Around 1000 years ago, Madagascar experienced the collapse of populations of large vertebrates that ultimately resulted in many species going extinct. The factors that led to this collapse appear to have differed regionally, but in some ways, key processes were similar across the island. This review evaluates four hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the loss of large vertebrates on Madagascar: Overkill, aridification, synergy, and subsistence shift. We explore regional differences in the paths to extinction and the significance of a prolonged extinction window across the island. The data suggest that people who arrived early and depended on hunting, fishing, and foraging had little effect on Madagascar’s large endemic vertebrates. Megafaunal decline was triggered initially by aridification in the driest bioclimatic zone, and by the arrival of farmers and herders in the wetter bioclimatic zones. Ultimately, it was the expansion of agropastoralism across both wet and dry regions that drove large endemic vertebrates to extinction everywhere.

This article examines the death of Colin Roach in Stoke Newington Police Station, Hackney, in 1983, and explores the emotional politics of the campaigns that followed his death. These campaigns were focused on both determining the circumstances of Roach's death and highlighting tensions between the police and the Black community of Hackney. Using hitherto unpublished archival sources, local newspapers, and visual sources, the article documents racial politics in Hackney in the early 1980s and examines the relationship between race and policing at that time. The article argues that the experience and expression of grief and anger were critical to understanding the political problem of race and policing in London in the 1980s, to forming and mobilizing political communities, and to interrogating the power of the state. The article also argues that a critical element of the emotional economy around race in Hackney in 1983 was the indifference and lack of empathy of the police in Stoke Newington to ethnic minority communities. This lack of empathy not only illustrated the problem of race within the police force at this time but further fueled local campaigns to make the police accountable. This links the Roach case to a later turning point—the 1999 Macpherson inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, which characterized the Metropolitan Police as institutionally racist.

A terrestrial (lacustrine and fluvial) palaeoclimate record from Hoxne (Suffolk, UK) shows two temperate phases separated by a cold episode, correlated with MIS 11 subdivisions corresponding to isotopic events 11.3 (Hoxnian interglacial period), 11.24 (Stratum C cold interval), and 11.23 (warm interval with evidence of human presence). A robust, reproducible multiproxy consensus approach validates and combines quantitative palaeotemperature reconstructions from three invertebrate groups (beetles, chironomids, and ostracods) and plant indicator taxa with qualitative implications of molluscs and small vertebrates. Compared with the present, interglacial mean monthly air temperatures were similar or up to 4.0°C higher in summer, but similar or as much as 3.0°C lower in winter; the Stratum C cold interval, following prolonged nondeposition or erosion of the lake bed, experienced summers 2.5°C cooler and winters between 5°C and 10°C cooler than at present. Possible reworking of fossils into Stratum C from underlying interglacial assemblages is taken into account. Oxygen and carbon isotopes from ostracod shells indicate evaporatively enriched lake water during Stratum C deposition. Comparative evaluation shows that proxy-based palaeoclimate reconstruction methods are best tested against each other and, if validated, can be used to generate more refined and robust results through multiproxy consensus.

Media coverage of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) ranges from providing helpful education to displaying graphic images. We offer the first research-informed, consensus-based guidelines for the responsible reporting and depicting of NSSI in the media, while also advising on ideas for dissemination and collaboration between media professionals and healthcare experts.

Background: When control mechanisms such as water temperature and biocide level are insufficient, Legionella, the causative bacteria of Legionnaires’ disease, can proliferate in water distribution systems in buildings. Guidance and oversight bodies are increasingly prioritizing water safety programs in healthcare facilities to limit Legionella growth. However, ensuring optimal implementation in large buildings is challenging. Much is unknown, and sometimes assumed, about whether building and campus characteristics influence Legionella growth. We used an extensive real-world environmental Legionella data set in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) healthcare system to examine infrastructure characteristics and Legionella positivity. Methods: VHA medical facilities across the country perform quarterly potable water sampling of healthcare buildings for Legionella detection as part of a comprehensive water safety program. Results are reported to a standardized national database. We did an exploratory univariate analysis of facility-reported Legionella data from routine potable water samples taken in 2015 to 2018, in conjunction with infrastructure characteristics available in a separate national data set. This review examined the following characteristics: building height (number of floors), building age (reported construction year), and campus acreage. Results: The final data set included 201,936 water samples from 819 buildings. Buildings with 1–5 floors (n = 634) had a Legionella positivity rate of 5.3%, 6–10 floors (n = 104) had a rate of 6.4%, 11–15 floors (n = 36) had a rate of 8.1%, and 16–22 floors (n = 9) had a rate of 8.8%. All rates were significantly different from each other except 11–15 floors and 16–22 floors (P < .05, χ2). The oldest buildings (1800s) had significantly less (P < .05, χ2) Legionella positivity than those built between 1900 and 1939 and between 1940 and 1979, but they were no different than the newest buildings (Fig. 1). In newer buildings (1980–2019), all decades had buildings with Legionella positivity (Fig. 1 inset). Campus acreage varied from ~3 acres to almost 500 acres. Although significant differences were found in Legionella positivity for different campus sizes, there was no clear trend and campus acreage may not be a suitable proxy for the extent or complexity of water systems feeding buildings. Conclusions: The analysis of this large, real-world data set supports an assumption that taller buildings are more likely to be associated with Legionella detection, perhaps a result of more extensive piping. In contrast, the assumption that newer buildings are less associated with Legionella was not fully supported. These results demonstrate the variability in Legionella positivity in buildings, and they also provide evidence that can inform implementation of water safety programs.

