The role of adsorbed and structural Fe3+ in palygorskite and sepiolite with respect to the oxidation of hydrocortisone in aqueous suspension has been evaluated using electron spin resonance and UV-visible spectroscopy. Natural surface-adsorbed Fe3+ showed an important activity in the oxidation process, although smaller than octahedral Fe3+. The kinetics of oxidative degradation of hydrocortisone by palygorskite appear to be composed of two apparent first order reactions which may be associated with two kinds of sites for Fe in palygorskite. The lower oxidizing power of sepiolite for hydrocortisone degradation is due to its very low Fe3+ content.

Much of our current understanding about novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) comes from hospitalised patients. However, the spectrum of mild and subclinical disease has implications for population-level screening and control. Forty-nine participants were recruited from a group of 99 adults repatriated from a cruise ship with a high incidence of COVID-19. Respiratory and rectal swabs were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Sera were tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and microneutralisation assay. Symptoms, viral shedding and antibody response were examined. Forty-five participants (92%) were considered cases based on either positive PCR or positive ELISA for immunoglobulin G. Forty-two percent of cases were asymptomatic. Only 15% of symptomatic cases reported fever. Serial respiratory and rectal swabs were positive for 10% and 5% of participants respectively about 3 weeks after median symptom onset. Cycle threshold values were high (range 31–45). Attempts to isolate live virus were unsuccessful. The presence of symptoms was not associated with demographics, comorbidities or antibody response. In closed settings, incidence of COVID-19 could be almost double that suggested by symptom-based screening. Serology may be useful in diagnosis of mild disease and in aiding public health investigations.

The search for life in the Universe is a fundamental problem of astrobiology and modern science. The current progress in the detection of terrestrial-type exoplanets has opened a new avenue in the characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres and in the search for biosignatures of life with the upcoming ground-based and space missions. To specify the conditions favourable for the origin, development and sustainment of life as we know it in other worlds, we need to understand the nature of global (astrospheric), and local (atmospheric and surface) environments of exoplanets in the habitable zones (HZs) around G-K-M dwarf stars including our young Sun. Global environment is formed by propagated disturbances from the planet-hosting stars in the form of stellar flares, coronal mass ejections, energetic particles and winds collectively known as astrospheric space weather. Its characterization will help in understanding how an exoplanetary ecosystem interacts with its host star, as well as in the specification of the physical, chemical and biochemical conditions that can create favourable and/or detrimental conditions for planetary climate and habitability along with evolution of planetary internal dynamics over geological timescales. A key linkage of (astro)physical, chemical and geological processes can only be understood in the framework of interdisciplinary studies with the incorporation of progress in heliophysics, astrophysics, planetary and Earth sciences. The assessment of the impacts of host stars on the climate and habitability of terrestrial (exo)planets will significantly expand the current definition of the HZ to the biogenic zone and provide new observational strategies for searching for signatures of life. The major goal of this paper is to describe and discuss the current status and recent progress in this interdisciplinary field in light of presentations and discussions during the NASA Nexus for Exoplanetary System Science funded workshop ‘Exoplanetary Space Weather, Climate and Habitability’ and to provide a new roadmap for the future development of the emerging field of exoplanetary science and astrobiology.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: To create a searchable public registry of all Quality Improvement (QI) projects. To incentivize the medical professionals at UF Health to initiate quality improvement projects by reducing startup burden and providing a path to publishing results. To reduce the review effort performed by the internal review board on projects that are quality improvement Versus research. To foster publication of completed quality improvement projects. To assist the UF Health Sebastian Ferrero Office of Clinical Quality & Patient Safety in managing quality improvement across the hospital system. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: This project used a variant of the spiral software development model and principles from the ADDIE instructional design process for the creation of a registry that is web based. To understand the current registration process and management of quality projects in the UF Health system a needs assessment was performed with the UF Health Sebastian Ferrero Office of Clinical Quality & Patient Safety to gather project requirements. Biweekly meetings were held between the Quality Improvement office and the Clinical and Translational Science – Informatics and Technology teams during the entire project. Our primary goal was to collect just enough information to answer the basic questions of who is doing which QI project, what department are they from, what are the most basic details about the type of project and who is involved. We also wanted to create incentive in the user group to try to find an existing project to join or to commit the details of their proposed new project to a data registry for others to find to reduce the amount of duplicate QI projects. We created a series of design templates for further customization and feature discovery. We then proceed with the development of the registry using a Python web development framework called Django, which is a technology that powers Pinterest and the Washington Post Web sites. The application is broken down into 2 main components (i) data input, where information is collected from clinical staff, Nurses, Pharmacists, Residents, and Doctors on what quality improvement projects they intend to complete and (ii) project registry, where completed or “registered” projects can be viewed and searched publicly. The registry consists of a quality investigator profile that lists contact information, expertise, and areas of interest. A dashboard allows for the creation and review of quality improvement projects. A search function enables certain quality project details to be publicly accessible to encourage collaboration. We developed the Registry Matching Algorithm which is based on the Jaccard similarity coefficient that uses quality project features to find similar quality projects. The algorithm allows for quality investigators to find existing or previous quality improvement projects to encourage collaboration and to reduce repeat projects. We also developed the QIPR Approver Algorithm that guides the investigator through a series of questions that allows an appropriate quality project to get approved to start without the need for human intervention. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: A product of this project is an open source software package that is freely available on GitHub for distribution to other health systems under the Apache 2.0 open source license. Adoption of the Quality Improvement Project Registry and promotion of it to the intended audience are important factors for the success of this registry. Thanks goes to the UW-Madison and their QI/Program Evaluation Self-Certification Tool (https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3lVeNuKe8FhKc73) used as example and inspiration for this project. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This registry was created to help understand the impact of improved management of quality projects in a hospital system. The ultimate result will be to reduce time to approve quality improvement projects, increase collaboration across the UF Health Hospital system, reduce redundancy of quality improvement projects and translate more projects into publications.

