Integrating the predictive processing framework into our understanding of motivation offers promising avenues for theoretical development, while shedding light on the computational processes underlying motivated behavior. Here we decompose expected free energy into intrinsic value (i.e., epistemic affordance) and extrinsic value (i.e., instrumental affordance) to provide insights into how individuals adapt to and interact with their environment.

Obesity is a complex condition which is significantly impacted by an individual’s biology, environment and behavioural factors. Excess energy dense (ED)(kJ/g) food intake (1), higher eating rate (2), increased eating frequency (3) and eating later in the day (4) have all been linked with obesity, but findings are mixed and require clarification using robust and objective measures of food intake behaviour. The aim of this research was to investigate associations between these eating behaviours and energy intake (EI) within a controlled residential setting in 65 participants (BMI 36.4 ±11.0 (range 17.6-65.2); 9 optimal weight, 15 overweight and 41 with obesity/severe obesity; age 44.3±12.7 years (range 18.6-67.6 years), 44F,21M).

As part of baseline measurements for a larger study (5) participants were assessed for 36hrs (twonights) within the Human Intervention Studies Unit at Ulster University, UK, and had ad lib access to a personalised menu (n 54 foods) representing a range of low/high fat macronutrient mix food groups with varying carbohydrate and protein content (6). Food intake and eating behaviour were measured covertly and validated by CCTV. Study outcomes were 24-hour EI (MJ), ED (kJ/g), % nutrient contribution to total EI, as well as parameters of eating including: size (g, kJ) speed (g/min; kJ/min;), number (n) and duration (mins) of eating occasions (defined as consumption of at least 210kJ separated by ≥5 minutes) and the timing of eating (epochs: 7-11am, 11:01-3pm, 3:01-7pm, 7:01-11pm). On the final morning, blood samples were collected before and 90mins after a standardised breakfast for the analysis of glicentin, a proglucagon-derived peptide. Associations between total EI and measures of eating behaviour were assessed using Spearman’s Rank

Correlation analysis showed weak positive associations between total EI and fasting glicentin (r = 0.296, p = 0.024), ED (r = 0.364, p = 0.004), and moderate associations with number (r = 0.419, p = 0.001) and size of eating occasions (r = 0.415, p = 0.005) as well as total weight of food consumed (r= 0.634, p<0.001). Of note, there was also a positive association between EI/eating occasion and a faster eating rate as expressed by [kJ/min (r = 0.519; p<0.001)] but not g/min (r = 0.276, p = 0.07). There was also a stronger relationship between EI and lean mass (r = 0.450, p<0.001) than bodyweight (r = 0.291, p = 0.023).

These findings suggest that food portion size and increased eating frequency may be a more important drivers of EI than dietary ED, and that the rate of eating higher ED foods may be linked to consuming a higher energy meal. These findings are skewed towards individuals with obesity but if confirmed highlight a need for weight management programmes to strengthen strategies to improve portion control and to limit grazing behaviours. There is also a need for robust randomised controlled trials to determine if eating slower reduces overall EI.

Despite national dietary guidelines, dairy intakes remain low in China, partially because of high prevalence of lactose malabsorption1. The fibre intake adequacy is also low comparing to the recommendation in China2. Milk-N is a new range of fortified and non-fortified low-lactose/highfibre milk products. In this study we analyzed the associations between consumption of Milk-N products and nutritional status using diet modelling3.

We used data from China Health and Nutrition Survey-20114, participants above 20y were included in the analysis (n = 12127, 47% men, 53% women). Nutrient intakes were estimated through 3 days dietary record and household food inventory. Two diet scenarios were modelled: A) Adding a serving (200ml) of generic milk or of Milk-N to participants not meeting the dairy recommendation, and B) Substituting dairy food intakes with Milk-N in equivalent amount for dairy consuming participants. Paired t-test and Pearson’s Chi-squared test were used to compare the amount of intake and prevalence of nutrient intake adequacy between the two types of addition, and before and after the substitution.

Overall, 17.4% of participants consumed dairy foods with an average intake of 160.5g/day, among those 81.2% consumed milk. Only 1.1% of the population met dairy intake recommendations.

