A growing number of Australians are experiencing challenges accessing and affording healthy food due to climate-related disasters, global supply chain disruptions, and rapid inflation that is affecting the cost of healthy food(1). There is limited understanding of how participation community-based food cooperatives can address these challenges and improve food security and dietary intake. This study investigated the motivations for joining and impact of participation in a community-based food cooperative called Box Divvy on self-reported food security status and intake of fruits and vegetables among a sample of Australian adults. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among Box Divvy members, that measured sociodemographic characteristics, motivations for joining, self-reported fruit and vegetable intake (serves/week), and food insecurity status (USDA 6-item short form(2)) before and while using Box Divvy. Participants were classified as being food secure, or experiencing marginal, moderate, or severe food insecurity. Logistic regression assessed demographic predictors and self-reported change in food security status, and ANOVA examined changes in dietary intake before joining and while using Box Divvy. Of participants (n = 2764, 37% aged 35–44 years, 83% European ethnicity, 92% New South Wales residents), most joined Box Divvy to support local farmers (87.3%), and save money on healthy foods (70.6%). Around half of respondents (50.8%) reported experiencing food insecurity before joining Box Divvy (24.5% marginal, 18.4% moderate, 7.9% severe food insecurity). Univariate logistic regression identified age, household structure, and income as significant predictors of food insecurity (p < 0.001). Participants experiencing food insecurity reported significantly lower consumption of fruits and vegetables prior to joining Box Divvy compared to those who were food secure (p < 0.001). While using Box Divvy, 28.2% of participants reported experiencing food insecurity (16.6% marginal, 9.6% moderate, 2.1% severe food insecurity). The odds of food insecurity while using Box Divvy were 62% lower than before joining (OR: 0.38; 95% CI 0.34–0.43; p < 0.001). On average, participants reported their fruit intake increased by 2.5 ± 5.6 serves/week (p < 0.001), and vegetable intake increased by 3.3 ± 5.7 serves/week (p < 0.001). The mean increase was significantly greater among moderately food insecure (fruit mean difference 3.2 ± 6.5 serves/week; vegetable mean difference 3.9 ± 6.9 serves/week) and severely food insecure groups (fruit mean difference 4.4 ± 6.9 serves/week; vegetable mean difference 5.5 ± 7.7 serves/week; p < 0.001). Participation in Box Divvy significantly improved self-reported food security status and fruit and vegetable intake among a large sample of Australian adults. Notably, fruit and vegetable intake significantly increased among those experiencing moderate and severe food insecurity. This underscores the potential of community-based food cooperatives to improve food security and promote healthier eating habits among Australian adults, especially households experiencing food insecurity.

Metabolic enzymes are the catalysts that drive the biochemical reactions essential for sustaining life. Many of these enzymes are tightly regulated by feedback mechanisms. To fully understand their roles and modulation, it is crucial to investigate the relationship between their structure, catalytic mechanism, and function. In this perspective, by using three examples from our studies on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) isocitrate lyase and related proteins, we highlight how an integrated approach combining structural, activity, and biophysical data provides insights into their biological functions. These examples underscore the importance of employing fast-fail experiments at the early stages of a research project, emphasise the value of complementary techniques in validating findings, and demonstrate how in vitro data combined with chemical, biochemical, and physiological knowledge can lead to a broader understanding of metabolic adaptations in pathogenic bacteria. Finally, we address the unexplored questions in Mtb metabolism and discuss how we expand our approach to include microbiological and bioanalytical techniques to further our understanding. Such an integrated and interdisciplinary strategy has the potential to uncover novel regulatory mechanisms and identify new therapeutic opportunities for the eradication of tuberculosis. The approach can also be broadly applied to investigate other biochemical networks and complex biological systems.

Although offspring of women exposed to childhood trauma exhibit elevated rates of psychopathology, many children demonstrate resilience to these intergenerational impacts. Among the variety of factors that likely contribute to resilience, epigenetic processes have been suggested to play an important role. The current study used a prospective design to test the novel hypothesis that offspring epigenetic aging – a measure of methylation differences that are associated with infant health outcomes – moderates the relationship between maternal exposure to childhood adversity and offspring symptomatology. Maternal childhood adversity was self-reported during pregnancy via the ACEs survey and the CTQ, which assessed total childhood trauma as well as maltreatment subtypes (i.e., emotional, physical, and sexual abuse). Offspring blood samples were collected at or shortly after birth and assayed on a DNA methylation microarray, and offspring symptomatology was assessed with the CBCL/1.5–5 when offspring were 2–4 years old. Results indicated that maternal childhood trauma, particularly sexual abuse, was predictive of offspring symptoms (ps = 0.003–0.03). However, the associations between maternal sexual abuse and offspring symptomatology were significantly attenuated in offspring with accelerated epigenetic aging. These findings further our understanding of how epigenetic processes may contribute to and attenuate the intergenerational link between stress and psychopathology.

