Although resilient youth provide an important model of successful adaptation to adversity, we know relatively little about the origins of their positive outcomes, particularly the role of biological mechanisms. The current study employed a series of methylome-wide association studies to identify methylomic biomarkers of resilience in a unique sample of 276 twins within 141 families residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Results revealed methylome-wide significant differentially methylated probes (DMPs) for social and academic resilience and suggestive DMPs for psychological resilience and resilience across domains. Pathway analyses informed our understanding of the biological underpinnings of significant differentially methylated probes. Monozygotic twin difference analyses were then employed to narrow in on DMPs that were specifically environmental in origin. Our findings suggest that alterations in the DNA methylome may be implicated in youth resilience to neighborhood adversity and that some of the suggestive DMPs may be environmentally engendered. Importantly, our ability to replicate our findings in a well-powered sample was hindered by the scarcity of twin samples with youth exposed to moderate to substantial levels of adversity. Thus, although preliminary, the present study is the first to identify DNA methylation biomarkers of academic and social resilience.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a major public health concern due to its increasing prevalence and association with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Non-invasive magnetic resonance-based biomarkers can aid in the monitoring of disease progression and identification of patients at risk for chronic liver disease. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Over 600 subjects will be recruited from the San Antonio Mexican American Family Study and from a second study, which consists of (i) T2DM patients diagnosed with either MASLD or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) or (ii) metabolically healthy controls. Hydrogen-1 MRS and diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) will be used to measure liver fat fraction and liver stiffness biomarkers, respectively. Several potential biomarkers of liver stiffness will be evaluated in vivo using the intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) model for DW-MRI. To further improve the diagnostic accuracy of patients with liver fibrosis, we will integrate MRI/MRS data with relevant clinical indicators of hepatic metabolism. Results will be compared to biopsy samples to evaluate the model’s diagnostic accuracy. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Based on preliminary data, we predict that IVIM will be able to accurately diagnose hepatic fibrosis in patients with MASLD, allowing it to be implemented in clinics with high-field MRI units easily. Previous studies have shown correlations between IVIM estimates and fibrosis stages, however, none included additional clinical indicators of liver disease in their models. We have already found significant differences in metabolic measurements such as fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c levels. Additionally, the use of machine learning in developing these models has shown improvements in the ability to extract features from the data. The aim is to achieve high accuracy and robustness in the staging of liver fibrosis. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Over 100 million people in the US are affected by MASLD. Without treatment, it progresses from hepatic steatosis to MASH, fibrosis (liver stiffening), and ultimately to hepatic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Continued research efforts and clinical implementation of MRI and MRS are vital in combating the growing burden of MASLD.

Optical tracking systems typically trade off between astrometric precision and field of view. In this work, we showcase a networked approach to optical tracking using very wide field-of-view imagers that have relatively low astrometric precision on the scheduled OSIRIS-REx slingshot manoeuvre around Earth on 22 Sep 2017. As part of a trajectory designed to get OSIRIS-REx to NEO 101955 Bennu, this flyby event was viewed from 13 remote sensors spread across Australia and New Zealand to promote triangulatable observations. Each observatory in this portable network was constructed to be as lightweight and portable as possible, with hardware based off the successful design of the Desert Fireball Network. Over a 4-h collection window, we gathered 15 439 images of the night sky in the predicted direction of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Using a specially developed streak detection and orbit determination data pipeline, we detected 2 090 line-of-sight observations. Our fitted orbit was determined to be within about 10 km of orbital telemetry along the observed 109 262 km length of OSIRIS-REx trajectory, and thus demonstrating the impressive capability of a networked approach to Space Surveillance and Tracking.

This paper highlights unique sites in Ladakh, India, investigated during our 2016 multidisciplinary pathfinding expedition to the region. We summarize our scientific findings and the site's potential to support science exploration, testing of new technologies and science protocols within the framework of astrobiology research. Ladakh has several accessible, diverse, pristine and extreme environments at very high altitudes (3000–5700 m above sea level). These sites include glacial passes, sand dunes, hot springs and saline lake shorelines with periglacial features. We report geological observations and environmental characteristics (of astrobiological significance) along with the development of regolith-landform maps for cold high passes. The effects of the diurnal water cycle on salt deliquescence were studied using the ExoMars Mission instrument mockup: HabitAbility: Brines, Irradiance and Temperature (HABIT). It recorded the existence of an interaction between the diurnal water cycle in the atmosphere and salts in the soil (which can serve as habitable liquid water reservoirs). Life detection assays were also tested to establish the best protocols for biomass measurements in brines, periglacial ice-mud and permafrost melt water environments in the Tso-Kar region. This campaign helped confirm the relevance of clays and brines as interest targets of research on Mars for biomarker preservation and life detection.

