Objectives/Goals: We will conduct a 12-week pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a staged-intensity whole foods intervention on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) change in adults, diet quality change (via the 2020 healthy eating index [HEI-2020]) in adults and offspring, and diet adherence and social determinants of health (SDOH) considerations via focus groups. Methods/Study Population: In this two-arm, parallel RCT, 30 adults with prediabetes (25–59 years) and their offspring (6–18 years) will be randomized to receive the 1) 12-week whole foods intervention which includes a 2-week feeding period (all foods/recipies provided), a 6-week customizable feeding period (3 dinners/recipies weekly), and a 4-week maintenance period (no food/recipies). The control group will receive standard of care (i.e., single RD-led diet counseling session). Primary outcomes include feasibility (≥80% retention and completion of study outcome measures) and acceptability (≥75% adult self-reported diet satisfaction). Intervention effects include 1) HbA1c change at 12-weeks in adults and 2) adult/offspring HEI-2020 scores assessed via diet records. Focus groups will assess influences of SDOH on diet adherence. Results/Anticipated Results: We have received Institutional Review Board approval, and recruitment is planned for January 2025. We will enroll 30 families from the greater Nashville, TN area. An intent-to-treat analysis will be conducted to test the preliminary effects of the whole foods diet intervention on the 12-week change in HbA1c (adults only) and 2020-HEI diet quality scores during the intervention period (adults and offspring). Focus groups will be conducted to understand how individual and family needs/preferences and SDOH may be perceived barriers or facilitators of diet adherence. Data generated from this study will be used to guide a fully powered RCT of our whole foods intervention to assess long-term effects on additional diabetes and metabolic outcomes and assessment of SDOH influences to support long-term adherence. Discussion/Significance of Impact: A healthy diet pattern is an effective nonpharmacological solution to prevent T2D, but only if it can be maintained. A family-centered whole foods diet pattern that uses “food as medicine” and considers how individual and family needs/preferences, and SDOHs could be an effective and sustainable multigenerational solution to prevent T2D in families.

The extremely toxic protein, ricin, is derived from castor beans and is a potential terrorist weapon. Adsorption to clays might minimize the environmental persistence and toxic effects of this toxin. Ricin adsorption to clay minerals was measured using batch adsorption isotherms. Enzyme-linked immunoassay methods were used to quantify aqueous ricin concentrations. Montmorillonite, sepiolite and palygorskite effectively adsorbed ricin from aqueous solutions and yielded mostly Langmuir-type isotherms. The monolayer adsorption capacity from a Langmuir equation fit at pH 7 was 444 g ricin/kg for montmorillonite (SWy-2), but was only 5.6 g ricin/kg for kaolinite (KGa-1b). Monolayer capacities for sepiolite (SepSp-1) and palygorskite (PFl-1) at pH 7 were 59.2 and 58.1 g ricin/kg. The high-charge montmorillonite (SAz-1) effectively adsorbed ricin at pH 7, but yielded a linear isotherm with K = 5530 L/kg. At pH 5, both montmorillonites (SWy-2 and SAz-1) yielded Langmuir-type isotherms with monolayer capacities of 694 and 641 g ricin/kg. Clay samples with higher cation exchange capacities generally adsorbed more ricin, but adsorption also followed specific surface area. X-ray diffraction of <2 μm SWy-2 treated with 470 g ricin/kg indicated expansion up to 34.6 Å at buffered pHs of 4 and 7, but not at pH 10. Furthermore, ricin adsorption was greatest at pH 4 and 7, but minimal at pH 10. Treatment with 1.41 kg of purified ricin/kg clay at pH 5 yielded a 35.3 Å peak and adsorption of ~1.2 kg ricin/kg. Similar treatment with lower-purity ricin yielded less expansion and lower adsorption. The 35.3 Å peak interpreted either as a d002 or d001 reflection indicates a 70.6 Å or a 35.3 Å ricin/SWy-2 complex. This implies that adsorption and air drying have compressed interlayer ricin molecules by 18 to 65%. Effective ricin adsorption by montmorillonite suggests that it could be used to minimize the toxic effects of dispersed ricin.

Bacterial superinfection and antibiotic prescribing in the setting of the current mpox outbreak are not well described in the literature. This retrospective observational study revealed low prevalence (11%) of outpatient antibiotic prescribing for bacterial superinfection of mpox lesions; at least 3 prescriptions (23%) were unnecessary.

The discovery of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave signal has generated follow-up observations by over 50 facilities world-wide, ushering in the new era of multi-messenger astronomy. In this paper, we present follow-up observations of the gravitational wave event GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterpart SSS17a/DLT17ck (IAU label AT2017gfo) by 14 Australian telescopes and partner observatories as part of Australian-based and Australian-led research programs. We report early- to late-time multi-wavelength observations, including optical imaging and spectroscopy, mid-infrared imaging, radio imaging, and searches for fast radio bursts. Our optical spectra reveal that the transient source emission cooled from approximately 6 400 K to 2 100 K over a 7-d period and produced no significant optical emission lines. The spectral profiles, cooling rate, and photometric light curves are consistent with the expected outburst and subsequent processes of a binary neutron star merger. Star formation in the host galaxy probably ceased at least a Gyr ago, although there is evidence for a galaxy merger. Binary pulsars with short (100 Myr) decay times are therefore unlikely progenitors, but pulsars like PSR B1534+12 with its 2.7 Gyr coalescence time could produce such a merger. The displacement (~2.2 kpc) of the binary star system from the centre of the main galaxy is not unusual for stars in the host galaxy or stars originating in the merging galaxy, and therefore any constraints on the kick velocity imparted to the progenitor are poor.

