Reaction of a Mg-Al carbonate layered double hydroxide (LDH) with boric acid leads to a borate-pillared LDH with the stoichiometry [Mg0.65Al0.35(OH)2][B3O5]0.35.0.65H2O and an interlayer spacing of 1.07 nm. Infrared and 11B magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance data are consistent with the presence of polymeric triborate anions of the type [B3O4(OH)2]nn- in the interlayer galleries so that the material can be formulated as [Mg0.65Al0.35(OH)2][B3O4(OH)2]0.35.0.30H2O. The flame-retardant properties of the borate-pillared material and the carbonate precursor in composites with ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer were compared. Introduction of the borate anion leads to a significant enhancement in smoke suppression during combustion without compromising the flammability of the material. This is related to the synergistic effect between the host layers of the LDH and the borate anions uniformly distributed in the interlayer region.

Biogeochemical analyses of organisms’ tissues provide direct proxies for diets, behaviors, and environmental interactions that have proven invaluable for studies of extant and extinct species. Applying these to Cretaceous ecosystems has at times produced anomalous results, however, as dinosaurs preserve unusually positive stable carbon isotope compositions relative to extant C3-feeding vertebrates. This has been hypothesized to be a unique property of dinosaur dietary physiology, with potential significance for our interpretations of their paleobiology. We test that hypothesis through multi-taxic stable carbon isotope analyses of a spatiotemporally constrained locality in the Late Cretaceous of Canada, and compare the results to a modern near-analogue environment in Louisiana. The stable carbon isotope anomaly is present in all sampled fossil vertebrates, dinosaur or not. This suggests another more widespread factor is responsible. Examinations of diagenetic effects suggest that, where present, they are insufficient to explain the isotope anomaly. The isotope anomaly is therefore not primarily the result of a unique dietary physiology of dinosaurs, but rather a mix of factors impacting all taxa, such as environmental and/or source-diet differences. Our study underscores the importance of multi-taxic samples from spatiotemporally constrained localities in testing hypotheses of extinct organisms and ecosystems, and in the use of modern data to “ground truth” when evaluating analogue versus non-analogue conditions in greenhouse paleoecosystems.

Many data-driven patient risk stratification models have not been evaluated prospectively. We performed and compared the prospective and retrospective evaluations of 2 Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) risk-prediction models at 2 large academic health centers, and we discuss the models’ robustness to data-set shifts.

In this prospective, longitudinal study, we examined the risk factors for severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among a cohort of chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients and healthcare personnel (HCPs) over a 6-month period. The risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HD patients and HCPs was consistently associated with a household member having SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) has emerged out of the quantitative approach to psychiatric nosology. This approach identifies psychopathology constructs based on patterns of co-variation among signs and symptoms. The initial HiTOP model, which was published in 2017, is based on a large literature that spans decades of research. HiTOP is a living model that undergoes revision as new data become available. Here we discuss advantages and practical considerations of using this system in psychiatric practice and research. We especially highlight limitations of HiTOP and ongoing efforts to address them. We describe differences and similarities between HiTOP and existing diagnostic systems. Next, we review the types of evidence that informed development of HiTOP, including populations in which it has been studied and data on its validity. The paper also describes how HiTOP can facilitate research on genetic and environmental causes of psychopathology as well as the search for neurobiologic mechanisms and novel treatments. Furthermore, we consider implications for public health programs and prevention of mental disorders. We also review data on clinical utility and illustrate clinical application of HiTOP. Importantly, the model is based on measures and practices that are already used widely in clinical settings. HiTOP offers a way to organize and formalize these techniques. This model already can contribute to progress in psychiatry and complement traditional nosologies. Moreover, HiTOP seeks to facilitate research on linkages between phenotypes and biological processes, which may enable construction of a system that encompasses both biomarkers and precise clinical description.

