The UK population is ageing and becoming more ethnically diverse(1). Nutrition is a key modifiable determinant of healthy ageing but there is little published data of dietary patterns in ethnic minority groups. The reasons for poor dietary habits of older adults from ethnic minority groups could be attributed to cost of living, language barriers, age, availability of traditional foods(2). As part of a larger research study to improve nutritional health in older adults (TANGERINE: nuTritional heAlth aNd aGeing in oldER ethnIc miNoritiEs), the aim of this study was to investigate vegetable intake in different older ethnic groups compared with a white (British) reference population.

We used food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) data drawn from Wave 2 (2010-2012) and Wave 13 (2021-2022) of Understanding Society, a UK household panel survey(3). We calculated the proportions of vegetable intake by ethnic group for each wave, weighted for population representativeness, and used (weighted) logistic regression for intake (everyday vs less than every day) to adjust for potential confounders. Data from the WHO food insecurity questionnaire in wave 13 was used to evaluate the ethnic group differences in food insecurity.

The percentage vegetable intake at least every day was reduced between Waves 2 and 13 in all ethnic groups. At both Waves all ethnic groups, except Indian ethnicity have lower vegetable intakes than white (British) reference group. The age and sex adjusted odds ratios (OR) (95% confidence intervals) at Wave 2 were 0.60 (0.51, 0.71) for Caribbean, 0.67 (0.56, 0.79) for African, 0.36 (0.28, 0.44) for Pakistani, 0.78 (0.62, 0.98) for Bangladeshi and 1.10 (0.94, 1.28) for Indian. The differences could be largely explained by lower income and greater area deprivation for Bangladeshi, less so for Caribbean, African and Pakistani groups. Results were similar for Wave 13. All ethnic groups, except Indian had higher odds of greater food insecurity than the white (British) reference group, largely attributed to income and area deprivation, for example, the OR for Pakistani group compared with white (British) reference group decreased from 1.74 (1.18, 2.56) to 1.05 (0.70, 1.58). However, for the African group, the OR remained greater than white reference population at 2.55 (1.73, 3.76) even after accounting for socioeconomic position.

The findings suggest differences in vegetable intake between different ethnic groups which have been maintained between 2010-2012 and 2021-2022 and may be explained to some extent by socioeconomic disadvantage. Whilst we used cross-sectional analyses of self-reported data, there remains a need for further large-scale studies using longitudinal and experimental designs in older ethnic groups considering socioeconomic position, recognising the importance of heterogeneity and the need to analyse ethnic groups individually, rather than as a group for measurements of dietary intake.

A healthy diet is a key determinant of healthy ageing(1). Research indicates that individuals from Black African communities (both born in the UK and migrants communities) often have bicultural dietary patterns including both Westernised and African dietary practices(2). While this is known for the general Black African adult population, there remains a dearth of research on older African adults who may experience a complex nutrition landscape owing to an interplay of perceptions of healthy/unhealthy diets, social and cultural factors which can have negative outcomes for nutrition and health in later life. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of eating well and healthy diets as determinants of inequalities in nutrition and healthy ageing in older African adults.

A mixed methods cross-sectional study was conducted in older Africans, ≥ 55 years in the UK. Qualitative data was collected using Photovoice(3), an innovative visual, community-based participatory research (CBPR) method whereby participants take photographs to document, reflect upon health and social issues from their own perspective. As a research method, photovoice provides an alternative to the traditional barriers and enablers approach to understanding complex health challenges and is suited for use for populations who have been disenfranchised by traditional research methods(4). A purposive sample of 12 participants were provided with cameras and encouraged to take photos describing what they considered as healthy and unhealthy food and thoughts on eating well and older adult’s health. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain insights into the photos. Thematic analyses using both deductive and inductive approaches of photos and transcripts were conducted to develop and refine emerging themes using a framework.

Participants were 62 ± 5.4 years and, 75% female. The majority were married (58.3%), living with family (41.7%), educated to postgraduate degree level (50.0%) and fulltime employed (66.7%). Emerging themes around healthy eating included variety and dietary diversity, organic foods, traditional foods, plant-based foods and healthy cooking methods. Themes around unhealthy food included ultra-processed foods, take-out foods, appearance, preservatives and consuming fats and oils. Hydration, social eating, accessing health and dietary advice, eating food that meets ageing needs, nostalgic eating and physical activity were the key themes that emerged around eating well and older adults’ health.

This research provides new insights on perceptions of healthy eating among older African adults using photovoice, a novel participatory research method. The findings contribute to a better understanding of perceptions of healthy diets as a determinant influencing nutrition and healthy ageing in older African adults. There is a need for further research to understand i) how these perceptions influence dietary intake and ii) the complex interactions in nutritional knowledge, tradition, cultural and social factors to inform the design of effective community-based nutrition intervention tailored to ethnic identity of older African adults.

