Statistical learning, that is, our ability to track and learn from distributional information in the environment, plays a fundamental role in language acquisition, yet little research has investigated this process in older language learners. In the present study, we address this gap by comparing the cross-situational learning of foreign words in younger and older adults. We also tested whether learning was affected by previous experience with multiple languages. We found that both age groups successfully learned the novel words after a short exposure period, confirming that statistical learning ability is preserved in late adulthood. However, the two groups differed in their learning trajectories, with the younger group outperforming the older group during the later stages of learning. Previous language experience did not predict learning outcomes. Given that implicit language learning mechanisms are shown to be preserved over the lifespan, the present data provide crucial support for the assumptions underlying claims that language learning interventions in older age could be leveraged as a targeted intervention to help build or maintain resilience to age-related cognitive decline.

Scholarly activity is a key component of most residency programmes. To establish fundamental research skills and fill gaps within training curricula, we developed an online, asynchronous set of modules called Research 101 to introduce trainees to various topics that are germane to the conduct of research and evaluated its effectiveness in resident research education. Research 101 was utilised by residents at One Brooklyn Health in Brooklyn, NY. Resident knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction were assessed using pre- and post-module surveys with 5-point Likert scaled questions, open-ended text responses, and a multiple-choice quiz. Pre-module survey results indicated that residents were most confident with the Aligning expectations, Introduction to research, and Study design and data analysis basics modules and least confident with the Submitting an Institutional Review Board protocol and Presenting your summer research modules. Post-module survey responses demonstrated increased learning compared to pre-module results for all modules and learning objectives (p < 0.0001). “This module met my needs” was endorsed 91.4% of the time. The median score for the final quiz that consisted of 25 multiple-choice questions was 23. Thematic analysis of open-ended post-module survey responses identified multiple strengths and opportunities for improvement in course content and instructional methods. These data demonstrate that residents benefit from completion of Research 101, as post-module survey scores were significantly higher than pre-module survey scores for all modules and questions, final quiz scores were high, and open-ended responses highlighted opportunities for additional resident learning.

Background: Detection of outbreaks traditionally relies on passive surveillance, and often misidentify or miss outbreaks. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) surveillance has emerged as a proactive measure, enabling early detection of outbreaks and facilitating rapid intervention strategies. WGS surveillance has not been widely studied due to infrastructure, cost, and evidence barriers regarding its impact on reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). This study represents findings from two years of a real-time WGS surveillance program called the Enhanced Detection System for Healthcare-associated Transmission (EDS-HAT). Methods: The study was conducted at UPMC Presbyterian hospital, a 694-bed tertiary care center. Patient isolates of select bacterial pathogens were collected and underwent WGS weekly from November 2021 to November 2023. Potential transmission was defined using single-nucleotide polymorphism thresholds (≤15 for all organisms except Clostridioides difficile). Genetically related clusters were reviewed weekly for epidemiological linkages (unit, personnel, or procedural commonalities) and appropriate interventions were initiated by the infection prevention and control team. We described the frequency of genetic relatedness and nature of epidemiological linkages. Results: Of 7,051 eligible unique patient organism isolates, 4,723 were deemed healthcare-associated and underwent WGS. EDS-HAT identified 478 (12.2%) isolates genetically related to ≥1 other isolate across 173 clusters. Epidemiological links were found in 278 (58.2%) isolates in 114 clusters, with the majority being unit-based (205 isolates, 71.9%); other epidemiological links included equipment or healthcare workers (32 isolates, 11.5%), external facilities (24 isolates, 8.6%), and shared endoscopes (17 isolates, 6.1%); all endoscope outbreaks were effectively contained at two patients. No epidemiological links could be identified for 200 (41.8%) isolates. Infection prevention initiated 134 interventions in 114 clusters, including 74 (55.2%) general staff notification and education, 25 (18.7%) enhanced cleaning efforts, 23 (17.2%) hand hygiene/personal-protective equipment compliance observations, 9 (6.7%) environmental cultures, and 3 (2.2%) enhanced microbiological surveillance. Following the detection of an epidemiological link and intervention, 94/101 (94.1%) outbreaks were effectively halted on the intervened route (Figure). Conclusion: This study demonstrates the feasibility and efficacy of EDS-HAT as an infection prevention tool. Early detection and intervention of outbreaks significantly enhance the capability of healthcare facilities to control and prevent the spread of HAIs. Investment in infrastructure and implementation costs will result in reducing pathogen transmission and improving patient safety in acute care settings.