Atrazine detection in drinking water has raised questions about how to reduce levels of this herbicide. Field experiments were conducted near Ottawa, KS, to determine atrazine levels in runoff from grain sorghum grown under three tillage systems in three growing seasons. Atrazine at 1.12 kg ai/ha was applied several weeks before planting to areas where no-till (NT), ridge-till (RT), and chisel-disk (CD) systems were used, followed by an additional 0.56 kg ai/ha applied at planting. Surface-water runoff was collected from enclosed metal frames within each tillage system, and total water runoff and atrazine concentration were determined and used to compute total atrazine loss. Atrazine loss was less from CD than from the other tillage systems in years when atrazine was soil incorporated. Atrazine loss was highly variable among years and tillage systems. This suggests that other factors besides till systems influenced atrazine runoff.

A 1984–1985 and 1988–1989 field study near Pullman, WA, evaluated the effect of two winter wheat planting geometries on the growth of wheat and competition against jointed goatgrass. Treatments included paired and constant row planting geometries of wheat and locations of jointed goatgrass within each geometry. No planting geometry by weed location interactions occurred at any harvest date for plant height, shoot number, leaf area, plant dry weight, or N uptake for either wheat or jointed goatgrass. During the 1984–1985 growing season, N uptake data indicated that by heading, jointed goatgrass had taken up N that had been deep-banded between wheat rows located 25 cm from the weed. Winter wheat yields were not different in the paired-row and the constant row spacing geometry in a weed-free environment. Within years, for both planting geometries, winter wheat yield reduction from weed competition was similar for the jointed goatgrass locations. In contrast, based on jointed goatgrass spikelets produced, wheat grown in paired-rows was more competitive against jointed goatgrass compared to constant row spacing.

Salmonella is a leading cause of bacterial foodborne illness. We report the collaborative investigative efforts of US and Canadian public health officials during the 2013–2014 international outbreak of multiple Salmonella serotype infections linked to sprouted chia seed powder. The investigation included open-ended interviews of ill persons, traceback, product testing, facility inspections, and trace forward. Ninety-four persons infected with outbreak strains from 16 states and four provinces were identified; 21% were hospitalized and none died. Fifty-four (96%) of 56 persons who consumed chia seed powder, reported 13 different brands that traced back to a single Canadian firm, distributed by four US and eight Canadian companies. Laboratory testing yielded outbreak strains from leftover and intact product. Contaminated product was recalled. Although chia seed powder is a novel outbreak vehicle, sprouted seeds are recognized as an important cause of foodborne illness; firms should follow available guidance to reduce the risk of bacterial contamination during sprouting.

