OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: To create a searchable public registry of all Quality Improvement (QI) projects. To incentivize the medical professionals at UF Health to initiate quality improvement projects by reducing startup burden and providing a path to publishing results. To reduce the review effort performed by the internal review board on projects that are quality improvement Versus research. To foster publication of completed quality improvement projects. To assist the UF Health Sebastian Ferrero Office of Clinical Quality & Patient Safety in managing quality improvement across the hospital system. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: This project used a variant of the spiral software development model and principles from the ADDIE instructional design process for the creation of a registry that is web based. To understand the current registration process and management of quality projects in the UF Health system a needs assessment was performed with the UF Health Sebastian Ferrero Office of Clinical Quality & Patient Safety to gather project requirements. Biweekly meetings were held between the Quality Improvement office and the Clinical and Translational Science – Informatics and Technology teams during the entire project. Our primary goal was to collect just enough information to answer the basic questions of who is doing which QI project, what department are they from, what are the most basic details about the type of project and who is involved. We also wanted to create incentive in the user group to try to find an existing project to join or to commit the details of their proposed new project to a data registry for others to find to reduce the amount of duplicate QI projects. We created a series of design templates for further customization and feature discovery. We then proceed with the development of the registry using a Python web development framework called Django, which is a technology that powers Pinterest and the Washington Post Web sites. The application is broken down into 2 main components (i) data input, where information is collected from clinical staff, Nurses, Pharmacists, Residents, and Doctors on what quality improvement projects they intend to complete and (ii) project registry, where completed or “registered” projects can be viewed and searched publicly. The registry consists of a quality investigator profile that lists contact information, expertise, and areas of interest. A dashboard allows for the creation and review of quality improvement projects. A search function enables certain quality project details to be publicly accessible to encourage collaboration. We developed the Registry Matching Algorithm which is based on the Jaccard similarity coefficient that uses quality project features to find similar quality projects. The algorithm allows for quality investigators to find existing or previous quality improvement projects to encourage collaboration and to reduce repeat projects. We also developed the QIPR Approver Algorithm that guides the investigator through a series of questions that allows an appropriate quality project to get approved to start without the need for human intervention. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: A product of this project is an open source software package that is freely available on GitHub for distribution to other health systems under the Apache 2.0 open source license. Adoption of the Quality Improvement Project Registry and promotion of it to the intended audience are important factors for the success of this registry. Thanks goes to the UW-Madison and their QI/Program Evaluation Self-Certification Tool (https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3lVeNuKe8FhKc73) used as example and inspiration for this project. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This registry was created to help understand the impact of improved management of quality projects in a hospital system. The ultimate result will be to reduce time to approve quality improvement projects, increase collaboration across the UF Health Hospital system, reduce redundancy of quality improvement projects and translate more projects into publications.

Field studies were conducted at Charleston, SC to evaluate the effects of six chemical treatments on bahiagrass and the potential of these treatments to reduce mowing operations. Sulfometuron, maleic hydrazide, and imazethapyr plus imazapyr, in decreasing order of effectiveness, were the most consistent treatments evaluated during the 2-yr study. Sulfometuron reduced bahiagrass vegetative height (23%) for 6 to 8 WAT and suppressed 87 to 92% of seedheads without adversely affecting turf quality. All treatments temporarily discolored turf; however, effects were not objectionable for medium- to low-quality turf settings. Sulfometuron, maleic hydrazide, and imazethapyr plus imazapyr controlled growth and maintained acceptable turf quality for an average of 9, 9, and 8 wk, respectively; thereby reducing mowing operations by an average 29%. Mefluidide plus fluazifop-P, mefluidide plus sulfometuron, and chlorosulfuron were the least effective and/or consistent treatments evaluated.

Growth chamber studies were conducted using 55-L aquariums to evaluate the efficacy of the herbicide triclopyr and the fungal pathogen Mycoleptodiscus terrestris, applied alone and in combination against Eurasian watermilfoil. Treatments included 0.15, 0.40, and 1.50 mg acid equivalent (ae)/L triclopyr, 0.08, 0.16, and 0.32 ml/L M. terrestris, combinations of both agents at all rates, and an untreated control. Plants were exposed to all treatments for a 24-h contact time and plant biomass (shoot and roots) was recorded 6 wk after application. For both triclopyr and M. terrestris applied alone, plant control increased with treatment concentration. Compared with untreated plants, 1.50 mg/L triclopyr and 0.32 ml/L M. terrestris reduced Eurasian watermilfoil by 100 and 91%, respectively. Lower doses of herbicide or pathogen were less effective and plant recovery was observed from surviving plant tissues (stems and root crowns). Although M. terrestris at 0.08 ml/L did not significantly reduce shoot or root biomass and 0.15 mg/L triclopyr provided only 53% control of plants, combining both agents at these rates reduced Eurasian watermilfoil by 90%. Results demonstrated that integrating low doses of triclopyr with an indigenous pathogen, M. terrestris, can improve control of Eurasian watermilfoil. Lower use rates of triclopyr would minimize impacts to sensitive nontarget vegetation, reduce application costs, and may minimize impacts of label-imposed use restrictions.

