An estimated 129000 cases of Lyme borreliosis (LB) are reported annually in Europe. In 2022, we conducted a representative web-based survey of 28034 persons aged 18–65 years old in 20 European countries to describe tick and LB risk exposures and perceptions. Nearly all respondents (95.0%) were aware of ticks (range, 90.4% in the UK to 98.8% in Estonia). Among those aware of ticks, most (85.1%) were also aware of LB (range, 70.3% in Switzerland to 97.0% in Lithuania). Overall, 8.3% of respondents reported a past LB diagnosis (range, 3.0% in Romania to 13.8% in Sweden). Respondents spent a weekly median of 7 (interquartile range [IQR] 3–14) hours in green spaces at home and 9 (IQR 4–16) hours away from home during April–November. The most common tick prevention measures always or often used were checking for ticks (44.8%) and wearing protective clothing (40.2%). This large multicountry survey provided needed data that can be used to design targeted LB prevention programmes in Europe.

The purpose of the current study was to understand the prevalence and patterns of cannabinoid use among LTC residents across Canada. We gathered data on cannabinoid prescriptions among LTC residents for one year before and after recreational cannabis legalization. Multi-level modelling was used to examine the effects of demographic and diagnostic characteristics on rates of cannabinoid prescription over time. All prescriptions were for nabilone. There was a significant increase in the proportion of residents prescribed nabilone following the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada. Residents with relatively more severe pain (based on the Minimum Data Set pain scale), a diagnosis of depression, or a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder were more likely to have received a nabilone prescription. Our results provide valuable information regarding the increasing use of synthetic cannabinoids in LTC. The implications for clinical practice and policy decision-makers are discussed.

Objectives: Understanding how the importance of modifiable risk factors for dementia varies by cognitive status and sex is vital for the development of effective approaches to dementia prevention. We aimed to calculate population attributable fractions (PAFs) for incident dementia associated with sets of risk factors while exploring sex differences in individuals who are cognitively normal (CN) or has mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: Longitudinal data from the Rush University Memory and Aging Project (MAP) were analysed. Included participants were aged over 50 years and were CN or with a diagnosis of MCI at their baseline assessment. Analyses considered fifteen potential dementia risk factors covering cardiometabolic, lifestyle, psychosocial and sensory domains. We used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate the hazard ratios for incident dementia associated with dementia risk factors and calculated weighted PAFs. All analyses were repeated stratified by sex.

Results: The analytical sample comprised 754 cognitively normal participants (77.2% female) and 242 participants with a diagnosis of MCI (71.9% female), of whom 214 (28.4%) and 120 (49.6%) were diagnosed with dementia across the follow-up, respectively. Although the weighted overall PAF was similar for CN (24.7%) and MCI (25.2%) subgroups, sex differences were present in both. Compared to in females, PAFs were higher in males in both CN (42.5% vs. 25.1%) and MCI (51.6% vs 12.3%) subgroups. The profiles of contributing risk factors also varied by sex. In males, the highest PAFs were smoking (11.1%), vision impairment (6.2%) and stroke (6.0%) in CN and smoking (13.3%), physical inactivity (12.9%) and heart attack (7.9%) in MCI. In females, the highest PAFs were unmarried marital status (4.9%), depression (4.1%) and social isolation (3.8%) in CN and vision impairment (4.4%), increased alcohol intake (3.5%) and depression (2.6%) in MCI.

Conclusions: These findings support the notion that dementia risk is modifiable after the onset of MCI. They also highlight the potential benefits of considering an individual’s cognitive status and sex when formulating dementia prevention strategies.

This study envisions a unified paradigm for design for automated disassembly. The goal is to integrate disassembly insights related to precious material recovery with the design phase for sustainable lifecycle management.Targeting plastic products with embedded electronics, the collaboration between design and robotic engineers aims to program a robot for disassembly for the LEGO® motor (45603) as demonstration, emphasizing a disassembly map as a vital tool. By considering the limitations and strengths of robots, this research pioneers a design for disassembly framework.