Disclosure: Alexander Sundermann: Honoraria - Opgen

Background: There is limited data regarding the benefits of direct inoculation of sterile pericardial fluid into blood culture bottles. We discovered widespread adoption of this practice at our institution during pericardiocenteses and became concerned about over-capturing of skin flora contaminants. We aimed to understand how organisms detected in pericardial fluid inoculated into blood culture bottles were interpreted clinically. Methods: We investigated a cluster of four patients with coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) isolated in pericardial fluid inoculated blood culture bottles (PF-BCxBs) over a 2-week period; three of these patients had recent cardiac surgery and were initially flagged as potential SSIs. We further expanded to a retrospective review and identified 28 patients with ≥1 organism isolated from PF-BCxBs from 7/2021 to 6/2023. Clinical, microbiological, and pharmacy data were abstracted. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with a clinically diagnosed infection. Results: Investigation into the initial cluster revealed a pseudo-outbreak - three of four patients had no clinical evidence of infection (CoNS was deemed a contaminant); one was treated for a potential infection. All patients had concomitant negative routine fluid cultures. Discussions with the cardiology teams revealed areas for improvement in the process for inoculating fluid into blood culture bottles. From the two-year review, 18% (5/28) of patients were clinically diagnosed with an infection (two Staphylococcus aureus; two CoNS; one Candida rugosa). Of the patients without Staphylococcus aureus, all three had a concomitant negative routine fluid culture, were receiving antibiotics prior to pericardiocentesis, and had white blood cell counts (WBC) >12 K/uL. The remaining 82% (23/28) of patients were deemed not to have an infection. Of these 23 patient without infection, organisms isolated were 16 CoNS (70%) and seven Cutibacterium species (30%). None of these patients had a fever, one (4%) was receiving pre-pericardiocentesis antibiotics, and three (9%) had WBC >12 K/uL. 70% (16/23) of these patients were started on antibiotics after gram-stain results; all were eventually discontinued (mean antibiotic days = 2, range 1-5 days). 83% (19/23) of these patients had a concomitant negative routine fluid culture. Conclusion: The majority of patients with an organism isolated from PF-BCxBs had either CoNS or Cutibacterium species and were deemed not to have a clinical infection. Within the small cohort limitations, clinical utility of blood culture bottle inoculation seems highest for patients with pre-procedural concern for infection. IPC teams should be aware of the non-pathogenic skin flora frequency and potential implication on SSI surveillance.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Scholarly activity is a key component of most residency programs. To establish fundamental research skills and fill gaps within training curricula, we developed an online, asynchronous set of modules to introduce trainees to various topics that are germane to the conduct of research and evaluated its effectiveness in resident research education. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Research 101 was utilized by residents at the Brookdale Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. Resident knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction were assessed using pre- and post-module surveys with 5-point Likert scaled questions, open-ended text responses, and a final quiz. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Pre-module survey results indicated that residents were most confident with the Aligning expectations, Introduction to research, and Study design and data analysis basics modules and least confident with the Submitting an Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocol at UC and Presenting your summer research modules. Post-module survey responses increased significantly compared to pre-module results for all modules and learning objectives (p<0.0001). “This module met my needs” was endorsed 91.4% of the time. A final quiz of 25 multiple choice questions resulted in a median score of 23. Content analysis of open-ended post-module survey responses identified multiple strengths and opportunities for improvement in course content and instructional methods. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These data demonstratethat residents can benefit from completion of Research 101, as post-module survey scores were significantly higher than pre-module survey scores for all modules and questions, and final quiz scores were high and highlighted opportunities for additional resident learning.