Radiocarbon dating of marine samples requires a local marine reservoir correction, or ΔR value, for accurate age calibrations. For the Samoan Archipelago in the central Pacific, ΔR values have been proposed previously, but, unlike some Polynesian archipelagoes, ΔR values seem not to vary spatially and temporally. Here, we demonstrate such variability by reporting a ΔR of –101±72 ΔR for the Manu‘a Group—the eastern-most islands in the archipelago—for the colonization period. This value is based on accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C and uranium-thorium (U-Th) series dating of individual coral branches from pre-2300 cal BP archaeological contexts. This figure differs from the previously proposed modern ΔR of 28±26 yr derived from dated historic, pre-1950, shell samples from the western islands of Samoa. Consequently, we recommend using the ΔR of –101±72 yr for the 1st millennium BC in Manu‘a, and 28±26 yr for calibrating dates within the 2nd millennium AD in the western islands (Savai‘i to Tutuila). Until more data from across the archipelago and from throughout the entire culture-historical sequence document ΔR variability, we recommend that researchers use both of these ΔR values to evaluate how the dates of marine-derived samples compare with AMS dates on identified, short-lived wood charcoal.

The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that changes in arm anthropometry can be used to determine the risk of faltering growth in twin gestations. Serial data on midupper arm circumference (MUAC) and maternal weight gain were collected from a sample of 156 mothers. Changes in MUAC were monitored from 20 to 34 weeks. Women with a large loss of MUAC (greater than 1.5 cm), particularly when it occurred within two to four weeks of delivery, were significantly heavier, had higher pregravid Body Mass Indexes (BMIs), but gained less weight than mothers with no change in MUAC. In analysis of covariance models adjusting for length of gestation, black ethnicity, males per twin pair, monochorionicity, and baseline MUAC at 20 weeks, a large loss of MUAC was associated with significantly lower birthweight (2263 g vs. 2499 g) and birthweight z-score (–0.92 SDU vs. –0.39 SDU). Changes in MUAC from 20 to 34 weeks, and especially near delivery, are significantly associated with fetal growth in twin pregnancies. A positive change may indicate that the mother has adequate dietary intake or nutrient stores to continue to accrue lean body mass and support fetal growth, while a loss of MUAC indicates that dietary intake or nutrient stores may be inadequate. This simple, relatively precise, measure of change in maternal body composition during pregnancy may be useful in identifying twin pregnancies at risk for faltering intrauterine growth, particularly among overweight or obese women.

The objective of this study was to compare length of gestation, fetal growth, and birthweight by race/ethnicity and pregravid weight groups in twin pregnancies. Three thousand and thirty-six twin pregnancies of 28 weeks or more gestation were divided by race/ethnicity (White, Black and Hispanic), and pregravid body mass index (BMI) groups (less than 25.0 vs. 25.0 or more). Outcomes were modeled using multiple regression, controlling for confounders, with White non-Hispanic women as the reference group. Hispanic women had the highest average birthweight and the longest gestation, as well as the lowest proportions of low birthweight, very low birthweight, preterm and early preterm births of the 3 race/ethnicity groups. In the multivariate analyses, Hispanic women had significantly longer gestations (by 7.8 days) and faster rates of fetal growth midgestation (20 to 28 weeks, by 17.4 g/week) and late gestation (after 28 weeks, by 5.3 g/week), whereas Black women had significantly slower rates of fetal growth (by 5.7 g/week and by 4.5 g/week, respectively). These findings in twins reflect the racial and ethnic disparities previously shown in singletons, including the Hispanic paradox of longer gestations and higher rates of fetal growth.

A proposed merging of pathological gambling with the drug addictions in the forthcoming DSM-5 prompts an overview of the neurobiological data showing similarities between these conditions, as well as an update on national trends in gambling behaviour and current treatment provision.

Erbium dihydride Er(H,D,T)2 is a fluorite structure rare-earth dihydride useful for the storage of hydrogen isotopes in the solid state. However, thermodynamic predictions indicate that erbium oxide formation will proceed readily during processing, which may detrimentally contaminate Er(H,D,T)2 films. In this work, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques including energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, energy-filtered TEM, selected area electron diffraction, and high-resolution TEM are used to examine the manifestation of oxygen contamination in ErD2 thin films. An oxide layer ∼30–130 nm thick was found on top of the underlying ErD2 film, and showed a cube-on-cube epitaxial orientation to the underlying ErD2. Electron diffraction confirmed the oxide layer to be Er2O3. While the majority of the film was observed to have the expected fluorite structure for ErD2, secondary diffraction spots suggested the possibility of either nanoscale oxide inclusions or hydrogen ordering. In situ heating experiments combined with electron diffraction ruled out the possibility of hydrogen ordering, so epitaxial oxide nanoinclusions within the ErD2 matrix are hypothesized. TEM techniques were applied to examine this oxide nanoinclusion hypothesis.