease is prevalent, and this makes POEM more challenging. The aim of this study was to determine the learning curve for POEM in Latin America. Method: Patients undergoing POEM in Latin America with a single operator were included from a prospective registry over 4 years. Non-linear regression and cumulative sum control chart (CUSUM) analyses were conducted for the learning curve. Results A total of 125 patients were included (52% male; mean age, 59 years), of which 80 had type II achalasia (64%), and 38 had Chagas disease (30%). The average pre-procedure and post-procedure Eckardt scores were 6.79 and 1.87, respectively. Technical success was achieved in 93.5% of patients, and clinical success was achieved in 88.8%. Adverse events occurred in 27 patients (22%) and included bleeding (4 patients), pneumothorax (4 patients), mucosal perforation (13 patients), mediastinitis (2 patients), and leakage (4 patients). The CUSUM chart showed a median procedure time of 97 min (range, 45-196 min), which was achieved at the 61st procedure. Procedure duration progressively decreased, with the last 10 procedures under 50 min approaching a plateau (p-value

Social Foundations of Education (SFE) courses play a critical role in preparing professional, effective PK-12 teachers, yet, for reasons argued in this article and elsewhere, such courses remain under attack. In this article, by arguing what SFE "stands for" as opposed to what it "stands against," the authors intend to persuasively present non-SFE teacher educators with formerly unknown or unclear knowledge of the SFE discipline and its intended outcomes with the goal they may become comfortable with--if not outright advocates for--their courses' content and knowledgeable on its purpose(s), rather than viewing SFE teacher educators and courses as unnecessary, radical, and burdensome to PK-12 teacher preparation curricula.

In an educational context that includes an overarching neoliberal agenda and rapidly expanding inequalities that cross social, racial, class, linguistic, and gender lines, preparing educational leaders to promote social justice in educational systems is more urgent than ever. Framed by critical posthumanism, this self-study inquiry investigates the construction of hybrid teaching practices that foster the kind of authentic interaction needed to develop transformative leaders who are capable of challenging unjust social relationships in educational institutions. In our findings, we explore the ways the introduction of technology changed the nature of teaching, how we strengthened the connections between online and in-person coursework, describe the creative possibilities afforded by technology, and outline issues of social justice that surfaced during our analysis. The study highlights the professional learning of two Educational Leadership faculty in the area of online pedagogy and speaks to the promise of self-study as a rich way for faculty to engage in collaborative, transformative learning. The study holds the potential to help faculty improve their teaching practice as well as assist them to think deeply about how their subjectivities are mediated via various technologies.

Ewing sarcoma is the second most common bone cancer in children, and while patients who present with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis have a dismal prognosis. Ewing sarcoma tumors are driven by the fusion gene EWS/Fli1, and while these tumors are genetically homogenous, the transcriptional heterogeneity can lead to a variety of cellular processes including metastasis. In this study, we demonstrate that in Ewing sarcoma cells, the canonical Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway is heterogeneously activated in vitro and in vivo, correlating with hypoxia and EWS/Fli1 activity. Ewing sarcoma cells predominantly express β-Catenin on the cell membrane bound to CDH11, which can respond to exogenous Wnt ligands leading to the immediate activation of Wnt/β-Catenin signaling within a tumor. Knockdown of CDH11 leads to delayed and decreased response to exogenous Wnt ligand stimulation, and ultimately decreased metastatic propensity. Our findings strongly indicate that CDH11 is a key component of regulating Wnt//β-Catenin signaling heterogeneity within Ewing sarcoma tumors, and is a promising molecular target to alter Wnt//β-Catenin signaling in Ewing sarcoma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