Previous genetic association studies have failed to identify loci robustly associated with sepsis, and there have been no published genetic association studies or polygenic risk score analyses of patients with septic shock, despite evidence suggesting genetic factors may be involved. We systematically collected genotype and clinical outcome data in the context of a randomized controlled trial from patients with septic shock to enrich the presence of disease-associated genetic variants. We performed genomewide association studies of susceptibility and mortality in septic shock using 493 patients with septic shock and 2442 population controls, and polygenic risk score analysis to assess genetic overlap between septic shock risk/mortality with clinically relevant traits. One variant, rs9489328, located in AL589740.1 noncoding RNA, was significantly associated with septic shock (p = 1.05 × 10–10); however, it is likely a false-positive. We were unable to replicate variants previously reported to be associated (p < 1.00 × 10–6 in previous scans) with susceptibility to and mortality from sepsis. Polygenic risk scores for hematocrit and granulocyte count were negatively associated with 28-day mortality (p = 3.04 × 10–3; p = 2.29 × 10–3), and scores for C-reactive protein levels were positively associated with susceptibility to septic shock (p = 1.44 × 10–3). Results suggest that common variants of large effect do not influence septic shock susceptibility, mortality and resolution; however, genetic predispositions to clinically relevant traits are significantly associated with increased susceptibility and mortality in septic individuals.

Nutritional therapy is a cornerstone of burns management. The optimal macronutrient intake for wound healing after burn injury has not been identified, although high-energy, high-protein diets are favoured. The present study aimed to identify the optimal macronutrient intake for burn wound healing. The geometric framework (GF) was used to analyse wound healing after a 10 % total body surface area contact burn in mice ad libitum fed one of the eleven high-energy diets, varying in macronutrient composition with protein (P5−60 %), carbohydrate (C20−75 %) and fat (F20−75 %). In the GF study, the optimal ratio for wound healing was identified as a moderate-protein, high-carbohydrate diet with a protein:carbohydrate:fat (P:C:F) ratio of 1:4:2. High carbohydrate intake was associated with lower mortality, improved body weight and a beneficial pattern of body fat reserves. Protein intake was essential to prevent weight loss and mortality, but a protein intake target of about 7 kJ/d (about 15 % of energy intake) was identified, above which no further benefit was gained. High protein intake was associated with delayed wound healing and increased liver and spleen weight. As the GF study demonstrated that an initial very high protein intake prevented mortality, a very high-protein, moderate-carbohydrate diet (P40:C42:F18) was specifically designed. The dynamic diet study was also designed to combine and validate the benefits of an initial very high protein intake for mortality, and subsequent moderate protein, high carbohydrate intake for optimal wound healing. The dynamic feeding experiment showed switching from an initial very high-protein diet to the optimal moderate-protein, high-carbohydrate diet accelerated wound healing whilst preventing mortality and liver enlargement.

In the 2015 review paper ‘Petawatt Class Lasers Worldwide’ a comprehensive overview of the current status of high-power facilities of ${>}200~\text{TW}$ was presented. This was largely based on facility specifications, with some description of their uses, for instance in fundamental ultra-high-intensity interactions, secondary source generation, and inertial confinement fusion (ICF). With the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded to Professors Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou for the development of the technique of chirped pulse amplification (CPA), which made these lasers possible, we celebrate by providing a comprehensive update of the current status of ultra-high-power lasers and demonstrate how the technology has developed. We are now in the era of multi-petawatt facilities coming online, with 100 PW lasers being proposed and even under construction. In addition to this there is a pull towards development of industrial and multi-disciplinary applications, which demands much higher repetition rates, delivering high-average powers with higher efficiencies and the use of alternative wavelengths: mid-IR facilities. So apart from a comprehensive update of the current global status, we want to look at what technologies are to be deployed to get to these new regimes, and some of the critical issues facing their development.

We apply two methods to estimate the 21-cm bispectrum from data taken within the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR) project of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). Using data acquired with the Phase II compact array allows a direct bispectrum estimate to be undertaken on the multiple redundantly spaced triangles of antenna tiles, as well as an estimate based on data gridded to the uv-plane. The direct and gridded bispectrum estimators are applied to 21 h of high-band (167–197 MHz; z = 6.2–7.5) data from the 2016 and 2017 observing seasons. Analytic predictions for the bispectrum bias and variance for point-source foregrounds are derived. We compare the output of these approaches, the foreground contribution to the signal, and future prospects for measuring the bispectra with redundant and non-redundant arrays. We find that some triangle configurations yield bispectrum estimates that are consistent with the expected noise level after 10 h, while equilateral configurations are strongly foreground-dominated. Careful choice of triangle configurations may be made to reduce foreground bias that hinders power spectrum estimators, and the 21-cm bispectrum may be accessible in less time than the 21-cm power spectrum for some wave modes, with detections in hundreds of hours.

