Climate change exacerbates existing risks and vulnerabilities for people globally, and migration is a longstanding adaptation response to climate risk. The mechanisms through which climate change shapes human mobility are complex, however, and gaps in data and knowledge persist. In response to these gaps, the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Predictive Analytics, Human Mobility, and Urbanization Project employed a hybrid approach that combined predictive analytics with participatory foresight to explore climate change-related mobility in Pakistan and Viet Nam from 2020 to 2050. Focusing on Karachi and Ho Chi Minh City, the project estimated temporal and spatial mobility patterns under different climate change scenarios and evaluated the impact of such in-migration across key social, political, economic, and environmental domains. Findings indicate that net migration into these cities could significantly increase under extreme climate scenarios, highlighting both the complex spatial patterns of population change and the potential for anticipatory policies to mitigate these impacts. While extensive research exists on foresight methods and theory, process reflections are underrepresented. The innovative approach employed within this project offers valuable insights on foresight exercise design choices and their implications for effective stakeholder engagement, as well as the applicability and transferability of insights in support of policymaking. Beyond substantive findings, this paper offers a critical reflection on the methodological alignment of data-driven and participatory foresight with the aim of anticipatory policy ideation, seeking to contribute to the enhanced effectiveness of foresight practices.

Vaccines have revolutionised the field of medicine, eradicating and controlling many diseases. Recent pandemic vaccine successes have highlighted the accelerated pace of vaccine development and deployment. Leveraging this momentum, attention has shifted to cancer vaccines and personalised cancer vaccines, aimed at targeting individual tumour-specific abnormalities. The UK, now regarded for its vaccine capabilities, is an ideal nation for pioneering cancer vaccine trials. This article convened experts to share insights and approaches to navigate the challenges of cancer vaccine development with personalised or precision cancer vaccines, as well as fixed vaccines. Emphasising partnership and proactive strategies, this article outlines the ambition to harness national and local system capabilities in the UK; to work in collaboration with potential pharmaceutic partners; and to seize the opportunity to deliver the pace for rapid advances in cancer vaccine technology.

Control of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa spread in healthcare settings begins with timely and accurate laboratory testing practices. Survey results show most Veterans Affairs facilities are performing recommended tests to identify these organisms. Most facilities report sufficient resources to perform testing, though medium-complexity facilities report some perceived barriers.

