Jaswal & Akhtar provide several quotes ostensibly from people with autism but obtained via the discredited techniques of Facilitated Communication and the Rapid Prompting Method, and they do not acknowledge the use of these techniques. As a result, their argument is substantially less convincing than they assert, and the article lacks transparency.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: High on-treatment platelet reactivity (HTPR) with clopidogrel imparts an increased risk for ischemic events in adults with coronary artery disease. Although more potent antiplatelet agents are available, clopidogrel remains the most commonly used P2Y12 inhibitor in Puerto Rico. Platelet reactivity varies with ethnicity and is influenced by both clinical and genetic variables; however, no clopidogrel pharmacogenetic studies with Puerto Rican patients have been reported. Therefore, we sought to identify clinical and genetic determinants of on-treatment platelet reactivity in a cohort of Puerto Rican patients with cardiovascular disease. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We performed a retrospective study of 111 Puerto Rican patients on 75 mg/day maintenance dose of clopidogrel. Patients were allocated into 2 groups: Group I, without HTPR; and Group II, with HTPR. Clinical data was obtained from the medical record. Platelet function was measured ex vivo using the VerifyNow® P2Y12 assay and HTPR was defined as P2Y12 reaction units (PRU)≥230. Genotyping of CYP2C19, ABCB1, PON1, PY2R12, B4GALT2, CES1, and PEAR1 was performed using Taqman® Genotyping Assays. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The mean PRU across the cohort was 203±61 PRU (range, 8–324), and 42 (38%) patients had HTPR. One in four individuals carried at least 1 copy of the CYP2C19*2 variant allele. Hematocrit and PON1 p.Q192R variant were inversely correlated with platelet reactivity (p<0.05). Multiple logistic regression showed that 27% of the total variation in PRU was explained by a history of diabetes mellitus, hematocrit, CYP2C19*2, and PON1 p.Q192R. Body mass index (OR=1.15; CI: 1.03–1.27), diabetes mellitus (OR=3.46; CI: 1.05–11.43), hematocrit (OR=0.75; CI: 0.65–0.87), and CYP2C19*2 (OR=4.44; CI: 1.21–16.20) were the only independent predictors of HTPR. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: In a representative sample of Puerto Rican patients with cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, hematocrit, CYP2C19*2, and PON1 p.Q192R were associated with on-treatment platelet reactivity. These factors may identify a subset of patients at higher risk for adverse events on clopidogrel in the Hispanic population.

Making predictions about aliens is not an easy task. Most previous work has focused on extrapolating from empirical observations and mechanistic understanding of physics, chemistry and biology. Another approach is to utilize theory to make predictions that are not tied to details of Earth. Here we show how evolutionary theory can be used to make predictions about aliens. We argue that aliens will undergo natural selection – something that should not be taken for granted but that rests on firm theoretical grounds. Given aliens undergo natural selection we can say something about their evolution. In particular, we can say something about how complexity will arise in space. Complexity has increased on the Earth as a result of a handful of events, known as the major transitions in individuality. Major transitions occur when groups of individuals come together to form a new higher level of the individual, such as when single-celled organisms evolved into multicellular organisms. Both theory and empirical data suggest that extreme conditions are required for major transitions to occur. We suggest that major transitions are likely to be the route to complexity on other planets, and that we should expect them to have been favoured by similarly restrictive conditions. Thus, we can make specific predictions about the biological makeup of complex aliens.

Eating disorders, once thought to be largely confined to females, are increasingly common in males. However, the presentation of disordered eating among males is often distinct to that observed in females and this diversity is not accommodated in current classification schemes. Here, we consider the diagnostic and clinical challenges presented by these distinctive presentations.

We have been interested in the plasmonic properties of alternative conducting materials to metals, such as conducting oxides, and we have recently expanded our studies to include highly correlated oxides, such as vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films. VO2 exhibits a metal-insulator transition (MIT) just above ambient temperature at ∼ 340K. Interestingly, this transition can be induced thermally, optically or applying electric fields. Across the MIT, the optical properties are completely modified over a broad frequency range. We will present our recent optical investigations on the photon induced transition studies on such films, as well as the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) modulation in nanopatterned Au gratings by the thermally induced MIT in VO2 thin films, addressing possibilities of ultrafast SPR modulation with VO2.

Selective lateral growth of GaN is a promising technique for producing high quality material for microelectronic and optoelectronic devices. Single-crystal GaN/AlN layers have been grown on Si(111) substrates and subsequently used as the seeding layer for selective lateral overgrowth. GaN pyramids are formed above holes patterned in a Si3N4 mask. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM, which also denotes the microscope) of these structures shows that the GaN pyramid, GaN seed layer, and AlN buffer layer in the samples have the following epitactic relationship with respect to the Si substrate: and (0001)GaN ∥ (0001)AlN ∥ (111)Si. In the core of the pyramid (at or above the seed windows), dislocations thread through the pyramid perpendicular to the interface plane with very high density. Some of these threading dislocations, which originate from the GaN/AlN seed layer, form 90° bends and half loops at the edge of the pyramid core. In the lateral growth part of the GaN pyramid, the dislocation density is relatively low. The majority of dislocations thread through the pyramid parallel to the interface plane. Planar defects, usually parallel to the interface plane, were observed near the interface. The defect density decreases with the distance away from the interface, so that the top several microns of material maybe completely defect free. The mechanism of the growth of GaN pyramids is discussed and related to this defect structure.