Climate justice movements and scholars have established that marginalized communities, including people of color, Indigenous Peoples, women, and the Global South, are most vulnerable to climate change. Recently, scholars also have established that the climate crisis places LGBTQ+ communities in precarious positions. Yet, we know little about how LGBTQ+ activists practice climate justice and build political bridges between LGBTQ+ and climate justice movements. By analyzing queer climate activism, I find that bridging the US climate and LGBTQ+ movements share three elements: (1) vulnerability and intersectional analysis, (2) survival and resilience, and (3) play. In bridging the movements, activists “queer” climate justice by spatially shifting on what grounds or issues to fight, prefiguring worlds not yet in existence on a larger scale, and reimagining how to perform climate activism.

The rising burden of neurological disorders poses significant challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. There has been an increasing momentum to apply integrated approaches to the management of several chronic illnesses in order to address systemic healthcare challenges and improve the quality of care for patients. The aim of this paper is to provide a narrative review of the current landscape of integrated care in neurology. We identified a growing body of research from countries around the world applying a variety of integrated care models to the treatment of common neurological conditions. Based on our findings, we discuss opportunities for further study in this area. Finally, we discuss the future of integrated care in Canada, including unique geographic, historical, and economic considerations, and the role that integrated care may play in addressing challenges we face in our current healthcare system.

The ordering conformation of surfactant molecules in intercalated montmorillonite prepared at various concentrations was investigated by 13C MAS NMR. The 13C MAS NMR study demonstrates the coexistence of ordered and disordered chain conformations. Two main resonance peaks are associated with the backbone alkyl chains: the resonance at 33 ppm corresponds to the ordered conformation (all-trans), and the resonance at 30 ppm corresponds to the disordered conformation (mixture of trans and gauche). Deconvolution of 13C MAS NMR spectra indicates that the ordering conformation of surfactant molecules within the gallery of montmorillonite depends very much on their orientation and packing density. When amine chains are oriented parallel to the silicate layers, the amount of all-trans conformer decreases with the increase of amine concentration. However, the amount of all-trans conformer increases with the increase of amine concentration when amine chains radiate from the silicate layers. Furthermore, 13C MAS NMR spectra show that the intercalated surfactant molecules in the clay minerals never attained the complete liquidlike or solidlike behavior.

Frequent freezing injury greatly influences winter wheat production; thus, effective prevention and a command of agricultural production are vital. The freezing injury monitoring method integrated with ‘3S’ (geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning system (GPS) and remote sensing (RS)) technology has an unparalleled advantage. Using HuanJing (HJ)-1A/1B satellite images of a winter wheat field in Shanxi Province, China plus a field survey, crop types and winter wheat planting area were identified through repeated visual interpretations of image information and spatial analyses conducted in GIS. Six vegetation indices were extracted from processed HJ-1A/1B satellite images to determine whether the winter wheat suffered from freezing injury and its degree of severity and recovery, using change vector analysis (CVA), the freeze injury representative vegetation index and the combination of the two methods, respectively. Accuracy of the freezing damage classification results was verified by determining the impact of freezing damage on yield and quantitative analysis. The CVA and the change of normalized difference vegetation index (ΔNDVI) monitoring results were different so a comprehensive analysis of the combination of CVA and ΔNDVI was performed. The area with serious freezing injury covered 0.9% of the total study area, followed by the area of no freezing injury (3.5%), moderate freezing injury (10.2%) and light freezing injury (85.4%). Of the moderate and serious freezing injury areas, 0.2% did not recover; 1.2% of the no freezing injury and light freezing injury areas showed optimal recovery, 15.6% of the light freezing injury and moderate freezing injury areas showed poor recovery, and the remaining areas exhibited general recovery.

Efficient photosynthesis requires a balance of ATP and NADPH production/consumption in chloroplasts, and the exportation of reducing equivalents from chloroplasts is important for balancing stromal ATP/NADPH ratio. Here, we showed that the overexpression of purple acid phosphatase 2 on the outer membranes of chloroplasts and mitochondria can streamline the production and consumption of reducing equivalents in these two organelles, respectively. A higher capacity of consumption of reducing equivalents in mitochondria can indirectly help chloroplasts to balance the ATP/NADPH ratio in stroma and recycle NADP+, the electron acceptors of the linear electron flow (LEF). A higher rate of ATP and NADPH production from the LEF, a higher capacity of carbon fixation by the Calvin–Benson–Bassham (CBB) cycle and a greater consumption of NADH in mitochondria enhance photosynthesis in the chloroplasts, ATP production in the mitochondria and sucrose synthesis in the cytosol and eventually boost plant growth and seed yields in the overexpression lines.

