The trace element selenium is known to protect against oxidative damage which is known to contribute to cognitive impairment with ageing (1,2). The aim of this study was to explore the association between selenium status (serum selenium and selenoprotein P (SELENOP)) and global cognitive performance at baseline and after 5 years in 85-year-olds living in the Northeast of England.

Serum selenium and SELENOP concentrations were measured at baseline by total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively, in 757 participants from the Newcastle 85+ study. Global cognitive performance was assessed using the Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination (SMMSE) where scores ≤25 out of 30 indicated cognitive impairment. Logistic regressions explored the associations between selenium status and global cognition at baseline. Linear mixed models explored associations between selenium status and global cognition prospectively after 5 years. Covariates included sex, body mass index, physical activity, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, alcohol intake, self-rated health, medications and smoking status.

At baseline, in fully adjusted models, there was no increase in odds of cognitive impairment with serum selenium (OR 1.004, 95% CI 0.993-1.015, p = 0.512) or between SELENOP (OR 1.006, 95% CI 0.881-1.149, p = 0.930). Likewise, over 5 years, in fully adjusted models there was no association between serum selenium and cognitive impairment (β 7.20E-4 ± 5.57E-4, p = 0.197), or between SELENOP and cognitive impairment (β 3.50E-3 ± 6.85E-3, p = 0.610).

In this UK cohort of very old adults, serum selenium or SELENOP was not associated with cognitive impairment at baseline and 5 years. This was an unexpected finding despite SELENOP’s key role in the brain and the observed associations in other studies. Further research is needed to explore the effect of selenium on global cognition in very old adults.

The personal futures of older adults are continually in mind, motivating goals, desires and plans. People approach the near and long term with differing agentic traits and dispositions, and they face forward, as well, from differing standpoints according to socio-economic position. This is a study of how persons who are economically privileged diverge in their future thought from persons of modest means, asking how income level qualifies the capacity to imagine, and foresee affecting, the future. We draw upon interviews conducted with 42 older, community-dwelling individuals in the Midwestern United States of America, a sample that was partitioned into two groups, one with below-median incomes versus one with incomes above 200 per cent of median. Interviews disclosed various foci of future thought with common contents among the two groups. Three foci, however, confirmed between-group differences in confidence about handling possible material and support needs, and also in enacting idealised norms of retirement. The underlying theme of these foci – financial security, long-term supports and services, and trips and travel – was the perceived affordability of the future. We conclude that there is indeed a material basis for imagination of and proactivity toward the future. When paradigms about later life set expectations that idealise lifestyle choice, consumption and prudential preparation for the future, these are prospects towards which some can reach more readily than others.

Between 21 November and 22 December 2020, a SARS-CoV-2 community testing pilot took place in the South Wales Valleys. We conducted a case-control study in adults taking part in the pilot using an anonymous online questionnaire. Social, demographic and behavioural factors were compared in people with a positive lateral flow test (cases) and a sample of negatives (controls). A total of 199 cases and 2621 controls completed a questionnaire (response rates: 27.1 and 37.6% respectively). Following adjustment, cases were more likely to work in the hospitality sector (aOR 3.39, 95% CI 1.43–8.03), social care (aOR 2.63, 1.22–5.67) or healthcare (aOR 2.31, 1.29–4.13), live with someone self-isolating due to contact with a case (aOR 3.07, 2.03–4.62), visit a pub (aOR 2.87, 1.11–7.37) and smoke or vape (aOR 1.54, 1.02–2.32). In this community, and at this point in the epidemic, reducing transmission from a household contact who is self-isolating would have the biggest public health impact (population-attributable fraction: 0.2). As restrictions on social mixing are relaxed, hospitality venues will become of greater public health importance, and those working in this sector should be adequately protected. Smoking or vaping may be an important modifiable risk factor.

The “Right to the night sky” outreach project holds astronomy workshops for children and teens deprived of their liberty in juvenile detention centers. It is carried out by an interdisciplinary group of students, graduates, and teachers of Astronomy, Geophysics, Educational Science, Law, Psychology, Social Work, and Social Communication. It’s has been accredited and recognized by the Faculty of Astronomical and Geophysical Sciences, and the National University of La Plata (Argentina) since the year 2014. This work presents the diverse activities developed in the project, the methodologies used, and an analysis of how the project evolved, grew, and expanded over time, continuing what has already been presented by Charalambous et al. (2014) and Haack et al. (2019)