Agriculture can be pivotal in mitigating climate change through soil carbon sequestration. Land conversion to pasture has been identified as the most effective method to achieve this. Yet, it creates a perceived trade-off between increasing soil carbon and maintaining arable food crop production. In this on-farm study, we assessed the potential of incorporating a 2-year diverse ley (consisting of 23 species of legumes, herbs, and grasses) within a 7-year arable crop rotation for soil organic matter accumulation. We established upper and lower boundaries of soil organic matter accumulation by comparing this approach to positive (permanent ley, akin to conversion to permanent pasture) and negative (bare soil) references. Our findings in the 2-year diverse ley treatment show greater soil organic matter accumulation in plots with lower baseline levels, suggesting a potential plateau of carbon sequestration under this management practice. In contrast, the positive reference consistently showed a steady rate of organic matter accumulation regardless of baseline levels. Moreover, we observed a concurrent increase in labile carbon content in the 2-year ley treatment and positive reference, indicating improved soil nutrient cycling and ecological processes that facilitate soil carbon sequestration. Our results demonstrate that incorporating a 2-year diverse ley within arable rotations surpasses the COP21 global target of a 0.4% annual increase in soil organic carbon. These findings, derived from a working farm's practical and economic constraints, provide compelling evidence that productive arable agriculture can contribute to climate change mitigation efforts.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) are drug-resistant pathogens causing high mortality rates with limited treatment options. Understanding the incidence of these organisms and laboratory knowledge of testing protocols is important for controlling their spread in healthcare settings. This project assessed how often Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare facilities identify CRAB and CRPA and testing practices used. Method: An electronic survey was distributed to 126 VA acute care facilities September-October 2023. The survey focused on CRAB and CRPA incidence, testing and identification, and availability of testing resources. Responses were analyzed by complexity of patients treated at VA facilities (High, Medium, Low) using Fisher’s exact tests. Result: 77 (61.1%) facilities responded, most in urban settings (85.4%). Most respondents were lead or supervisory laboratory technologists (84.2%) from high complexity facilities (69.0%). Few facilities detected CRAB ≥ once/month (4.4%), with most reporting that they have not seen CRAB at their facility (55.0%). CRPA was detected more frequently: 19% of facilities with isolates ≥ once/month, 29.2% a few times per year, and 26.9% reporting had not seen the organism. No differences in CRAB or CRPA incidence was found by facility complexity. Nearly all facilities, regardless of complexity, utilize the recommended methods of MIC or disk diffusion to identify CRAB or CRPA (91.9%) with remaining facilities reporting that testing is done off-site (7.8%). More high complexity facilities perform on-site testing compared to low complexity facilities (32.0% vs 2.7%, p=0.04). 83% of laboratories test for Carbapenemase production, with one-fourth using off-site reference labs. One-fourth of facilities perform additional antibiotic susceptibility testing for CRAB and CRPA isolates, most of which test for susceptibility to combination antibiotics; no differences between complexities were found. Agreement that sufficient laboratory and equipment resources were available was higher in high complexity than in medium complexity facilities (70.7% vs 33.3%, p=0.01), but not low complexity facilities (43.8%). Conclusion: Having timely and accurate testing protocols for CRAB and CRPA are important to quickly control spread and reduce associated mortality. This study shows that most VA protocols follow recommended testing and identification guidelines. Interestingly, there was no difference in CRAB or CRPA incidence for facilities providing higher vs lower complexity of care. While high and low complexity facilities generally reported sufficient resources for CRAB and CRPA evaluation, some medium-complexity labs, who may feel more compelled than low-complexity labs to bring testing in house, reported that additional resources would be required.

The moderation of user-generated content on online platforms remains a key solution to protecting people online, but also remains a perpetual challenge as the appropriateness of content moderation guidelines depends on the online community that they aim to govern. This challenge affects marginalized groups in particular, as they more frequently experience online abuse but also end up falsely being the target of content-moderation guidelines. While there have been calls for democratic, community-moderation, there has so far been little research into how to implement such approaches. Here, we present the co-creation of content moderation strategies with the users of an online platform to address some of these challenges. Within the context of AutSPACEs—an online citizen science platform that aims to allow autistic people to share their own sensory processing experiences publicly—we used a community-based and participatory approach to co-design a content moderation solution that would fit the preferences, priorities, and needs of its autistic user community. We outline how this approach helped us discover context-specific moderation dilemmas around participant safety and well-being and how we addressed those. These trade-offs have resulted in a moderation design that differs from more general social networks in aspects such as how to contribute, when to moderate, and what to moderate. While these dilemmas, processes, and solutions are specific to the context of AutSPACEs, we highlight how the co-design approach itself could be applied and useful for other communities to uncover challenges and help other online spaces to embed safety and empowerment.