Funding: None

Disclosures: Chetan Jinadatha, principal Investigator/Co-I: Research: NIH/NINR, AHRQ, NSF principal investigator: Research: Xenex Healthcare Services. Funds provided to institution. Inventor: Methods for organizing the disinfection of one or more items contaminated with biological agents. Owner: Department of Veterans Affairs. Licensed to Xenex Disinfection System, San Antonio, TX.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The detection of liver fibrotic changes at an early and reversible stage is essential to prevent its progression to end-stage cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver biopsy, which is the current gold standard for fibrosis assessment, is accompanied by several complications due to its invasive nature in addition to sampling errors and reader variability. In this study, we evaluate the use of quantitative parameters extracted from hybrid ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging to detect and monitor fibrotic changes in a DEN rat model. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Liver fibrotic changes were induced in 34 Wistar male rats by oral administration of Diethylnitrosamine (DEN) for 12 weeks. 22 rats were imaged with B-mode ultrasound at 3 different time points (baseline, 10 weeks and 13 weeks) for monitoring liver texture changes. Texture features studied included tissue echointensity (liver brightness normalized to kidney brightness) and tissue heterogeneity. 12 rats were imaged with photoacoustic imaging at 4 time points (baseline, 5 wks, 10 wks, and 13 wks) to look at changes in tissue oxygenation. Hemoglobin oxygen saturation (sO2A) and hemoglobin concentration (HbT) in the right and left lobes of the liver were measured. 8 rats were used as controls. Liver tissue samples were obtained following 13 weeks from DEN start time for METAVIR histopathology staging of fibrosis. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Texture features studied showed an increase with time in DEN rats. Normalized echointensity increased from 0.28 ± 0.06 at baseline to 0.46 ± 0.10 at 10 weeks (p < 0.0005) and 0.53 ± 0.15 at 13 weeks in DEN rats (p < 0.0005). In the control rats, echointensity remained at an average of 0.25 ± 0.05 (p = 0.31). Tissue heterogeneity increased over time in the DEN-exposed rats from a baseline of 208.7 ± 58.3 to 344.6 ± 52.9 at 10 weeks (p < 0.0005) and 376.8 ± 54.9 at 13 weeks (p = 0.06) however it stayed constant at 225.7 ± 37.6 in control rats (p = 0.58). The quantitative analyses of the photoacoustic signals showed that blood oxygen saturation significantly increased with time. At 5 weeks sO2AvT increased by 53.83 % (± 0.25), and HbT by 35.31 % (± 0.07). Following 10 weeks of DEN; sO2AvT by 92.04 % (± 0.29), and HbT by 55.24 % (± 0.1). All increases were significant p < 0.05. In the 13th week, however, the values of all of these parameters were lower than those in the 10th week, however, the decrease was statistically insignificant. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Quantitative features from B-mode ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging consistently increased over time corresponding to hepatic damage, inflammation and fibrosis progressed. The use of this hybrid imaging method in clinical practice can help meet the significant need for noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis.

Stars form in clusters, while planets form in gaseous disks around young stars. Cluster dissolution occurs on longer time scales than disk dispersal. Planet formation thus typically takes place while the host star is still inside the cluster. We explore how the presence of other stars affects the evolution of circumstellar disks. Our numerical approach requires multi-scale and multi-physics simulations where the relevant components and their interactions are resolved. The simulations start with the collapse of a turbulent cloud, from which stars with disks form, which are able to influence each other. We focus on the effect of extinction due to residual cloud gas on the early evolution of circumstellar disks. We find that this extinction protects circumstellar disks against external photoevaporation, but these disks then become vulnerable to dynamic truncation by passing stars. We conclude that circumstellar disk evolution is heavily affected by the early evolution of the cluster.