For artificial agents trading off exploration (food seeking) versus (short-term) exploitation (or consumption), our experiments suggest that uncertainty (interpreted information, theoretically) magnifies food seeking. In more uncertain environments, with food distributed uniformly randomly, exploration appears to be beneficial. In contrast, in biassed (less uncertain) environments, with food concentrated in only one part, exploitation appears to be more advantageous. Agents also appear to do better in biassed environments.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Costs associated with the treatment of skin diseases accounted for greater than 4% of total US healthcare spending in 2013, an increase of $46 billion (170%) since 2004. Considering the increase in novel treatments and spending, cost-utility analyses (CUAs) may provide a better understanding of costs in dermatology. In this study, we conduct a systematic overview of study quality among CUAs related to dermatology. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We queried studies from the Tufts Medical Center Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Registry (www.cearegistry.org), a database supplying information on all peer-reviewed cost-effectiveness analysis through 2014. Database methodology was previously discussed here. We queried studies using keywords from the 24 major skin disease categories (e.g., diseases relating to actinic damage were searched by using “actinic,” “actinic keratosis”). We collected data on study design, reporting methods, and analyzed relevant data stratified by 2 time-periods (1976–2008 and 2009–2014) chosen to encompass a comparable number of studies. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: In total, 42 and 50 studies corresponding to the 2 time-periods were retrieved (representing 14/24 disease categories). Based on the recommended data reporting guidelines for CUAs, study quality remained largely unchanged across the 2 phases. Across the 2 time-periods, a societal perspective was used in 19% and 12% of studies, costs and (quality adjusted life-years) QALYs were discounted in 67% and 72% of studies, a correct (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio) ICER was reported in 67% and 72% of studies, and a sensitivity analysis was included in 88% and 84% of studies, respectively. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Our findings suggest the quality of dermatology-related CUAs, as evaluated by recommended data reporting guidelines, to be generally stable during the analyzed time-periods. However, the quality of our results may be limited by the small number of CUAs within dermatology (10/24 disease categories did not have CUAs across any time-period). Moving forward, we encourage researchers within dermatology to pursue additional investigation towards cost-effective practices while adhering closely to recommended quality reporting guidelines for CUAs.

The role that vitamin D plays in pulmonary function remains uncertain. Epidemiological studies reported mixed findings for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D)–pulmonary function association. We conducted the largest cross-sectional meta-analysis of the 25(OH)D–pulmonary function association to date, based on nine European ancestry (EA) cohorts (n 22 838) and five African ancestry (AA) cohorts (n 4290) in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium. Data were analysed using linear models by cohort and ancestry. Effect modification by smoking status (current/former/never) was tested. Results were combined using fixed-effects meta-analysis. Mean serum 25(OH)D was 68 (sd 29) nmol/l for EA and 49 (sd 21) nmol/l for AA. For each 1 nmol/l higher 25(OH)D, forced expiratory volume in the 1st second (FEV1) was higher by 1·1 ml in EA (95 % CI 0·9, 1·3; P<0·0001) and 1·8 ml (95 % CI 1·1, 2·5; P<0·0001) in AA (Prace difference=0·06), and forced vital capacity (FVC) was higher by 1·3 ml in EA (95 % CI 1·0, 1·6; P<0·0001) and 1·5 ml (95 % CI 0·8, 2·3; P=0·0001) in AA (Prace difference=0·56). Among EA, the 25(OH)D–FVC association was stronger in smokers: per 1 nmol/l higher 25(OH)D, FVC was higher by 1·7 ml (95 % CI 1·1, 2·3) for current smokers and 1·7 ml (95 % CI 1·2, 2·1) for former smokers, compared with 0·8 ml (95 % CI 0·4, 1·2) for never smokers. In summary, the 25(OH)D associations with FEV1 and FVC were positive in both ancestries. In EA, a stronger association was observed for smokers compared with never smokers, which supports the importance of vitamin D in vulnerable populations.