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OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a significant difference between African American and Caucasian women in the self-reported cardiovascular risk factors of obesity, physical inactivity, and smoking, and whether those risk factors vary by the socioeconomic variables of income and education and the demographic factors of age, rural versus urban locale, and geographic region. DESIGN: Descriptive, correlational. SETTING: Mailed survey. POPULATION: Participants were all African American and Caucasian women who returned the initial CHIC (Cardiovascular Health in Children Study) questionnaire. Ages ranged from 23 to 53 years; 20.1% of the participants were African American and 79.9% were Caucasian. The participants lived in 18 areas across North Carolina. INTERVENTIONS: The Parental Questionnaire included 10 questions on selected cardiovascular risk factors. Socioeconomic status (SES) was determined by the participants' education and total annual family income. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Overall, 24.5% of the women had BMIs of 27.3 or greater and, therefore, were considered obese. The mean BMI of African American women was considerably more than the BMI of Caucasian women. Using self-reported physical activity, 52.7% of African American were classified as inactive. Of the Caucasians, 36.6% were inactive. Current smoking rate was 30.7% for African Americans and 33.9% for Caucasians, not significantly different by race. When income was used as the measure of SES, there were no significant differences in obesity by income in African Americans. However, differences between high and low income African Americans were significant for physical inactivity and for smoking; smoking was three times as common in those with low income. Among Caucasians, women with low education were significantly more likely to be physically inactive, to be obese, and to smoke. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: Several interpretative issues should be considered when reviewing the self-reported cardiovascular risk factors of this large sample of women. Self-reports of obesity, smoking, and physical activity have limitations, including selective memory and a tendency to supply socially acceptable information. It is well established that the social context in which individuals live has an impact on their health behavior and on their health. In this study, low SES was directly related to higher rates for all of the risk factors examined in both African American and Caucasian women in North Carolina. Efforts to change health behaviors should involve strategies that are tailored to the target populations. These strategies must consider culture, SES, value systems, and demographics, and at least some programs should include children and adolescents. [CINAHL abstract] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral testing is an essential tool for evaluating cognitive function and dysfunction in preclinical research models. This is of special importance in the study of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. However, the reproducibility of classic behavioral assays is frequently compromised by interstudy variation, leading to ambiguous conclusions about the behavioral markers characterizing the disease. Here, we identify age- and genotype-driven differences between 3xTg-AD and non-transgenic control mice using a low-cost, highly customizable behavioral assay that requires little human intervention. Through behavioral phenotyping combining both supervised and unsupervised behavioral classification methods, we are able to validate the preventative effects of the immunosuppressant cyclosporine A in a rodent model of Alzheimer's disease, as well as the partially ameliorating effects of candidate drugs nebivolol and cabozantinib.

Introduction: Animals respond to various environmental cues. Animal behavior is complex, and behavior analysis can greatly help to understand brain function. Most of the available behavioral imaging setups are expensive, provide limited options for customization, and allow for behavioral imaging of one animal at a time., Methods: The current study takes advantage of adult zebrafish as a model organism to study behavior in a novel behavioral setup allowing one to concurrently image 8 adult zebrafish., Results: Our results indicate that adult zebrafish show a unique behavioral profile in response to visual stimuli such as moving lines. In the presence of moving lines, the fish spent more time exploring the tank and spent more time toward the edges of the tanks. In addition, the fish moved and oriented themselves against the direction of the moving lines, indicating a negative optomotor response (OMR). With repeated exposure to moving lines, we observed a reduced optomotor response in adult zebrafish., Discussion: Our behavioral setup is relatively inexpensive, provides flexibility in the presentation of various animated visual stimuli, and offers improved throughput for analyzing behavior in adult zebrafish. This behavioral setup shows promising potential to quantify various behavioral measures and opens new avenues to understand complex behaviors., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Gore, Del Rosario Hernández and Creton.)

Drug repurposing can accelerate drug development while reducing the cost and risk of toxicity typically associated with de novo drug design. Several disorders lacking pharmacological solutions and exhibiting poor results in clinical trials - such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) - could benefit from a cost-effective approach to finding new therapeutics. We previously developed a neural network model, Z-LaP Tracker, capable of quantifying behaviors in zebrafish larvae relevant to cognitive function, including activity, reactivity, swimming patterns, and optomotor response in the presence of visual and acoustic stimuli. Using this model, we performed a high-throughput screening of FDA-approved drugs to identify compounds that affect zebrafish larval behavior in a manner consistent with the distinct behavior induced by calcineurin inhibitors. Cyclosporine (CsA) and other calcineurin inhibitors have garnered interest for their potential role in the prevention of AD. We generated behavioral profiles suitable for cluster analysis, through which we identified 64 candidate therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Brown University submitted a patent application for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease using CsA-type compounds (application 63/193,935, Robbert Creton - inventor, Sara Tucker Edmister, Rahma Ibrahim, Rohit Kakodkar and Jill A. Kreiling - contributors). The authors declare that they do not have other competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