Laboratory experiments were conducted in 55-L aquaria to evaluate the efficacy of the aquatic herbicide endothall and the fungal pathogen Mycoleptodiscus terrestris (Gerd.) Ostazeski, applied alone and in combination against hydrilla. Treatments included 0.25, 0.50, and 1.25 mg ae/L endothall, 100, 200, and 400 colony-forming units (CFU)/ml M. terrestris, simultaneous integrated treatments of 0.25, 0.50, and 1.25 endothall + 100 or 200 CFU/ml M. terrestris, sequential integrated treatments of 100 and 200 CFU/ml M. terrestris + 0.25 and 0.50 mg ae/L endothall, and untreated controls. By 42 d after treatment (DAT), all treatments had significantly reduced shoot biomass levels of hydrilla compared with the untreated controls. Combining the two lowest herbicide rates with M. terrestris provided better hydrilla control than either treatment alone. Based on these results, an outdoor mesocosm study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and selectivity of endothall and the pathogen applied alone and in combination against hydrilla, Illinois pondweed, American pondweed, and vallisneria. Treatments included 0.25 and 0.50 mg ae/L endothall, 100 and 200 CFU/ml M. terrestris, integrated treatments of 0.25 and 0.50 mg ae/L endothall + 100 and 200 CFU/ml M. terrestris, and untreated controls. Unlike the laboratory results, none of the treatments controlled hydrilla 100%. The combined treatments worked better than either treatment applied alone. By 42 DAT, all the combined treatments except 0.25 mg ae/L endothall + 100 CFU/ml M. terrestris had reduced above-ground hydrilla biomass by ≥ 90% compared with the untreated controls. All nontarget species sustained varying amounts of injury from endothall and M. terrestris applied alone or in combination.

This study reports an outbreak of oriental theileriosis in dairy cattle imported to Vietnam from Australia. Following clinical and pathological diagnoses, a total of 112 cattle blood samples were divided into three groups and tested using multiplexed tandem PCR. Group 1 were from aborted heifers in Vietnam; group 2 were from cattle before shipment from group 1 cattle and group 3 were from the same batch of cattle but transported to Taiwan. Theileria orientalis DNA was detected in 72·3% cattle. The prevalences of T. orientalis in groups 1, 2 and 3 were 77·6, 86·9 and 57·5%, respectively, and the difference in prevalence was significant between groups 1 and 3 (P < 0·0001). The infection intensities of genotypes chitose and ikeda of T. orientalis were higher in groups 1 (57 721 and 33 709, respectively) and 3 (5897 and 61 766, respectively) than those in group 2 (2071 and 6331, respectively). Phylogenetic analyses of the major piroplasm surface protein sequences revealed that genotypes chitose and ikeda determined herein were closely related to those previously reported from Australia. This first report of an outbreak of oriental theileriosis in imported cattle emphasizes improved measures for the export and import of cattle infected with T. orientalis.

The science of extra-solar planets is one of the most rapidly changing areas of astrophysics and since 1995 the number of planets known has increased by almost two orders of magnitude. A combination of ground-based surveys and dedicated space missions has resulted in 560-plus planets being detected, and over 1200 that await confirmation. NASA's Kepler mission has opened up the possibility of discovering Earth-like planets in the habitable zone around some of the 100,000 stars it is surveying during its 3 to 4-year lifetime. The new ESA's Gaia mission is expected to discover thousands of new planets around stars within 200 parsecs of the Sun. The key challenge now is moving on from discovery, important though that remains, to characterisation: what are these planets actually like, and why are they as they are?