Because horsenettle and tall ironweed are difficult to control in cool-season grass pastures, research was conducted in Tennessee and Kentucky in 2010 and 2011 to examine the efficacy of aminocyclopyrachlor on these weeds. Aminocyclopyrachlor was evaluated at 49 and 98 g ai ha−1 alone and in mixtures with 2,4-D amine at 371 and 742 g ae ha−1. Aminopyralid was also included as a comparison treatment at 88 g ai ha−1. Treatments were applied at three POST timings to horsenettle and two POST timings to tall ironweed. By 1 yr after treatment (YAT) horsenettle was controlled 74% with aminocyclopyrachlor plus 2,4-D applied late POST (LPOST) at 98 + 742 g ha−1. By 1 YAT, tall ironweed was controlled ≥ 93% by aminocyclopyrachlor applied early POST (EPOST) or LPOST, at rates as low as 49 g ha−1. Similar control was achieved with aminopyralid applied LPOST. Both aminocyclopyrachlor and aminopyralid were found to reduce horsenettle and tall ironweed biomass the following year. Moreover, all LPOST applications of aminocyclopyrachlor alone or in mixtures with 2,4-D prevented regrowth of tall ironweed at 1 YAT. Based on these studies, a LPOST herbicide application in August or September when soil moisture is adequate is recommended for control of horsenettle and tall ironweed in cool-season grass pastures.

IAU Commission 6 “Astronomical Telegrams” had a single business meeting during Honolulu General Assembly of the IAU. It took place on Tuesday, 11 August 2015. The meeting was attended by Hitoshi Yamaoka (President), Daniel Green (Director of the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, CBAT, via Skype), Steven Chesley (JPL), Paul Chodas (JPL), Alan Gilmore (Canterbury University), Shinjiro Kouzuma (Chukyo University), Paolo Mazzali (Co-Chair of the Supernova Working Group), Elena Pian (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa), Marion Schmitz (chair IAU Working Group Designations + NED), David Tholen (University of Hawaii), Jana Ticha (Klet Observatory), Milos Tichy (Klet Observatory), Giovanni Valsecchi (INAF\slash Italy), Gareth Williams (Minor Planet Center). Apologies: Nikolai Samus (General Catalogue of Variable Stars, GCVS).

In this article, data are presented from Parts A and B of the Trail Making Test, which examined the effects of haloperidol vs risperidone on cognitive function in treatment-resistant scxhizophrenic patients. This report focuses on findings from the Trail Making Test. Overall, risperidone had a positive effect on Trail Making Part B performance following 4 weeks of treatment. These effects were due, at least in part, to the direct effects of risperidone. The possibility that an antipsychotic agent can enhance executive functioning through direct mechanisms, perhaps mediated by frontal cortex neurochemistry, indicates that the evaluation of antipsychotic medications in the treatment of schizophrenia should be expanded to include cognition.

IAU Commission 6 “Astronomical Telegrams” had a single business meeting during the Beijing General Assembly of the IAU. It took place on Friday, August 24, 2012. The meeting was attended by five C6 members (N. N. Samus; D. W. E. Green; S. Nakano; J. Ticha; and H. Yamaoka). Also present was Prof. F. Genova as a representative of the IAU Division B. She told the audience about the current restructuring of IAU Commissions and Divisions and consequences for the future of C6.

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) will give us an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the transient sky at radio wavelengths. In this paper we present VAST, an ASKAP survey for Variables and Slow Transients. VAST will exploit the wide-field survey capabilities of ASKAP to enable the discovery and investigation of variable and transient phenomena from the local to the cosmological, including flare stars, intermittent pulsars, X-ray binaries, magnetars, extreme scattering events, interstellar scintillation, radio supernovae, and orphan afterglows of gamma-ray bursts. In addition, it will allow us to probe unexplored regions of parameter space where new classes of transient sources may be detected. In this paper we review the known radio transient and variable populations and the current results from blind radio surveys. We outline a comprehensive program based on a multi-tiered survey strategy to characterise the radio transient sky through detection and monitoring of transient and variable sources on the ASKAP imaging timescales of 5 s and greater. We also present an analysis of the expected source populations that we will be able to detect with VAST.

With outdoor lighting ordinances in Arizona first in place around observatories in 1958 and 1972, then throughout the state since 1986, Arizonans have extensive experience working with communities and businesses to preserve our dark skies. Though communities are committed to the astronomy sector in our state, astronomers must collaborate with other stakeholders to implement solutions. Ongoing education and public outreach is necessary to enable ordinance updates as technology changes. Despite significant population increases, sky brightness measurements over the last 20 years show that ordinance updates are worth our efforts as we seek to maintain high quality skies around our observatories. Collaborations are being forged and actions taken to promote astronomy for the longer term in Arizona.

This study examined whether Canada's public pensions (Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan) provided adequate income for seniors living in Nova Scotia in 2005 to afford a basic nutritious diet. Monthly incomes were compared to essential monthly expenses for four household scenarios: (a) married couple, 80 years and 78 years, in urban Nova Scotia; (b) single male, 77 years in rural Nova Scotia; (c) a couple, 70 years and 65 years, in rural Nova Scotia; (d) widowed female, 85 years, in urban Nova Scotia. The monthly food costs for the four households were CAN$313.32, $193.83, $316.71, and $150.89, respectively. Results showed that both single-member households lacked the necessary funds for a nutritious diet, while living with a partner seemed to protect against inadequate financial resources. These findings illustrate the need to improve Canada's retirement systems to ensure all seniors have adequate financial resources to meet their basic needs—including nutritious food—prevent chronic disease, and ultimately improve quality of life.