The analysis of mouse behavior is used in biomedical research to study brain function in health and disease. Well-established rapid assays allow for high-throughput analyses of behavior but have several drawbacks, including measurements of daytime behaviors in nocturnal animals, effects of animal handling, and the lack of an acclimation period in the testing apparatus. We developed a novel 8-cage imaging system, with animated visual stimuli, for automated analyses of mouse behavior in 22-h overnight recordings. Software for image analysis was developed in two open-source programs, ImageJ and DeepLabCut. The imaging system was tested using 4-5 month-old female wild-type mice and 3xTg-AD mice, a widely-used model to study Alzheimer's disease (AD). The overnight recordings provided measurements of multiple behaviors including acclimation to the novel cage environment, day and nighttime activity, stretch-attend postures, location in various cage areas, and habituation to animated visual stimuli. The behavioral profiles were different in wild-type and 3xTg-AD mice. AD-model mice displayed reduced acclimation to the novel cage environment, were hyperactive during the first hour of darkness, and spent less time at home in comparison to wild-type mice. We propose that the imaging system may be used to study various neurological and neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Brain function studies greatly depend on quantification and analysis of behavior. While behavior can be imaged efficiently, the quantification of specific aspects of behavior is labor-intensive and may introduce individual biases. Recent advances in deep learning and artificial intelligence-based tools have made it possible to precisely track individual features of freely moving animals in diverse environments without any markers. In the current study, we developed Zebrafish Larvae Position Tracker (Z-LaP Tracker), a modification of the markerless position estimation software DeepLabCut, to quantify zebrafish larval behavior in a high-throughput 384-well setting. We utilized the high-contrast features of our model animal, zebrafish larvae, including the eyes and the yolk for our behavioral analysis. Using this experimental setup, we quantified relevant behaviors with similar accuracy to the analysis performed by humans. The changes in behavior were organized in behavioral profiles, which were examined by K-means and hierarchical cluster analysis. Calcineurin inhibitors exhibited a distinct behavioral profile characterized by increased activity, acoustic hyperexcitability, reduced visually guided behaviors, and reduced habituation to acoustic stimuli. The developed methodologies were used to identify 'CsA-type' drugs that might be promising candidates for the prevention and treatment of neurological disorders., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Repurposing FDA-approved drugs is an efficient and cost-effective approach in the development of therapeutics for a broad range of diseases. However, prediction of function can be challenging, especially in the brain. We screened a small-molecule library with FDA-approved drugs for effects on behavior. The studies were carried out using zebrafish larvae, imaged in a 384-well format. We found that various drugs affect activity, habituation, startle responses, excitability, and optomotor responses. The changes in behavior were organized in behavioral profiles, which were examined by hierarchical cluster analysis. One of the identified clusters includes the calcineurin inhibitors cyclosporine (CsA) and tacrolimus (FK506), which are immunosuppressants and potential therapeutics in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease. The calcineurin inhibitors form a functional cluster with seemingly unrelated drugs, including bromocriptine, tetrabenazine, rosiglitazone, nebivolol, sorafenib, cabozantinib, tamoxifen, meclizine, and salmeterol. We propose that drugs with 'CsA-type' behavioral profiles are promising candidates for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is a secreted endopeptidase targeting extracellular matrix proteins, creating permissive environments for neuronal development and plasticity. Developmental dysregulation of MMP-9 may also lead to neurodevelopmental disorders (ND). Here, we test the hypothesis that chronically elevated MMP-9 activity during early neurodevelopment is responsible for neural circuit hyperconnectivity observed in Xenopus tadpoles after early exposure to valproic acid (VPA), a known teratogen associated with ND in humans. In Xenopus tadpoles, VPA exposure results in excess local synaptic connectivity, disrupted social behavior and increased seizure susceptibility. We found that overexpressing MMP-9 in the brain copies effects of VPA on synaptic connectivity, and blocking MMP-9 activity pharmacologically or genetically reverses effects of VPA on physiology and behavior. We further show that during normal neurodevelopment MMP-9 levels are tightly regulated by neuronal activity and required for structural plasticity. These studies show a critical role for MMP-9 in both normal and abnormal development., Competing Interests: SG, EJ, LH, JP, AB, AT, HC, CA No competing interests declared, (© 2021, Gore et al.)

Purpose/objectives: To determine how African American women cope with breast cancer., Design: Descriptive and exploratory study., Sample/setting: 66 African American women diagnosed with breast cancer were interviewed in the southeastern United States., Methods: Data were collected through tape-recorded interviews using a semistructured interview guide. Data were analyzed by content analysis and frequency distributions., Main Research Variables: Coping strategies used by women to adapt to a diagnosis of breast cancer., Findings: Coping strategies described by African American women included relying on prayer, avoiding negative people, developing a positive attitude, having a will to live, and receiving support from family, friends, and support groups., Conclusion: Spirituality played a major role in these African American women coping with breast cancer. Supportive networks also served as a vital asset throughout the breast cancer experience. Participants discussed the need for culturally sensitive breast cancer support groups., Implications for Nursing: Nurses must recognize coping strategies that African American women with breast cancer use. Healthcare professionals need to develop culturally sensitive breast cancer support groups. Throughout the breast cancer experience, nurses must assess communication patterns among African American families. Nurses should serve as healthcare advocates for African American women with breast cancer.

To identify African-American women's definitions and descriptions of body weight, using King's General Systems Framework and Combs and Snygg's concept of perception as a guide, focus group methodology was utilized. These women's frame of reference for "normal body weight" was much larger than the standard indicator for weight and defined weight, normal weight, ideal weight, underweight, overweight, and obesity in terms of their cultural, social, and individual context. By understanding individual perceptions of weight, advanced practice nurses can devise strategies to facilitate weight management in African-American women who may want to lose or need to lose weight for such health-related illnesses as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or hypertension.