The use of triclopyr for the removal of woody and broad-leaf vegetation in right-of-ways and agricultural settings has been proposed for Alaska. Triclopyr concentrations in soil after application are of concern because residual herbicide may affect growth of subsequent vegetation. In order to measure triclopyr residues in soil and determine the amount of herbicide taken up by the plant, soil bioassays were developed. Four agricultural species, turnip, lettuce, mustard, and radish, were tested to determine sensitivity to triclopyr in a 1-wk bioassay. The sensitivity (I 50) of turnip, lettuce, mustard, and radish was 0.33 ± 0.05 kg ai ha−1, 0.78 ± 0.11 kg ai ha−1, 0.78 ± 0.07 kg ai ha−1, and 0.85 ± 0.10 kg ai ha−1 (mean ± SE), respectively. Mustard was the most consistent crop in the bioassay with a midrange response to triclopyr and lowest standard deviation for germination as compared to the other species. Thus, it was used in a bioassay to determine triclopyr concentrations in a field trial. The bioassay of mustard closely matched residual amounts of triclopyr in a field trial determined by chemical extraction. Estimates of residual triclopyr concentrations using the bioassay method were sometimes less than the triclopyr concentration determined using a chemical extraction. These differences in concentrations were most evident after spring thaw when the chemical extraction determined there was enough triclopyr in the soil to reduce mustard growth over 60%, yet the bioassay measured only a 10% reduction. The chemical extraction method may have identified nonphototoxic metabolites of triclopyr to be the herbicidal triclopyr acid. These methods, when analyzed together with a dose–response curve, offer a more complete picture of triclopyr residues and the potential for carryover injury to other plant species.

Whole apples have not been previously implicated in outbreaks of foodborne bacterial illness. We investigated a nationwide listeriosis outbreak associated with caramel apples. We defined an outbreak-associated case as an infection with one or both of two outbreak strains of Listeria monocytogenes highly related by whole-genome multilocus sequence typing (wgMLST) from 1 October 2014 to 1 February 2015. Single-interviewer open-ended interviews identified the source. Outbreak-associated cases were compared with non-outbreak-associated cases and traceback and environmental investigations were performed. We identified 35 outbreak-associated cases in 12 states; 34 (97%) were hospitalized and seven (20%) died. Outbreak-associated ill persons were more likely to have eaten commercially produced, prepackaged caramel apples (odds ratio 326·7, 95% confidence interval 32·2–3314). Environmental samples from the grower's packing facility and distribution-chain whole apples yielded isolates highly related to outbreak isolates by wgMLST. This outbreak highlights the importance of minimizing produce contamination with L. monocytogenes. Investigators should perform single-interviewer open-ended interviews when a food is not readily identified.

Older African Americans tend to perform more poorly on cognitive function tests than older Whites. One possible explanation for their poorer performance is that the tests used to assess cognition may not reflect the same construct in African Americans and Whites. Therefore, we tested measurement invariance, by race and over time, of a structured 18-test cognitive battery used in three epidemiologic cohort studies of diverse older adults. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses were carried out with full-information maximum likelihood estimation in all models to capture as much information as was present in the observed data. Four different aspects of the data were fit to each model: comparative fit index (CFI), standardized root mean square residuals (SRMR), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and model $$\chi ^{2} $$ . We found that the most constrained model fit the data well (CFI=0.950; SRMR=0.051; RMSEA=0.057 (90% confidence interval: 0.056, 0.059); the model $$\chi ^{2} $$ =4600.68 on 862 df), supporting the characterization of this model of cognitive test scores as invariant over time and racial group. These results support the conclusion that the cognitive test battery used in the three studies is invariant across race and time and can be used to assess cognition among African Americans and Whites in longitudinal studies. Furthermore, the lower performance of African Americans on these tests is not due to bias in the tests themselves but rather likely reflect differences in social and environmental experiences over the life course. (JINS, 2016, 22, 66–75)

The aim of this study was to compare patterns of cognitive decline in older Latinos and non-Latinos. At annual intervals for a mean of 5.7 years, older Latino (n=104) and non-Latino (n=104) persons of equivalent age, education, and race completed a battery of 17 cognitive tests from which previously established composite measures of episodic memory, semantic memory, working memory, perceptual speed, and visuospatial ability were derived. In analyses adjusted for age, sex, and education, performance declined over time in each cognitive domain, but there were no ethnic group differences in initial level of function or annual rate of decline. There was evidence of retest learning following the baseline evaluation, but neither the magnitude nor duration of the effect was related to Latino ethnicity, and eliminating the first two evaluations, during which much of retest learning occurred, did not affect ethnic group comparisons. Compared to the non-Latino group, the Latino group had more diabetes (38.5% vs. 25.0; χ2[1]=4.4; p=.037), fewer histories of smoking (24.0% vs. 39.4%, χ2[1]=5.7; p=.017), and lower childhood household socioeconomic level (−0.410 vs. −0.045, t[185.0]=3.1; p=.002), but controlling for these factors did not affect results. Trajectories of cognitive aging in different abilities are similar in Latino and non-Latino individuals of equivalent age, education, and race. (JINS, 2016, 22, 58–65)