Clinical trials are essential in the translation of biomedical discoveries to new clinical interventions and therapeutics. Successful multisite clinical trials require qualified site investigators with an understanding of the full spectrum of processes and requirements from trial identification through closeout. New site investigators may be deterred by competing demands on their time, the complexity of administrative and regulatory processes for trial initiation and conduct, and limited access to experienced mentor networks. We established a Clinical Trialist Training Program (CTTP) and complimentary Clinical Trials Bootcamp at our institution to address these barriers and increase the number of local site investigators enabled to lead successful clinical trials. An initial cohort of four CTTP scholars received salary support with protected time, didactic training, assistance with study identification and start-up navigation, and quarterly progress meetings. By the end of the 12-month program, this initial cohort identified 33 new trials, utilized feasibility assessments, and reported being on target to sustain their protected time from new clinical trials. Bootcamp attendees demonstrated increased knowledge of resources, offices, and processes associated with clinical trial conduct. Our results support providing compensated protected time, training, and access to experienced clinical research professionals to enable clinicians to become successful site investigators.

We use a Bayesian approach to estimate elasticities of former Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land allocation and the impact of the US–China trade conflict on post-CRP land transitions. Economically acceptable elasticities of land exiting CRP are important for applied analysis, including market shocks and environmental policy. Taking as given the total area exiting the CRP, the Phase 1 deal raised the posterior mean of national post-CRP soybean area by 155 thousand acres and the market facilitation program by 89 thousand acres. Cross-commodity effects are important, and elasticities vary depending on the direction and magnitude of changes in net returns and payments.

The Alicante Survey of MAssive Stars in Hii Regions (A-SMASHeR) is aimed at finding the ratio of massive stars that are born in isolation. We present LIRIS/WHT images and EMIR/GTC spectra of the massive stellar content in A-SMASHeR regions. Our preliminary analysis yields ∼20% of regions hosting relatively (or truly) isolated massive stars.

We present results from our ongoing infrared spectroscopic studies of the massive stellar content at the Center of the Milky Way (GC) and across the obscured Galactic disk. Together with the full characterization of these clusters, we seek to obtain a present day metallicity 2-D map of the inner Galaxy and characterize the influence on the bar in the chemical evolution. We will also constrain the clusters IMFs, infer the presence of possible top-heavy recent star formation histories and test massive star formation channels: clusters vs isolation.

. We present UVIT/Astrosat UV photometry of the RSG population of the Small Cloud galaxy (SMC). As RSGs are extremely faint in the far-UV, these observations directly probe potential companion stars. From a sample of 861 SMC RSGs, we find 88 have detections at far-UV wavelengths: a clear signature of binarity. Stellar parameters are determined for both components, which allows us to study - for the first time - the mass-ratio (q) distribution of RSG binary systems. We find a flat mass-ratio distribution best describes the observations up to MRSG ∼15M⊙. We account for our main observing bias (i.e. the limiting magnitude of the UVIT survey) to determine the intrinsic RSG binary fraction of 18.8 ± 1.5 %, for mass-ratios in the range 0.3.<q<1.0 and orbital periods approximately in the range 3<log P[days]<8.

Massive stars are the objects that condition the evolution of the interstellar medium by the amount of energy released during their lives and especially by their death as a supernova explosion. All the data provided by the previous and ongoing missions of ground and space telescopes have saturated us with the amount of information, which is no longer easy to process daily by human routines. To this end, we present the development of a massive star spectroscopic interactive database designed for scientific research.