In the addition scenario, compared to the addition of generic milk, adding one serving of fortified or non-fortified Milk-N increased fibre intake by 25-35% (from 17.6g/day to 22-23.8 g/day), leading to increased fibre intake adequacy from 16.4% to 27.0-32.8%, i.e. 65-100% increase. Addition of fortified Milk-N improved daily average intakes of calcium, iron, zinc, vitamins A and C by 27-31%, 9%, 8%, 3%, and 16%, respectively. Consequently, the proportion of the population with inadequate intakes decreased (p<0.01) for generic milk vs fortified Milk-N as follows, for calcium (66.3% vs. 23.4-29.6%), iron (5.5% vs. 2.2%), zinc (28.1% vs. 18.9%), vitamin A (61.7% vs. 52.7%) and vitamin C (62.4% vs. 51.5%).

In the substitution scenario, replacing current dairy food intake with fortified or non-fortified Milk-N increased fibre intake by 20-27% (from 18.4 to 22.0-23.4g/day), leading to increased proportion of dairy consumers with adequate fibre intake from 18.7% to 28.2-32.3%, i.e., 51-73% increase. Substitution with fortified Milk-N improved intakes of calcium, iron, zinc, vitamins A and C by 2327%, 7%, 7%, 10%, and 12%, respectively. Consequently, the proportion of dairy consumers with inadequate micronutrient intakes significantly decreased (p<0.01) for calcium (from 72.9% to 50.353.3%), iron (from 7.5% to 4.7%), zinc (from 33.0% to 26.1%), vitamin A (from 56.9% to 47.4%), and vitamin C (from 60.2% to 50.8%).

In addition to the reduced lactose that helps to address lactose malabsorption, consumption of any Milk-N alternative could improve fibre intake, while fortified Milk-N could also contribute to reducing micronutrient inadequacies in Chinese adults.

With the over-use of tetracycline (TC) and its ultimate accumulation in aquatic systems, the demand for TC removal from contaminated water is increasing due to its severe threat to public health. Clay minerals have attracted great attention as low-cost adsorbents for controlling water pollution. The objective of the present study was to measure the adsorption behavior and mechanisms of TC on allophane, a nanosized clay mineral with a hollow spherical structure; to highlight the advantage of the allophane nanostructure, a further objective was to compare allophane with halloysite and montmorillonite, which have nanostructures that differ from allophane. Structural features and surface physicochemical properties were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), zeta potential, N2-physisorption, and acid–base titration. The adsorption data showed that TC adsorption followed the pseudo-second order and Langmuir models. The adsorption was pH dependent, as all three clay minerals performed better under neutral to weakly alkaline conditions and maintained high adsorption performance in the presence of co-existing Na+/K+/Ca2+/Mg2+ cations. Regeneration of the adsorbent was excellent, with efficiencies exceeding 75% after five recycles. By comparison, allophane always exhibited the greatest adsorption capacity, up to 796 mg g–1 at ~pH 9. The TC adsorption on allophane and halloysite was dominated by inner-sphere complexation, together with a small amount of electrostatic adsorption, while that on montmorillonite involved mainly interlayer cation exchange. The findings provide insights into the effects of nanostructures of clay minerals on their TC adsorption performance and highlight the huge potential of allophane as an efficient and inexpensive adsorbent for TC removal.

Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by DMD gene mutations. Delandistrogene moxeparvovec is an investigational gene transfer therapy, developed to address the underlying cause of DMD. We report findings from Part 1 (52 weeks) of the two-part EMBARK trial (NCT05096221). Methods: Key inclusion criteria: Ambulatory patients aged ≥4-<8 years with a confirmed DMD mutation within exons 18–79 (inclusive); North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) score >16 and <29 at screening. Eligible patients were randomized 1:1 to intravenous delandistrogene moxeparvovec (1.33×1014 vg/kg) or placebo. The primary endpoint was change from baseline in NSAA total score to Week 52. Results: At Week 52 (n=125), the primary endpoint did not reach statistical significance, although there was a nominal difference in change from baseline in NSAA total score in the delandistrogene moxeparvovec (2.6, n=63) versus placebo groups (1.9, n=61). Key secondary endpoints (time to rise, micro-dystrophin expression, 10-meter walk/run) demonstrated treatment benefit in both age groups (4-5 and 6-7 years; p<0.05).There were no new safety signals, reinforcing the favorable and manageable safety profile observed to date. Conclusions: Based on the totality of functional assessments including the timed function tests, treatment with delandistrogene moxeparvovec indicates beneficial modification of disease trajectory.