In the past ten years, we have learned how to obtain the first spectra of exoplanets using transit transmission and emission spectroscopy. With the high stability of Spitzer, Hubble, and large ground-based telescopes the spectra of bright close-in massive planets can be obtained and species like water vapour, methane, carbon monoxide and dioxide have been detected. With transit science came the first tangible remote sensing of these planetary bodies and so one can start to extrapolate from what has been learnt from Solar System probes to what one might plan to learn about their faraway siblings. As we learn more about the atmospheres, surfaces and near-surfaces of these remote bodies, we will begin to build up a clearer picture of their construction, history and suitability for life.

The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, EChO, will be the first dedicated mission to investigate the physics and chemistry of Exoplanetary Atmospheres. By characterising spectroscopically more bodies in different environments we will take detailed planetology out of the Solar System and into the Galaxy as a whole.

EChO has now been selected by the European Space Agency to be assessed as one of four M3 mission candidates.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease with a higher prevalence in women. Expression of estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) gene has been identified throughout the brain. Owing to the putative neuroprotective effects of estrogen, estrogen receptor gene is a potential candidate modulating the development of AD. Preliminary associations between two polymorphisms of ESR1 (PvuII and XbaI) gene and AD have been reported.

Methods: In this study, 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the ESR1 gene (including four commonly studied ESR1 SNPs and 12 other tagging SNPs selected from the HapMap database) were investigated to further evaluate the association between ESR1 polymorphisms and the risk of AD in the Chinese population.

Results: A total of 233 Chinese AD patients and 245 age-matched elderly control subjects were recruited. Genetic associations were analyzed by chi-square test and interaction effect was analysed by logistic regression analysis. Five SNPs (clustered between intron 3 and intron 7) were associated with the risk of AD (p-value ranges from 0.001 to 0.035); another two SNPs (located on exon 2 and intron 2) were shown to modulate the age-at-onset (AAO) in AD (p-value = 0.036 and 0.011).

Conclusions: ESR1 gene polymorphisms may be associated with the AAO in AD. The present results provided information for possible associations between certain polymorphisms of ESR1 gene and the risk of AD.

Background: An increasing number of studies have suggested a link between cholesterol metabolism and Alzheimer's disease (AD), which may be mediated by its effect on amyloid processing. Intracranial cholesterol is primarily eliminated into the bloodstream through conversion into 24-hydroxycholesterol by the enzyme cholesterol 24-hydroxylase (encoded by the CYP46A1 gene). CYP46A1 is an essential gene modulating cholesterol metabolism in the brain.

Method: To investigate whether polymorphisms in the CYP46A1 gene modulate the risk of AD, we studied four common polymorphisms (IVS1-192, IVS2-150, IVS3-128 and IVS4-122) in 182 Chinese AD patients and 179 age-matched healthy Chinese subjects.

Results and conclusion: We found that the IVS3-128 polymorphism was associated with the risk of AD (p < 0.05). Subjects homozygous for the C alleles were protected from AD with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.53 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.98–2.37, p = 0.047]. However, another minor allele, IVS1-192 C, was more prevalent in the AD group and was associated with an increased risk. Haplotype analysis revealed that two of the eight common haplotypes formed by the four polymorphisms were rarely found in the AD group, suggesting a protective effect of these two haplotypes (GTCA and CCTA). The results supported the involvement of the CYP46A1 gene and cholesterol metabolism in the pathogenesis of AD.

As a way of contributing to bioethics' understanding of itself, and, more particularly, to invigorate conversation about how we can best educate future colleagues, we present here a sketch of the quarter-century-old graduate concentration in medical ethics housed in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Our hope is to incite other programs to share their histories, strategies, problems, and aspirations, so as to help the field as a whole get a clearer sense of how we are putting together our future, and of how we might best go about this important job.

Cognitive performance in 7- to 9-year-old preterm neonatal intensive-care survivors was compared with that in age-matched control children. Non-verbal memory span, spatial working-memory abilities, planning, set-shifting, and recognition memory for both spatial and patterned stimuli were assessed using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery. Relative to children in the control group, neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) survivors demonstrated 25% more memory errors on the spatial working-memory task. Their use of strategy on this task was similar to a control group of 5-year-olds. Planning times on ‘Tower of London’ problems were long relative to those of term controls. NICU survivors demonstrated poorer pattern recognition as well as a shorter spatial memory span. The groups did not differ in visual-discrimination learning or in spatial-recognition memory. No specific neonatal risk factor accounted for the observed differences, although scores on the Neurobiological Risk Score (NBRS), a composite measure of neonatal risk, did predict several aspects of later task performance. Whether these data reflect a developmental delay in brain maturation in NICU survivors or the presence of a permanent information-processing deficit due to adverse neonatal events must be assessed through continued follow-up.