New technologies and disruptions related to Coronavirus disease-2019 have led to expansion of decentralized approaches to clinical trials. Remote tools and methods hold promise for increasing trial efficiency and reducing burdens and barriers by facilitating participation outside of traditional clinical settings and taking studies directly to participants. The Trial Innovation Network, established in 2016 by the National Center for Advancing Clinical and Translational Science to address critical roadblocks in clinical research and accelerate the translational research process, has consulted on over 400 research study proposals to date. Its recommendations for decentralized approaches have included eConsent, participant-informed study design, remote intervention, study task reminders, social media recruitment, and return of results for participants. Some clinical trial elements have worked well when decentralized, while others, including remote recruitment and patient monitoring, need further refinement and assessment to determine their value. Partially decentralized, or “hybrid” trials, offer a first step to optimizing remote methods. Decentralized processes demonstrate potential to improve urban-rural diversity, but their impact on inclusion of racially and ethnically marginalized populations requires further study. To optimize inclusive participation in decentralized clinical trials, efforts must be made to build trust among marginalized communities, and to ensure access to remote technology.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic, zoonotic infection of domestic and wild animals caused mainly by Mycobacterium bovis. The Test and Vaccinate or Remove (TVR) project was a 5-year intervention (2014–2018) applied to Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) in a 100 km2 area of County Down, Northern Ireland. This observational study used routine bTB surveillance data of cattle to determine if the TVR intervention had any effect in reducing the infection at a herd level. The study design included the TVR treatment area (Banbridge) compared to the three adjacent 100 km2 areas (Dromore, Ballynahinch, and Castlewellan) which did not receive any badger intervention. Results showed that there were statistically lower bTB herd incidence rate ratios in the Banbridge TVR area compared to two of the other three comparison areas, but with bTB herd history and number of bTB infected cattle being the main explanatory variables along with Year. This finding is consistent with other study results conducted as part of the TVR project that suggested that the main transmission route for bTB in the area was cattle-to-cattle spread. This potentially makes any wildlife intervention in the TVR area of less relevance to bTB levels in cattle. It must also be noted that the scientific power of the TVR study (76%) was below the recommended 80%, meaning that results must be interpreted with caution. Even though statistical significance was achieved in two cattle-related risk factors, other potential risk factors may have also demonstrated significance in a larger study.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: To conceptualize, implement and evaluate a three-pronged social media plan with goals to: 1) disseminate information about the Southern California CTSI and its activities on multiple platforms; 2) educate the public about clinical research participation; 3) use storytelling methods to spread awareness about research careers. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We will start by creating a logic model to identify activities, outputs, short, medium and long-term outcomes of this social media innovation project, using CTSI and community stakeholder input (focus groups). This model will guide the creation of a comprehensive strategic social media plan that includes an editorial calendar for each platform, storyboarding and an operationalized narrative strategy, as well as KPIs relating to areas like reach, engagement, conversion, and sentiment. Collecting/analyzing these metrics will yield information about how the public feels about clinical research and will assist us in refining our content strategy. After completing formative research, we will create accounts on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and Meta to complement our existing Twitter presence. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We hope to identify which types of content lead to greater engagement and more positive sentiment on each platform, which will help us iteratively refine our content strategy. Examples of content type can include: imparting research-related information, debunking myths, providing career information, etc. Through this process we will also gain knowledge about what methods are more appealing to our users, such as narrative storytelling. Visually, we anticipate learning about what types of multimedia content works best as a mechanism to disseminate information about clinical research (e.g. video, photo, audio, or a combination). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: In a post-pandemic world of dis- and misinformation, it is more important than ever to disseminate trusted, vetted information about clinical research in novel and engaging ways. Through this initiative we will gather information, metrics and key lessons learned to present back to CTSA hubs to inform their short and long-term social media strategies.

The Trial Innovation Network has established an infrastructure for single IRB review in response to federal policies. The Network’s single IRB (sIRBs) have successfully supported over 70 multisite studies via more than 800 reliance arrangements. This has generated several lessons learned that can benefit the national clinical research enterprise, as we work to improve the conduct of clinical trials. These lessons include distinguishing the roles of the single IRB from institutional Human Research Protections programs, establishing a consistent sIRB review model, standardizing collection of local context and supplemental, study-specific information, and educating and empowering lead study teams to support their sites.

For decades, the research community called for streamlined Institutional Review Board (IRB) review processes for multisite studies. Department of Health and Human Services and National Institutes of Health (NIH) recognized this need and implemented single IRB (sIRB) of record mandates. However, announcing mandates without sufficient operational guidance and tools is insufficient to foster the desired change. Nearly 4 years into implementation of the NIH’s sIRB mandate, operational challenges remain. Fortunately, NIH supports a web-based sIRB platform, the IRB Reliance Exchange (IREx), to facilitate sIRB communication and documentation. IREx has received continuous NIH funding supporting its evolution since 2011 and is now used by over 5,000 Human Research Protection Program and research personnel, 35 sIRBs, and 415 participating sites to operationalize sIRB review and approval on over 400 studies. IREx supports over 2300 reliance relationships with an average of 7 sites per study. The platform is continually used by sIRBs and relying sites, providing a valuable centralized portal for promoting a harmonized sIRB review process. IREx can promote transparency, standardize practice, minimize workflow variation, and mitigate the need for sIRBs to implement significant technical changes to their local electronic systems. IREx has proven to be nimble and adaptable with practice and policy changes over the past decade, as evidenced by continually increasing platform utilization.

Smoking rates are higher for people who use mental health services, which contributes substantially to health inequalities. Smoking can lead to worse COVID-19 outcomes, yet it remains unclear whether smoking has changed for people who use mental health services. We examined smoking patterns in a large clinical cohort of people with severe mental illness, before and during the pandemic. We found high levels of nicotine dependence and heavier patterns of smoking. Although some people had reported quitting, it is likely that smoking inequalities have become further entrenched. Mental health services should seek to mitigate this modifiable risk and source of poor health.

We counter Huang & Bargh's (H&B's) metaphoric description of the unconscious, selfish goal on three points. First, we argue, unconscious goals are rooted in conscious choices related to well-being. Second, unconscious goal pursuit occurs through early-stage orienting mechanisms that promote individuals' well-being. Third, unconscious goals work selflessly, resulting in their own demise.