ABSTRACT IMPACT: Urine tumor DNA non-invasively detects minimal residual disease and infers tumor mutational burden in locally advanced bladder cancer prior to radical cystectomy, which may potentially enable the selection of patients for bladder-sparing treatment or facilitate personalized adjuvant immunotherapy. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Standard-of-care treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is radical cystectomy. The inability to assess minimal residual disease (MRD) non-invasively limits our ability to offer bladder-sparing treatment. We sought to develop a liquid biopsy solution via urine tumor DNA (utDNA) analysis. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We applied uCAPP-Seq, a targeted sequencing method for detecting utDNA, to urine cell-free DNA samples acquired on the day of radical cystectomy from 42 patients with bladder cancer. utDNA variant-calling was performed non-invasively without prior tumor mutational knowledge. The overall utDNA level for each patient was represented by the non-silent mutation with the highest variant allele fraction after removing germline variants. Urine was similarly analyzed from 15 healthy adults. Tumor mutational burden (TMB) was inferred from the number of non-silent mutations detected in urine cell-free DNA by applying a linear relationship derived from TCGA whole exome sequencing of 409 MIBC tumors. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: utDNA levels were significantly higher in patients with residual disease detected in their surgical pathology compared to those who achieved a pathologic complete response (P = 0.002). Using an optimal utDNA threshold to define MRD detection, positive utDNA MRD significantly predicted the absence of pathologic complete response with a sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 81%. Positive utDNA MRD also portended significantly worse progression-free survival (HR = 7.4; P = 0.03) compared to negative utDNA MRD. Furthermore, we applied a linear relationship (Pearson r = 0.84; P < 0.0001) to identify patients with high inferred TMB who may have been candidates for early immune checkpoint blockade. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: utDNA MRD analysis prior to surgery correlated significantly with pathologic response and progression-free survival, which may help select patients for bladder-sparing treatment. utDNA can also non-invasively infer TMB, which could facilitate personalized adjuvant therapy for patients in the future.

Increasing crop diversity has been highly recommended because of its environmental and economic benefits. However, the impacts of crop diversity on soil properties are not well documented. Thus, the present study was conducted to assess the impacts of crop diversity on selected soil quality indicators. The cropping systems investigated here included wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown continuously for 5 years as mono-cropping (MC), and a 5-year cropping sequence [(wheat–cover crop (CC)–corn (Zea mays L.)–pea (Pisum sativum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)–sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)]. Each crop was present every year. This study was conducted in the northern Great Plains of North America, and soil quality data were collected for 2016 and 2017. Selected soil quality indicators that include: soil pH, organic carbon (SOC), cold water-extractable C (CWC) and N (CWN), hot water-extractable C (HWC) and N (HWN), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), bulk density (BD), water retention (SWR), wet soil aggregate stability (WAS), and urease and β-glucoside enzyme activity were measured after the completion of 5-year rotation cycle and the following year. Crop diversity did not affect soil pH, CWC, CWN, HWC, HWN and SWR. Cropping systems that contained CC increased SOC at shallow depths compared to the systems that did not have CC. Crop diversity increased WAS, MBC, and urease and β-glucoside enzyme activity compared with the MC. Comparison of electrical conductivity (EC) measured in this study to the baseline values at the research site prior to the establishment of treatments revealed that crop rotation decreased EC over time. Results indicate that crop diversity can improve soil quality, thus promoting sustainable agriculture.

The modelling of edge carbon transport and emission on EAST tokamak under resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) fields has been conducted with the three-dimensional edge transport code EMC3-EIRENE. The measured vertical distribution of CVI emission by the extreme ultraviolet spectrometer system for the perturbed case shows a reduction in the CVI emission by 20 % compared to the equilibrium case. The chord-integrated CVI emission can be reconstructed by EMC3-EIRENE modelling, which presents an increase in the CVI emission with RMP fields. The discrepancy between experiments and simulations has been investigated by parameter study to examine the sensitivity of the simulation results on the edge plasma conditions and the impurity perpendicular transport. It is found that the variation of edge plasma conditions for the equilibrium case cannot resolve the discrepancy in the CVI emission between simulations and measurements. The simulations with enhanced impurity perpendicular transport coefficient allows a reasonable agreement with the measured reduction of CVI emission.

Although numerous studies have investigated the individual effects of salinity, irrigation and fertilization on soil microbial communities, relatively less attention has been paid to their combined influences, especially using molecular techniques. Based on the field of orthogonal designed test and deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing technology, the effects of saline water irrigation amount, salinity level of irrigation water and nitrogen (N) fertilizer rate on soil bacterial community structure were investigated. The results showed that the irrigation amount was the most dominant factor in determining the bacterial richness and diversity, followed by the irrigation water salinity and N fertilizer rate. The values of Chao1 estimator, abundance-based coverage estimator and Shannon indices decreased with an increase in irrigation amount while increased and then decreased with an increase in irrigation water salinity and N fertilizer rate. The highest soil bacterial richness and diversity were obtained under the least irrigation amount (25 mm), medium irrigation water salinity (4.75 dS/m) and medium N fertilizer rate (350 kg/ha). However, different bacterial phyla were found to respond distinctively to these three factors: irrigation amount significantly affected the relative abundances of Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi; irrigation water salinity mostly affected the members of Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes and Acidobacteria; and N fertilizer rate mainly influenced the Bacteroidetes' abundance. The results presented here revealed that the assessment of soil microbial processes under combined irrigation and fertilization treatments needed to be more careful as more variable consequences would be established by comparing with the influences based on an individual factor, such as irrigation amount or N fertilizer rate.