We correlated antibiotic consumption measured by point prevalence survey with defined daily doses (DDD) across multiple hospitals. Point prevalence survey had a higher correlation (1) with monthly DDDs than annual DDDs, (2) in nonsurgical versus surgical wards, and (3) on high- versus low-utilization wards. Findings may be hospital specific due to hospital differences.

The Pueblo population of Chaco Canyon during the Bonito Phase (AD 800–1130) employed agricultural strategies and water-management systems to enhance food cultivation in this unpredictable environment. Scepticism concerning the timing and effectiveness of this system, however, remains common. Using optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments and LiDAR imaging, the authors located Bonito Phase canal features at the far west end of the canyon. Additional ED-XRF and strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analyses confirm the diversion of waters from multiple sources during Chaco’s occupation. The extent of this water-management system raises new questions about social organisation and the role of ritual in facilitating responses to environmental unpredictability.

Healthy adults (n 30) participated in a placebo-controlled, randomised, double-blinded, cross-over study consisting of two 28 d treatments (β2-1 fructan or maltodextrin; 3×5 g/d) separated by a 14-d washout. Subjects provided 1 d faecal collections at days 0 and 28 of each treatment. The ability of faecal bacteria to metabolise β2-1 fructan was common; eighty-seven species (thirty genera, and four phyla) were isolated using anaerobic medium containing β2-1 fructan as the sole carbohydrate source. β2-1 fructan altered the faecal community as determined through analysis of terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms and 16S rRNA genes. Supplementation with β2-1 fructan reduced faecal community richness, and two patterns of community change were observed. In most subjects, β2-1 fructan reduced the content of phylotypes aligning within the Bacteroides, whereas increasing those aligning within bifidobacteria, Faecalibacterium and the family Lachnospiraceae. In the remaining subjects, supplementation increased the abundance of Bacteroidetes and to a lesser extent bifidobacteria, accompanied by decreases within the Faecalibacterium and family Lachnospiraceae. β2-1 Fructan had no impact on the metagenome or glycoside hydrolase profiles in faeces from four subjects. Few relationships were found between the faecal bacterial community and various host parameters; Bacteroidetes content correlated with faecal propionate, subjects whose faecal community contained higher Bacteroidetes produced more caproic acid independent of treatment, and subjects having lower faecal Bacteroidetes exhibited increased concentrations of serum lipopolysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide binding protein independent of treatment. We found no evidence to support a defined health benefit for the use of β2-1 fructans in healthy subjects.

We argue that the CLASH model makes a number of questionable assumptions about the harshness and unpredictability of low-latitude environments, calling into question the life history strategy approach used, and that it is inconsistent with more nuanced global patterns of violence. We suggest an alternative account for less violence at high latitudes, based on a greater need for cooperation.

Late glacial and early Holocene summer temperatures were reconstructed based on fossil chironomid assemblages at Lake Brazi (Retezat Mountains) with a joint Norwegian"Swiss transfer function, providing an important addition to the late glacial quantitative climate reconstructions from Europe. The pattern of the late glacial temperature changes in Lake Brazi show both similarities and some differences from the NGRIP δ 18O record and other European chironomid-based reconstructions. Our reconstruction indicates that at Lake Brazi (1740 m a.s.l.) summer air temperature increased by ~ 2.8ºC at the Oldest Dryas/Bølling transition (GS-2/GI-1) and reached 8.1–8.7ºC during the late glacial interstade. The onset of the Younger Dryas (GS-1) was characterized by a weak (< 1ºC) decrease in chironomid-inferred temperatures. Similarly, at the GS-1/Holocene transition no major changes in summer temperature were recorded. In the early Holocene, summer temperature increased in two steps and reached ~ 12.0–13.3ºC during the Preboreal. Two short-term cold events were detected during the early Holocene between 11,480–11,390 and 10,350–10,190 cal yr BP. The first cooling coincides with the Preboreal oscillation and shows a weak (0.7ºC) temperature decrease, while the second is characterized by 1ºC cooling. Both cold events coincide with cooling events in the Greenland ice core records and other European temperature reconstructions.