This research communication reports the effects of a compound enzyme preparation consisting of fibrolytic (cellulase 3500 CU/g, xylanase 2000 XU/g, β-glucanase 17 500 GU/g) and amylolytic (amylase 37 000 AU/g) enzymes on nutrient intake, rumen fermentation, serum parameters and production performance in primiparous early-lactation (47 ± 2 d) dairy cows. Twenty Holstein–Friesian cows in similar body condition scores were randomly divided into control (CON, n = 10) and experimental (EXP, n = 10) groups in a completely randomized single-factor design. CON was fed a basal total mixed ration diet and EXP was dietary supplemented with compound enzyme preparation at 70 g/cow/d. The experiment lasted 4 weeks, with 3 weeks for adaptation and then 1 week for measurement. Enzyme supplementation significantly increased diet non-fibrous carbohydrates (NFC) content as well as dry matter intake (DMI) and NFC intake (P < 0.05). EXP had increased ruminal butyrate and isobutyrate percentages (P < 0.01) but decreased propionate and valerate percentages (P < 0.05), as well as increased serum alkaline phosphatase activity and albumin concentration (P ≤ 0.01). Additionally, EXP had increased milk yield (0.97 kg/d), 4% fat corrected milk yield and energy corrected milk yield, as well as milk fat and protein yield (P < 0.01). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with a fibrolytic and amylolytic compound enzyme preparation increased diet NFC content, DMI and NFC intake, affected rumen fermentation by increasing butyrate proportion at the expense of propionate, and enhanced milk performance in primiparous early-lactation dairy cows.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Myocardial interstitial fibrosis leads to high hemodynamic load resulting in heart failure (HFrEF). Previous studies show that treatment with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) does not reduce fibrosis. We hypothesize that human cardiac fibroblasts are highly activated in HFrEF and remain unresponsive to hemodynamic unloading by LVAD. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Forty human subjects with HFrEF undergoing LVAD implantation were enrolled to provide a portion of myocardium routinely removed during LVAD placement. In addition, 7 biopsies previously collected from transplanted hearts with extended LVAD treatment were also evaluated (LVEX). RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Quantification of PSR-stained sections reveals a significant increase in collagen content in the HFrEF tissue (CVF = 2.8) compared to control tissues (CVF = 0.9) that remained elevated in LVEX hearts (CVF = 3.1). HCFs from LV biopsies were isolated and grown to confluence. HCFs from HFrEF patients and control HCFs were plated on substrates with stiffnesses reflective of normal myocardium (2kPa) or HFrEF myocardium (8kPa). Cells were collected at 4- and 7-day time points and levels of collagen I and alpha-smooth muscle actin were quantified by western blot analysis. Control HCFs were responsive to changes in substrate stiffness producing more Col I and a-SMA on 8kPa versus 2kPa, HCFs from HFrEF patients were unresponsive to changes in stiffness exhibiting no significant difference in protein production on 2 vs. 8kPa. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data suggests that HCFs isolated from the failing myocardium do not respond to changes in mechanical load and might contribute to persistent increases in fibrosis. These findings bring us one step closer to elucidating mechanisms behind fibrosis in HFrEF which could lead to targeted therapies to improve patient outcomes from LVAD support.

Samples of Na-saturated, Upton montmorillonite were prepared with different contents of water (H2O or D2O) by: (1) adsorption of water from the vapor phase at a specific value of p/p°, the relative humidity, (2) adsorption of water from the vapor phase at p/p° = 1.0 followed by desorption of the water into the vapor phase at a specific p/p° < 1.0, and (3) adsorption of water from the liquid phase followed by desorption of the water into the vapor phase at a specific p/p° < 1.0. Water adsorbed initially from the vapor phase was called V-adsorbed water, and water adsorbed initially from the liquid phase was called L-adsorbed water. The water contents of these samples were determined by gravimetric analysis, the c-axis spacings by X-ray powder diffraction, the O-D stretching frequencies by IR spectroscopy, and the heats of immersion by differential microcalorimetry. No difference was found between V-adsorbed and L-adsorbed water; however, if the final water content was established by adsorption, the system was in a different state than if the final water content was established by desorption. In particular, hysteresis was observed in the following properties: the relative humidity of the adsorbed water, the O-D stretching frequency in this water, and the degree of order in the stacking of the clay layers. The only property that did not exhibit hysteresis was the heat of immersion. Apparently, hysteresis occurred because the orderliness of the system was not reversible, and, thus, any property that depended on orderliness was hysteretic.

