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Objectives: This study examines the association between prior incarceration and cognition trajectories among older adults in the United States., Methods: Data are from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative longitudinal survey of older adults in the United States. The analysis included respondents aged 55 and older who participated in the 2012-2020 HRS surveys and had valid responses on Langa-Weir cognition scores, incarceration history, and covariates (n = 5,663). Cognition trajectories were estimated using group-based trajectory modeling, and multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between prior incarceration and cognition trajectory group membership., Results: The study identified four distinct cognition trajectories. Formerly incarcerated individuals were significantly more likely to be in cognition trajectory groups defined by lower cognition scores and steeper declines in cognitive functioning over time. However, these associations were attenuated after accounting for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, and all associations were rendered statistically nonsignificant after accounting for educational attainment., Discussion: These findings highlight poorer cognition among older formerly incarcerated individuals compared with their never incarcerated counterparts, as well as underscore the role of educational attainment in this relationship. Future research and data collection efforts are needed to further understand the nexus between incarceration and cognitive functioning and the mechanisms underpinning this association., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: This study examines the longitudinal patterns of dental care use from adolescence to middle adulthood (ages 11-43) and investigates racial and ethnic disparities in these patterns., Methods: Data from Waves I through V of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (1993-2018; ages 11-43). Semiparametric group-based trajectory model identified distinct dental care use trajectories. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate membership in these trajectory groups by race/ethnicity while accounting for covariates, including socioeconomic status, biological sex, nativity and unmet healthcare needs., Results: The analysis identified four distinct dental care use trajectories (1): Intermittent decreasing dental care use (37.9%), (2) intermittent increasing dental care use (22.5%), (3) high dental care use (22.5%) and (4) low dental care use (17.0%). Non-Hispanic black and Hispanic respondents were more likely than non-Hispanic white respondents to belong to low dental care use and intermittent decreasing dental care use groups relative to high dental care use. Additionally, non-Hispanic black respondents were more likely than non-Hispanic white respondents to belong to the Intermittent Increasing Dental Use group. Higher socioeconomic status was inversely associated with low and intermittent use group membership. Males and those with unmet healthcare needs at Wave I were also more likely to belong to trajectories with low and intermittent dental care use., Conclusions: Findings reveal persistent racial disparities in dental care use from adolescence into adulthood. Further research is needed to understand the individual and structural factors perpetuating racial disparities in dental care use over the life course., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.)

Background: This study investigated the association between prior incarceration length and edentulism among US adults 55 years and older. Analyses explored indirect factors such as wealth, smoking status, mental health, and chronic health conditions that may explain this relationship. In addition, the study analyzed how associations between incarceration and edentulism vary by race and ethnicity., Methods: The authors used data from the 2012-2014 Health and Retirement Study (unweighted N = 11,630; weighted N = 72,872,877) to assess the relationship between incarceration duration and edentulism through multivariable logistic regression. The Karlson-Holm-Breen method evaluated indirect effects, and multiplicative interaction terms examined variations by race and ethnicity., Results: Net of control variables analyses showed a positive association between having been incarcerated for more than 1 month and higher odds of edentulism. However, this association was rendered statistically nonsignificant after accounting for wealth, current smoking status, mental health, and chronic disease. Collectively, wealth and smoking explained approximately 60% of the association between prior incarceration length and edentulism. Racial moderation models indicated that longer incarceration times increased edentulism likelihood in non-Hispanic Whites specifically., Conclusions: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study on the association between prior incarceration length and edentulism among older adults. Study findings indicated the relationship between incarceration and edentulism was explained by higher wealth and current smoking status., Practical Implications: These findings highlight the need for adequate access to oral health care services for formerly incarcerated older adults to improve oral health and enhance their overall health and quality of life., Competing Interests: Disclosures None of the authors reported any disclosures., (Copyright © 2024 American Dental Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This multicenter study analyzed Nocardia spp., including extraction, spectral acquisition, Bruker matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) identification, and score interpretation, using three Nocardia libraries, the Bruker, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and The Ohio State University (OSU) libraries, and compared the results obtained by each center. A standardized study protocol, 150 Nocardia isolates, and NIH and OSU Nocardia MALDI-TOF MS libraries were distributed to three centers. Following standardized culture, extraction, and MALDI-TOF MS analysis, isolates were identified using score cutoffs of ≥2.0 for species/species complex-level identification and ≥1.8 for genus-level identification. Isolates yielding a score of <2.0 underwent a single repeat extraction and analysis. The overall score range for all centers was 1.3 to 2.7 (average, 2.2 ± 0.3), with common species generally producing higher average scores than less common ones. Score categorization and isolate identification demonstrated 86% agreement between centers; 118 of 150 isolates were correctly identified to the species/species complex level by all centers. Nine strains (6.0%) were not identified by any center, and six (4.0%) of these were uncommon species with limited library representation. A categorical score discrepancy among centers occurred for 21 isolates (14.0%). There was an overall benefit of 21.2% from repeat extraction of low-scoring isolates and a center-dependent benefit for duplicate spotting (range, 2 to 8.7%). Finally, supplementation of the Bruker Nocardia MALDI-TOF MS library with both the OSU and NIH libraries increased the genus-level and species-level identification by 18.2% and 36.9%, respectively. Overall, this study demonstrates the ability of diverse clinical microbiology laboratories to utilize MALDI-TOF MS for the rapid identification of clinically relevant Nocardia spp. and to implement MALDI-TOF MS libraries developed by single laboratories across institutions., (Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)

Acinetobacter baumannii is an emerging human pathogen and a significant cause of nosocomial infections among hospital patients worldwide. The enormous increase in multidrug resistance among hospital isolates and the recent emergence of pan-drug-resistant strains underscores the urgency to understand how A. baumannii evolves in hospital environments. To this end, we undertook a genomic study of a polyclonal outbreak of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii at the research-based National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Comparing the complete genome sequences of the three dominant outbreak strain types enabled us to conclude that, despite all belonging to the same epidemic lineage, the three strains diverged before their arrival at the National Institutes of Health. The simultaneous presence of three divergent strains from this lineage supports its increasing prevalence in international hospitals and suggests an ongoing adaptation to the hospital environment. Further genomic comparisons uncovered that much of the diversification that occurred since the divergence of the three outbreak strains was mediated by homologous recombination across 20% of their genomes. Inspection of recombinant regions revealed that several regions were associated with either the loss or swapping out of genes encoding proteins that are exposed to the cell surface or that synthesize cell-surface molecules. Extending our analysis to a larger set of international clinical isolates revealed a previously unappreciated ability of A. baumannii to vary surface molecules through horizontal gene transfer, with subsequent intraspecies dissemination by homologous recombination. These findings have immediate implications in surveillance, prevention, and treatment of A. baumannii infections.

We have introduced a targeted mutation in SH2D1A/DSHP/SAP, the gene responsible for the human genetic disorder X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP). SLAM-associated protein (SAP)-deficient mice had normal lymphocyte development, but on challenge with infectious agents, recapitulated features of XLP. Infection of SAP- mice with lymphocyte choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) or Toxoplasma gondii was associated with increased T cell activation and IFN-gamma production, as well as a reduction of Ig-secreting cells. Anti-CD3-stimulated splenocytes from uninfected SAP- mice produced increased IFN-gamma and decreased IL-4, findings supported by decreased serum IgE levels in vivo. The Th1 skewing of these animals suggests that cytokine misregulation may contribute to phenotypes associated with mutation of SH2D1A/SAP.