Online self-reported 24-h dietary recall systems promise increased feasibility of dietary assessment. Comparison against interviewer-led recalls established their convergent validity; however, reliability and criterion-validity information is lacking. The validity of energy intakes (EI) reported using Intake24, an online 24-h recall system, was assessed against concurrent measurement of total energy expenditure (TEE) using doubly labelled water in ninety-eight UK adults (40–65 years). Accuracy and precision of EI were assessed using correlation and Bland–Altman analysis. Test–retest reliability of energy and nutrient intakes was assessed using data from three further UK studies where participants (11–88 years) completed Intake24 at least four times; reliability was assessed using intra-class correlations (ICC). Compared with TEE, participants under-reported EI by 25 % (95 % limits of agreement −73 % to +68 %) in the first recall, 22 % (−61 % to +41 %) for average of first two, and 25 % (−60 % to +28 %) for first three recalls. Correlations between EI and TEE were 0·31 (first), 0·47 (first two) and 0·39 (first three recalls), respectively. ICC for a single recall was 0·35 for EI and ranged from 0·31 for Fe to 0·43 for non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES). Considering pairs of recalls (first two v. third and fourth recalls), ICC was 0·52 for EI and ranged from 0·37 for fat to 0·63 for NMES. EI reported with Intake24 was moderately correlated with objectively measured TEE and underestimated on average to the same extent as seen with interviewer-led 24-h recalls and estimated weight food diaries. Online 24-h recall systems may offer low-cost, low-burden alternatives for collecting dietary information.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The development of new anti-cancer agents for children requires an inherently longer timeline than in adults. The 3+3 study design for Phase 1 dose escalation trials is commonly used to estimate the maximum tolerated dose and assess safety. The Rolling 6 study design was developed to shorten the study conduct timeline. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: This study compares twenty Phase 1 COG Pilot and Phase 1 Consortium trials that employed the Rolling 6 design with hypothetical results under the assumption that a 3+3 design had been executed. The number of evaluable patients required to complete the study, number of DLTs, number of inevaluable patients, overall study duration, time suspended to enrollment (i.e., waiting for DLT evaluation), and DLT risk are compared between study designs using Wilcoxon’s signed rank test. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The Rolling 6 study design required less time to complete the studies compared with 3+3 design (median 273 vs. 297 days, P = 0.01). In general, the Rolling 6 study design required more patients, had more inevaluable patients, and there were more dose limiting toxicity (DLT) events. However, there was no significant difference in DLT risk (median 0.15 vs. 0.17, P = 0.72). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The Rolling 6 study design effectively shortens the study conduct timeline compared with the traditional 3+3 design for Phase 1 COG Pilot and Phase 1 Consortium trials without increasing the risk of toxicity.

Birth weight and early growth have been associated with later blood pressure. However, not all studies consistently find a significant reduction in blood pressure with an increase in birth weight. In addition, the relative importance of birth weight and of other lifestyle and environmental factors is often overlooked and the association is rarely studied in adolescents. We investigated early life predictors, including birth weight, of adolescent blood pressure in the Gateshead Millennium Study (GMS). The GMS is a cohort of 1029 individuals born in 1999–2000 in Gateshead in Northern England. Throughout infancy and early childhood, detailed information were collected, including birth weight and measures of height and weight. Assessments of 491 returning participants at age 12 years included measures of body mass and blood pressure. Linear regression and path analysis were used to determine predictors and their relative importance on blood pressure. Birth weight was not directly associated with blood pressure at the age of 12. However, after adjustment for contemporaneous body mass index (BMI), an inverse association of standardized birth weight on systolic blood pressure was significant. The relative importance of birth weight on later systolic blood pressure was smaller than other contemporaneous body measures (height and BMI). There was no independent association of birth weight on blood pressure seen in this adolescent population. Contemporaneous body measures have an important role to play. Lifestyle factors that influence body mass or size, such as diet and physical activity, where interventions are directed at early prevention of hypertension should be targeted.

Five preplant, soil-incorporated herbicides were evaluated over a 2-year period for their effect upon the growth of representative varieties of 15 common species of spring-planted annual flowers. Of these, α,α,α,-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine (trifluralin) was effective in combining freedom from plant injury with control of weeds. Only in phlox (Phlox nana compacta Nutt., var. Fireball) was growth reduced significantly over the 2-year period by this herbicide at 2 lb/A while petunia (Petunia hybrida, var. Snow Lady) was reduced in 1 of 2 years. N,N-dimethyl-2,2-diphenylacetamide (diphenamid) at 4 and 8 lb/A was effective and ethyl N,N-dipropylthiocarbamate (EPTC) at 4 lb/A was fairly effective, but both were tolerated by fewer flower species. N-(2-mercaptoethyl) benzenesulfonamide S-(O,O-diisopropyl phosphorodithioate) (bensulide) at 10 lb/A and methyl 3,4-dichlorocarbanilate (swep) at 5 lb/A were not phytotoxic to any species but were relatively ineffective in controlling the weeds present.