Single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is an imaging technique capable of recovering the high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) structure of biological macromolecules from many noisy and randomly oriented projection images. One notable approach to 3D reconstruction, known as Kam’s method, relies on the moments of the two-dimensional (2D) images. Inspired by Kam’s method, we introduce a rotationally invariant metric between two molecular structures, which does not require 3D alignment. Further, we introduce a metric between a stack of projection images and a molecular structure, which is invariant to rotations and reflections and does not require performing 3D reconstruction. Additionally, the latter metric does not assume a uniform distribution of viewing angles. We demonstrate the uses of the new metrics on synthetic and experimental datasets, highlighting their ability to measure structural similarity.

The chemistry of Al transformation has been well documented, though little is known about the mechanisms of structural perturbation of Al precipitates by carbonates at a molecular level. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the structural perturbation of Al precipitates formed under the influence of carbonates. Initial carbonate/Al molar ratios (MRs) used were 0, 0.1, and 0.5 after aging for 32 days, then the samples were analyzed by X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy (XANES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared absorption spectroscopy (FTIR), and chemical analysis. The XRD data were in accord with the FTIR results, which revealed that as the carbonate/Al MR was increased from 0 to 0.1, carbonate preferentially retarded the formation of gibbsite and had relatively little effect on the formation of bayerite. As the carbonate/Al MR was increased to 0.5, however, the crystallization of both gibbsite and bayerite was completely inhibited. The impact of carbonate on the nature of Al precipitates was also evident in the increase of adsorbed water and inorganic C contents with increasing carbonate/Al MR. The Al K- and L- edge XANES data provide the first evidence illustrating the change in the coordination number of Al from 6-fold to mixed 6- and 4-fold coordination in the structural network of short-range ordered (SRO) Al precipitates formed under the increasing perturbation of carbonate. The fluorescence yield spectra of the O K-edge show that the intensity of the peak at 534.5 eV assigned to σ* transitions of Al-O and O-H bonding decreased with increasing carbonate/Al MR. The XANES data, along with the evidence from XRD, FTIR, and chemical analysis showed clearly that carbonate caused the alteration of the coordination nature of the Al-O bonding through perturbation of the atomic bonding and structural configuration of Al hydroxides by complexation with Al in the SRO network of Al precipitates. The surface reactivity of an Al-O bond is related to its covalency and coordination geometry. The present findings were, therefore, of fundamental significance in understanding the low-temperature geochemistry of Al and its impacts on the transformation, transport, and fate of nutrients and pollutants in the ecosystem.

Brick-red deposits with palygorskite (Pal) as the main ingredient are widely distributed in nature, but these have not been deployed at a large scale in industry because of their inherent deep colors. In the present study, the brick-red Pal deposit was treated hydrothermally in various reaction media including water, a urea solution, and a thiourea solution. The effects of these processes on the structure, physicochemical features, and color of Pal were studied intensively to understand the structure and composition of the brick-red Pal deposit and to lay a theoretical foundation for the extension of its industrial application. The changes in structural features after hydrothermal treatment were studied by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance, and Mössbauer spectroscopy techniques. The results indicated that the color of brick-red Pal did not change after hydrothermal treatment in water or in a urea solution, and the color changed to gray-white after treatment in the thiourea solution. The rod-like crystal morphology of Pal was retained throughout the experiments and no significant change in the main associated minerals, including feldspar, muscovite, and quartz, was observed after hydrothermal treatment. The dissolution of associated hematite (α-Fe2O3 and the reduction of Fe(III) species are the main reason for the change of Pal from brick-red to gray-white.