NGC3603 is one of the youngest massive clusters of the Milky Way which uniquely enables studying the interplay between massive star feedback and the surrounding interstellar medium. Yet, a deep infrared (IR) view of the cluster is missing. We present guaranteed time observations of NGC3603 consisting of near infrared spectroscopy taken with VLT-KMOS. This data set will provide a first, rather complete IR census.

Current models of stellar evolution predict that stars more massive than ∼6 M⊙ should have completely depleted all lithium (Li) in their atmospheres by the time when they reach the He core burning phase. Against this, a non-negligible number of red giants with masses ≳6 M⊙ presenting strong Li lines have recently been reported. Motivated by this finding, we have carried out a spectroscopic survey of red supergiants (RSGs) in the Perseus Arm and a selection of young open clusters in the Magellanic Clouds to assess the presence of the Li <sc>i</sc> 6708Å doublet line. Based on a sample of> 70 objects, close to one third of RSGs in the Perseus Arm display noticeable Li lines, with perhaps a trend towards a lower fraction among more luminous stars. The samples in the Magellanic Clouds are not as large, but hint at a metallicity dependence. Twenty one RSGs in 5 LMC clusters show a very high fraction of Li detection, around 40%. Conversely, 17 RSGs in 5 SMC clusters give only one secure detection. The interpretation of these observational results is not straightforward, but a mechanism for Li production seems most likely. Further characterisation work is ongoing, while theoretical studies into this matter are urgently needed.

We present a new and straightforward algorithm that simulates exact sample paths for a generalized stress-release process. The computation of the exact law of the joint inter-arrival times is detailed and used to derive this algorithm. Furthermore, the martingale generator of the process is derived, and induces theoretical moments which generalize some results of [3] and are used to demonstrate the validity of our simulation algorithm.

Obesity rates among children are rapidly rising internationally and have been linked to noncommunicable diseases in adulthood. Individual preventive strategies have not effectively reduced global obesity rates, leading to a gap in clinical services regarding the development of early perinatal interventions. The objective of this scoping review is to explore the relationship between maternal BMI and breastfeeding behaviors on child growth trajectories to determine their relevance in developing interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity.

The scoping review was guided and informed by the Arksey and O’Malley (2005) framework. A systematic search was performed in four databases. Studies included in the final review were collated and sorted into relevant themes. A systematic search yielded a total of 5831 records (MEDLINE: 1242, EMBASE: 2629, CINAHL: 820, PubMed: 1140). Results without duplicates (n = 4190) were screened based on relevancy of which 197 relevant-full-text articles were retrieved and assessed for eligibility resulting in 14 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and charted for the studies and six themes were identified: (1) healthy behaviors, lifestyle, and social economic status; (2) parental anthropometrics and perinatal weight status; (3) genetics, epigenetics, and fetal programming; (4) early infant feeding; (5) infant growth trajectories; and (6) targeted prevention and interventions. Early life risk factors for child obesity are multifactorial and potentially modifiable. Several at-risk groups were identified who would benefit from early preventative interventions targeting the importance of healthy weight gain, exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months, and healthy lifestyle behaviors.

To solve the uncertainty of the platinum (Pt)–palladium (Pd) phase diagram, especially the existence of a suggested miscibility gap, atom probe tomography (APT) was used to determine the time evolution of the composition after heat treatment. Due to the extraordinarily slow diffusion in the temperature range of the controversial phase separation, the investigated volume was limited to nano-sized multiple layers deposited by ion beam sputtering (IBS). The evaporated volume was reconstructed from the obtained datasets and the respective diffusion coefficients were determined using the Fourier series solution of the diffusion equation. Beginning with pure Pt and Pd layers annealed at 673, 773, 873, and 973 K, the mixing appears to be purely diffusion controlled in the chosen annealing times, but the state of complete mixing was still not observed. Therefore, extended isothermal annealing sequences at 673 and 773 K with pre-alloyed layers have been carried out. They clearly suggest complete mixing even at the lowest investigated temperatures.