We argue that understanding of autism can be strengthened by increasing involvement of autistic individuals as researchers and by exploring cascading impacts of early sensory, perceptual, attentional, and motor atypicalities on social and communicative developmental trajectories. Participatory action research that includes diverse participants or researchers may help combat stigma while expanding research foci to better address autistic people's needs.

A national need is to prepare for and respond to accidental or intentional disasters categorized as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive (CBRNE). These incidents require specific subject-matter expertise, yet have commonalities. We identify 7 core elements comprising CBRNE science that require integration for effective preparedness planning and public health and medical response and recovery. These core elements are (1) basic and clinical sciences, (2) modeling and systems management, (3) planning, (4) response and incident management, (5) recovery and resilience, (6) lessons learned, and (7) continuous improvement. A key feature is the ability of relevant subject matter experts to integrate information into response operations. We propose the CBRNE medical operations science support expert as a professional who (1) understands that CBRNE incidents require an integrated systems approach, (2) understands the key functions and contributions of CBRNE science practitioners, (3) helps direct strategic and tactical CBRNE planning and responses through first-hand experience, and (4) provides advice to senior decision-makers managing response activities. Recognition of both CBRNE science as a distinct competency and the establishment of the CBRNE medical operations science support expert informs the public of the enormous progress made, broadcasts opportunities for new talent, and enhances the sophistication and analytic expertise of senior managers planning for and responding to CBRNE incidents.

Legionnaires’ disease (LD) incidence in the USA has quadrupled since 2000. Health departments must detect LD outbreaks quickly to identify and remediate sources. We tested the performance of a system to prospectively detect simulated LD outbreaks in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA. We generated three simulated LD outbreaks based on published outbreaks. After verifying no significant clusters existed in surveillance data during 2014–2016, we embedded simulated outbreak-associated cases into 2016, assigning simulated residences and report dates. We mimicked daily analyses in 2016 using the prospective space-time permutation scan statistic to detect clusters of ⩽30 and ⩽180 days using 365-day and 730-day baseline periods, respectively. We used recurrence interval (RI) thresholds of ⩾20, ⩾100 and ⩾365 days to define significant signals. We calculated sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values for daily analyses, separately for each embedded outbreak. Two large, simulated cooling tower-associated outbreaks were detected. As the RI threshold was increased, sensitivity and negative predictive value decreased, while positive predictive value and specificity increased. A small, simulated potable water-associated outbreak was not detected. Use of a RI threshold of ⩾100 days minimised time-to-detection while maximizing positive predictive value. Health departments should consider using this system to detect community-acquired LD outbreaks.

Allanite phenocrysts and co-existing glass from the perlitic obsidian of Sandy Braes have been analysed for nine rare earths (RE), uranium, and thorium by instrumental neutron activation analysis and for the major elements by electron microprobe. The chondritenormalized RE plot for the allanite shows a steep slope with a negative Eu anomaly. Allanite/glass partition coefficients show a smooth variation with ionic radius (except for Eu), the variation spanning two orders of magnitude. The partitioning behaviour, which is distinct from that shown by the RE in sphene, apatite, and zircon, can be explained by the allanite structure. The pronounced affinity of the light RE for allanite makes this an important mineral in considerations of RE concentrations during the evolution of granitic liquids.

Whole-rock, minor element, rare earth, and electron microprobe data are presented for basaltic lavas from the western Kangerdlugssuaq area of East Greenland. Samples were obtained from Professor W. A. Deer's 1936 collection at Triangular Nunataks and Gardiner Plateau, and additional material obtained by sampling moraines on the surface of Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier. Both undersaturated and tholeiitic lavas are present at the Triangular Nunatak locality but the glacier suite is dominantly tholeiitic. The tholeiitic suite is less evolved than tholeiites from the Scoresby Sund area. Undersaturated lavas show enrichment in light rare earth elements and tholeiitic lavas show fiat chondrite-normalized patterns. Tholeiites from the Gardiner Plateau show no Eu anomaly but others show a slight negative Eu anomaly. Chemical data and considerations of regional geology are consistent with Cox's (1980) model of flood basalt vulcanism.