# Background In Burkina Faso, prevalence of mental health disorders and the characteristics of people living with these disorders are scarce, especially among the poorest. # Methods This study aims at providing a descriptive portrait of the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and their determinants among indigent individuals living in rural Burkina Faso. A cross-sectional design was chosen, using a stratified sampling procedure. A questionnaire comprising 73 questions was administered to 1314 respondents. # Results Mental health symptoms were grouped into three types: anxiodepressive, somatic and psychotic. A total of 1234 (93.9 %) participants reported having experienced at least one anxiodepressive symptom and 1087 (82.7%) respondents reported at least one somatic symptom one month prior to the interview. Furthermore, 256 (19.5%) participants reported at least one psychotic symptom in their lifetime. Differences in the expression of distress between regions were noted as well as a feeling of exclusion among respondents to their communities were common to all symptomatic profiles, which opens up avenues of targeted intervention for future equitable mental health policies. # Conclusions The mental health action plan 2014-2018 in Burkina Faso^7^ identified the lack of evidence in mental health as one of the most salient issues. This study contributes to addressing this limitation and participates in the Movement for Global Mental Health (MGMH) by providing knowledge on the prevalence of symptoms of mental health disorders in a vulnerable population living in rural areas.

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is a leading cause of kidney failure, yet little is known about the immunopathogenesis of this disease. IgAN is characterized by deposition of IgA in the kidney glomeruli, but the source and stimulus for IgA production are not known. Clinical and experimental data suggest a role for aberrant immune responses to mucosal microbiota in IgAN, and in some countries with high disease prevalence, tonsillectomy is regarded as standard-of-care therapy. To evaluate the relationship between microbiota and mucosal immune responses, we characterized the tonsil microbiota in patients with IgAN versus nonrelated household-matched control group participants and identified increased carriage of the genus Neisseria and elevated Neisseria-targeted serum IgA in IgAN patients. We reverse-translated these findings in experimental IgAN driven by BAFF overexpression in BAFF-transgenic mice rendered susceptible to Neisseria infection by introduction of a humanized CEACAM-1 transgene (B × hC-Tg). Colonization of B × hC-Tg mice with Neisseria yielded augmented levels of systemic Neisseria-specific IgA. Using a custom ELISPOT assay, we discovered anti-Neisseria–specific IgA-secreting cells within the kidneys of these mice. These findings suggest a role for cytokine-driven aberrant mucosal immune responses to oropharyngeal pathobionts, such as Neisseria, in the immunopathogenesis of IgAN. Furthermore, in the presence of excess BAFF, pathobiont-specific IgA can be produced in situ within the kidney.

The contributors to this special issue of "The Journal of Inquiry and Action" provide insight into why the Obama administration's educational policies manifest the dominance of neoliberal ideology over most elements of social life. The articles presented in this issue build on the work originally presented in "The Phenomenon of Obama and the Agenda for Education: Can Hope Audaciously Trump Neoliberalism?" (Carr and Porfilio 2011). Given the dearth of critical analysis in relation to Obama's leadership and his administration's educational agenda, which the authors contend is fundamental to meaningful democratic development, this article examines the meaning of potential transformation in and through the Obama administration's approach to education. This analysis illuminates the disconnection between his rhetoric, especially during the two-year electoral campaign, and his policies.

This essay documents a few key examples of the critical pedagogy and curriculum that the authors employ to challenge pre-service and in-service teachers to consider the concrete and theoretical contexts of taking on a social-activist-teacher persona. Their vision of social justice is rooted firmly in the critical tradition, as it is anchored in excavating unjust social and economic formations that imperil the vast majority of the world's population, while concomitantly empowering the economic elite. Not only do they believe that teacher educators must take the lead in helping their students recognize the social, political, and economic forces creating injustice in schools and in the wider society, but they must help current and future teachers develop emancipatory visions of how to develop instructional designs, collaborate with educators, and engage in activist initiatives which have the potential to eliminate social inequalities and build institutional structures based on democracy, equity, and fairness. Like many teacher educators, the authors have worked in institutions where almost 95% of the teacher education students have self-identified as "White." Because of the difficulties of working with this nearly ubiquitous at-risk group (at risk for acting as oppressors), the authors focus their attention in this essay on the challenges White in-service and preservice teachers pose to practicing critical pedagogy. (Contains 3 notes.)