Decreasing the time to contact precautions (CP) is critical to carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) prevention. Identifying factors associated with delayed CP can decrease the spread from patients with CRE. In this study, a shorter length of stay was associated with being placed in CP within 3 days.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The Appalachian Translational Research Network (ATRN) Newsletter provides a unique platform that facilitates communication among Appalachian-serving CTSAs/CTSIs and partnering academic and community organizations that strengthens research efforts and advances translational science across the region. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Published biannually, each ATRN Newsletter features content submitted by ATRN member universities and organizations. Members of the Communications Committee, who represent both CTSA- or non-CTSA- affiliated ATRN member institutions, provide as well as review and edit content for the Newsletter. Regular features include researcher and community member spotlights; funding opportunity announcements; information on upcoming seminars, trainings, and special events; and opportunities for collaborations among partnering ATRN institutions. Complementing regularly scheduled Newsletters, special editions are released as warranted, such as a special COVID-19 focused edition published in 2020. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: First published in 2012, the ATRN Newsletter initially represented founding ATRN institutions, the University of Kentucky and the Ohio State University CTSAs, and a readership of 50. Reflecting ATRN growth that now represents 9 academic centers including NCATS- and IDeA-funded hubs, affiliated universities and partnering organizations, readership has grown to include 500 subscribers from across the U.S. and 3 other countries. With the establishment of the official ATRN website in 2019, the ATRN Newsletter became a prominent addition, providing ATRN members’ access to both new and archived editions, thereby expanding reach and further strengthening critical communication across the Network. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Providing a vehicle for communication that supports ATRN collaborations and networking, the Newsletter is foundational to the success of the ATRN mission to improve health outcomes across Appalachia by fostering collaborative inter-institutional and community-academic research partnerships.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has proven to be a powerful tool for the population-level monitoring of pathogens, particularly severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). For assessment, several wastewater sampling regimes and methods of viral concentration have been investigated, mainly targeting SARS-CoV-2. However, the use of passive samplers in near-source environments for a range of viruses in wastewater is still under-investigated. To address this, near-source passive samples were taken at four locations targeting student hall of residence. These were chosen as an exemplar due to their high population density and perceived risk of disease transmission. Viruses investigated were SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern (VOCs), influenza viruses, and enteroviruses. Sampling was conducted either in the morning, where passive samplers were in place overnight (17 h) and during the day, with exposure of 7 h. We demonstrated the usefulness of near-source passive sampling for the detection of VOCs using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and next-generation sequencing (NGS). Furthermore, several outbreaks of influenza A and sporadic outbreaks of enteroviruses (some associated with enterovirus D68 and coxsackieviruses) were identified among the resident student population, providing evidence of the usefulness of near-source, in-sewer sampling for monitoring the health of high population density communities.

Grain-cooking traditions in Neolithic China have been characterised as a ‘wet’ cuisine based on the boiling and steaming of sticky varieties of cereal. One of these, broomcorn millet, was one of the earliest Chinese crops to move westward into Central Asia and beyond, into regions where grains were typically prepared by grinding and baking. Here, the authors present the genotypes and reconstructed phenotypes of 13 desiccated broomcorn millet samples from Xinjiang (1700 BC–AD 700). The absence in this area of sticky-starch millet and vessels for boiling and steaming suggests that, as they moved west, East Asian cereal crops were decoupled from traditional cooking practices and were incorporated into local cuisines.

Clay minerals are abundant in soils and sediments and often contain Fe. Some varieties, such as nontronites, contain as much as 40 wt.% Fe2O3 within their molecular structure. Several studies have shown that various Fe-reducing micro-organisms can use ferric iron in Fe-bearing clay minerals as their terminal electron acceptor, thereby reducing it to ferrous iron. Laboratory experiments have also demonstrated that chemically or bacterially reduced clays can promote the reductive degradation of various organics, including chlorinated pesticides and nitroaromatics. Therefore, Fe-bearing clays may play a crucial role in the natural attenuation of various redox-sensitive contaminants in soils and sediments. Although the organochlorinated pesticide p,p′-DDT is one of the most abundant and recalcitrant sources of contamination in many parts of the world, the impact of reduced Fe-bearing clays on its degradation has never been documented. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the extent of degradation of p,p′-DDT during the bacterial reduction of Fe(III) in an Fe-rich clay. Microcosm experiments were conducted under anaerobic conditions using nontronite (sample NAu-2) spiked with p,p′-DDT and the metal-reducing bacteria Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Similar experiments were conducted using a sand sample to better ascertain the true impact of the clay vs. the bacteria on the degradation of DDT. Samples were analyzed for DDT and degradation products after 0, 3, and 6 weeks of incubation at 30°C. Results revealed a progressive decrease in p,p′-DDT and increase in p,p′-DDD concentrations in the clay experiments compared to sand and abiotic controls, indicating that Fe-bearing clays may substantially contribute toward the reductive degradation of DDT in soils and sediments. These new findings further demonstrate the impact that clay materials can have on the natural attenuation of pollutants in natural and artificial systems and open new avenues for the passive treatment of contaminated land.