Black, opaque grains of a spinel whose composition is (Mg2TiO4) 85.8, (MgFe2O4) 0.4 (FeFe2O4) 13.8 (mole %) coexist with a MgAl2O4 spinel and geikielite in a periclase-forsterite marble that has been thermally metamorphosed against an alkalic ultramafic intrusion of Caledonian age in the Kangerdlugssuaq region of East Greenland. The spinel appears to be the closest recorded approach to the end-member Mg2TiO4 among natural rocks, and to be part of a solid-solution series extending across the join Mg2TiO4-MgFe2O4-FeFe2O4, the existence of which has not previously been reported. The composition of the series appears to be controlled by the f O2 that prevails during metamorphism.

Coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and viral hepatitis is associated with high morbidity and mortality in the absence of clinical management, making identification of these cases crucial. We examined characteristics of HIV and viral hepatitis coinfections by using surveillance data from 15 US states and two cities. Each jurisdiction used an automated deterministic matching method to link surveillance data for persons with reported acute and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, to persons reported with HIV infection. Of the 504 398 persons living with diagnosed HIV infection at the end of 2014, 2.0% were coinfected with HBV and 6.7% were coinfected with HCV. Of the 269 884 persons ever reported with HBV, 5.2% were reported with HIV. Of the 1 093 050 persons ever reported with HCV, 4.3% were reported with HIV. A greater proportion of persons coinfected with HIV and HBV were males and blacks/African Americans, compared with those with HIV monoinfection. Persons who inject drugs represented a greater proportion of those coinfected with HIV and HCV, compared with those with HIV monoinfection. Matching HIV and viral hepatitis surveillance data highlights epidemiological characteristics of persons coinfected and can be used to routinely monitor health status and guide state and national public health interventions.

Water cultures were significantly more sensitive than concurrently collected swab cultures (n=2,147 each) in detecting Legionella pneumophila within a Veterans Affairs healthcare system. Sensitivity for water versus swab cultures was 90% versus 30% overall, 83% versus 48% during a nosocomial Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, and 93% versus 22% post outbreak.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:108–110

Whether monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins differ from each other in a variety of phenotypes is important for genetic twin modeling and for inferences made from twin studies in general. We analyzed whether there were differences in individual, maternal and paternal education between MZ and DZ twins in a large pooled dataset. Information was gathered on individual education for 218,362 adult twins from 27 twin cohorts (53% females; 39% MZ twins), and on maternal and paternal education for 147,315 and 143,056 twins respectively, from 28 twin cohorts (52% females; 38% MZ twins). Together, we had information on individual or parental education from 42 twin cohorts representing 19 countries. The original education classifications were transformed to education years and analyzed using linear regression models. Overall, MZ males had 0.26 (95% CI [0.21, 0.31]) years and MZ females 0.17 (95% CI [0.12, 0.21]) years longer education than DZ twins. The zygosity difference became smaller in more recent birth cohorts for both males and females. Parental education was somewhat longer for fathers of DZ twins in cohorts born in 1990–1999 (0.16 years, 95% CI [0.08, 0.25]) and 2000 or later (0.11 years, 95% CI [0.00, 0.22]), compared with fathers of MZ twins. The results show that the years of both individual and parental education are largely similar in MZ and DZ twins. We suggest that the socio-economic differences between MZ and DZ twins are so small that inferences based upon genetic modeling of twin data are not affected.

As part of further investigations into three linked haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) cases in Wales and England, 21 rats from a breeding colony in Cherwell, and three rats from a household in Cheltenham were screened for hantavirus. Hantavirus RNA was detected in either the lungs and/or kidney of 17/21 (81%) of the Cherwell rats tested, higher than previously detected by blood testing alone (7/21, 33%), and in the kidneys of all three Cheltenham rats. The partial L gene sequences obtained from 10 of the Cherwell rats and the three Cheltenham rats were identical to each other and the previously reported UK Cherwell strain. Seoul hantavirus (SEOV) RNA was detected in the heart, kidney, lung, salivary gland and spleen (but not in the liver) of an individual rat from the Cherwell colony suspected of being the source of SEOV. Serum from 20/20 of the Cherwell rats and two associated HFRS cases had high levels of SEOV-specific antibodies (by virus neutralisation). The high prevalence of SEOV in both sites and the moderately severe disease in the pet rat owners suggest that SEOV in pet rats poses a greater public health risk than previously considered.