Background and study aims Both Heller myotomy (HM) and per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) are efficacious therapies for achalasia. The efficacy and safety of POEM vs HM in Latin America and specifically in patients with Chagas disease is unknown. Patients and methods Consecutive patients undergoing either HM or POEM for achalasia were included from nine Latin American centers in a prospective registry over 5 years. Technical success was defined as undergoing a successful myotomy. Clinical success was defined as achieving an Eckardt score

Abstract Background Renal dysfunction is a common problem in the HIV+ population, due to the effect of both the HIV virus and the several classes of ARV drugs such as tenofovir (TDF). It is also known that the presence of renal damage correlates with cardiovascular risk and therefore with the risk of mortality of the patients accordingly. The detection of early renal damage is very important. Albuminuria and microalbuminuria are markers of early kidney disease and cardiovascular risk. The aim of the study is to evaluate the prevalence of microalbuminuria in a large polycentric sample, of unselected and consecutive HIV-patients followed as outpatients, and to assess its association with different therapeutic regimens. Methods We studied 326 patients with a mean age of 48.4 ± 1.6 years, treated at the Infectious Diseases Clinics of Chieti and Perugia for 48 weeks. The main metabolic parameters and the microalbuminuria levels in a single sample of urine were evaluated. Results Microalbuminuria was detected in 61.0% of patients at T0 and in 49.7% after 48 weeks of observation with a median values of 1.1 mg/L (IQR: 0-2.7) vs. 0 mg/L (IQR: 0-2.0). 70% of the enrolled population did not show changes in microalbuminuria levels over time, 19% showed improvement, and 11% of the population had a worsening of microalbuminuria levels without any alteration of creatinine, uric acid and GFR-MDRD. We also found a statistically significant association between the development of microalbuminuria and gender (p

In this article, we situate the imminent extinction of educational foundations within larger macro contexts, including the corporate control of knowledge production, the marginalization of critical academics who challenge the social, economic, and political status quos, and the global (United States in particular) economic recession. We also reaffirm why the field of educational foundations is important for this particular historical moment. In an effort to fight neoliberalism's stranglehold on PK-20 education, we provide guideposts for other like-minded critical educators. Specifically, these guideposts speak to why educational foundations are (despite their maltreatment and marginalization) an integral part to PK-12 teacher preparation and provide a call to action requiring educational foundations faculty members to inform those who still do not know that schools serve to reinforce the existing power, political, race, and economic relations.

BackgroundMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive autoimmune disease of the central nervous system in which inflammation plays a key role in the induction, development, and progression. Most of the MS patients present with relapsing–remitting (RR) form, characterized by flare-ups followed by periods of recovery. Many inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines have been proposed as backers in MS pathogenesis, and the balance between these differing cytokines can regulate MS severity. Interferon (IFN)-β, a current disease-modifying therapy for MS, has demonstrated beneficial effects in reducing disease severity in MS patients. However, its immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory actions in MS are not wholly understood. The aim of the study was to define, in clinically stable patients with RR-MS, the serum concentration of several cytokines, canonical or not, and their modulation by IFN-β therapy.MethodsRelapsing–remitting-MS patients were enrolled and diagnosed according to revised Mc Donald Diagnostic Criteria. A set of cytokines [including non-canonical neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) and adipokines] and B-cell differentiation molecules, as potential biomarkers, were evaluated in 30 non-treated RR-MS patients compared to 30 IFN-β-treated MS patients and 30 age, gender, and body mass index-matched healthy controls (HC).ResultsNaïve MS patients showed significantly higher levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-12/IL-23p40, IL-18, high-mobility group box protein-1, and IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) than MS-treated patients (p

The purpose of this essay is to ameliorate the virulent discursive and material attack against today's "border" youth launched by large-scale corporations and Western politicians. Specifically, the authors problematize the dominant tropes of youth being mindless, obedient objects who passively accept the stark social reality they experience due to corporate logics trumping the needs and welfare of global citizens. Based on their empirical and cultural work with Hip Hop artists in the US and Canada, and through relevant examples in other global contexts, the authors illustrate that numerous Hip Hop artists are critically aware of the forces causing oppression in their social worlds and are actively employing various forms of social media for personal empowerment and social justice ends. Finally, the authors generate a conceptual model--Hip Hop Activist Praxis-- for the purpose of not only articulating the processes utilized by Hip Hop youth, artists and activists, but also aiding concerned scholars, educators and practitioners in challenging their views of youth, Hip Hop culture and technology, and (re) conceptualizing their partnerships with youth.

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