Older adults represent the highest proportion of gamblers (Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation [OLG], 2012). Unpartnered older adults may be more socially isolated and lonely (Dykstra & de Jong Gierveld, 2004), thus more likely to be at risk for problem gambling (McQuade & Gill, 2012). We examined whether gambling to socialize or from loneliness and going to the casino with friends/family mediate the relation between marital status and problem gambling. Data from a random sample of older adults at gambling venues across Southwestern Ontario indicated that gambling with family/friends and gambling due to loneliness mediated the relationship between marital status and problem gambling. Relative to those married, unpartnered older adults were less likely to gamble with family/friends, more likely to gamble due to loneliness, and had higher problem gambling. Prevention and treatment initiatives should examine ways to decrease loneliness and social isolation among older adults and offer alternative social activities.

Good education requires student experiences that deliver lessons about practice as well as theory and that encourage students to work for the public good—especially in the operation of democratic institutions (Dewey 1923; Dewy 1938). We report on an evaluation of the pedagogical value of a research project involving 23 colleges and universities across the country. Faculty trained and supervised students who observed polling places in the 2016 General Election. Our findings indicate that this was a valuable learning experience in both the short and long terms. Students found their experiences to be valuable and reported learning generally and specifically related to course material. Postelection, they also felt more knowledgeable about election science topics, voting behavior, and research methods. Students reported interest in participating in similar research in the future, would recommend other students to do so, and expressed interest in more learning and research about the topics central to their experience. Our results suggest that participants appreciated the importance of elections and their study. Collectively, the participating students are engaged and efficacious—essential qualities of citizens in a democracy.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Platelets govern signal-dependent inflammatory responses by leukocytes. Although dysregulated inflammation is common in older adults, platelet-leukocyte signaling events and downstream inflammatory gene synthesis in aging is not known. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Highly-purified platelets and monocytes were isolated from healthy older (age>60, n=27) and younger (age<45, n=36) adults and incubated together in autologous and nonautologous conditions. Inflammatory gene synthesis by monocytes, basally and in the presence of activated platelets, was examined. Next-generation RNA-sequencing allowed for unbiased profiling of the platelet transcriptome in older and younger adults. Differentially expressed candidates in aged platelets were validated and recombinant granzyme A (in the presence and absence of TLR4 and Caspase-1 inhibition) identified putative ligands controlling inflammatory gene synthesis. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: In unstimulated or activated conditions, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) synthesis by monocytes alone did not differ between older and younger adults. However, in the presence of autologous activated platelets, monocytes from older adults synthesized significantly greater MCP-1 (867.150 vs. 216.36 ng/mL, p<0.0001) and IL-8 (41.5 vs. 9.2 ng/mL, p<0.0001) than younger adults. Nonautologous, or switch experiments, demonstrated that aged platelets were sufficient for upregulating MCP-1 and IL-8 synthesis by monocytes. Surprisingly, classic platelet proteins known to signal to monocytes and induce MCP-1 synthesis (p-selectin, RANTES, and PF4) were not increased in platelets from older adults. Using RNA-seq followed by validation via RT-PCR and immunoblot, we identified candidate platelet molecules increased in aging that mediate platelet-monocyte signaling and pro-inflammatory gene synthesis. We confirmed that granzyme A (GrmA), a serine protease not previously identified in platelets, is present in human platelets at the mRNA and protein level. GrmA is secreted by activated platelets in signal-dependent fashion. Moreover, GrmA in platelets is significantly increased in aging (~9-fold vs. younger adults). Blocking GrmA inhibited MCP-1 and IL-8 synthesis in older adults. Finally, we uncovered that platelet GrmA signaling to monocytes is regulated through TLR4 and Caspase-1. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Human aging is associated with reprogramming of the platelet transcriptome. A previously unrecognized protein in platelets, GrmA, is increased in aging and causes increased MCP-1 and IL-8 gene synthesis by target monocytes in a TLR4 and Caspase-1 dependent mechanism. Increased platelet GrmA in aging may contribute to injurious inflammatory responses common in older adults.

Molecular studies have shown the type collection of Omphalina oreades to be conspecific with a small brown basidiolichen from the Appalachian range in Newfoundland, both with 4-spored basidia. Two sequences deposited in GenBank, originally identified as O. grisella, fell in the same clade. Sequences of the type collection of Omphalia grisella, with 2-spored basidia, formed a sister clade together with two GenBank deposits, one identified as O. grisella and the other as Omphalina velutina. Omphalina oreades is recombined here as Lichenomphalia oreades comb. nov., and the species redescribed and illustrated. Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS rDNA) from the algae associated with two collections of L. oreades fell within a highly supported clade with members of an undetermined species of Coccomyxa. The most abundant algal ribosomal large subunit sequence from granules at the base of a different collection matched GenBank sequences identified as Chloroidium ellipsoideum, which is probably either a free-living algal species or a partner to a species of Trapeliopsis. The second most abundant sequence matched Coccomyxa subellipsoidea and is the most likely photobiont of L. oreades. Further studies are required to elucidate the relationship of L. velutina to these taxa.

Restoration in Mediterranean-climate grasslands is strongly impeded by lack of native propagules and competition with exotic grasses and forbs. We report on a study testing several methods for exotic plant control combined with planting native grasses to restore prairies in former agricultural land in coastal California. Specifically we compared tarping (shading out recently germinated seedlings with black plastic) once, tarping twice, topsoil removal, herbicide (glyphosate), and a control treatment in factorial combinations with or without wood mulch. Into each treatment we planted three native grass species (Elymus glaucus, Hordeum brachyantherum, and Stipa pulchra) and monitored plant survival and cover for three growing seasons. Survival of native grass species was high in all treatments, but was slightly lower in unmulched soil removal and control treatments in the first 2 yr. Mulching, tarping, and herbicide were all effective in reducing exotic grass cover and enhancing native grass cover for the first 2 yr, but by the third growing season cover of the plant guilds and bare ground had mostly converged, primarily because of the declining effects of the initial treatments. Mulching and tarping were both considerably more expensive than herbicide treatment. Topsoil removal was less effective in increasing native grass cover likely because soil removal altered the surface hydrology in this system. Our results show that several treatments were effective in enhancing native grass establishment, but that longer term monitoring is needed to evaluate the efficacy of restoration efforts. The most appropriate approach to controlling exotics to restore specific grassland sites will depend not only on the effectiveness, but also on relative costs and site constraints.

Firestone & Scholl (F&S) rely on three problematic assumptions about the mind (modularity, reflexiveness, and context-insensitivity) to argue cognition does not fundamentally influence perception. We highlight evidence indicating that perception, cognition, and emotion are constructed through overlapping, distributed brain networks characterized by top-down activity and context-sensitivity. This evidence undermines F&S's ability to generalize from case studies to the nature of perception.

Patients with predominantly unilateral parkinsonian signs may provide a unique opportunity to evaluate the cerebral representation of cognitive functions characteristically affected in idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. Twenty hemiparkinsonian patients (ten left and ten right) and 10 healthy controls, matched for age and education, were studied with neuropsychological tests and positron emission tomography. Both right and left hemiparkinsonians evidenced impairments in visuospatial and verbal episodic memory function, but had no deficits in executive abilities, compared to controls. None of the neuropsychological test scores distinguished right from left hemiparkinsonians. Glucose metabolic profiles were identical for the three groups in all cortical areas assessed; in the subcortex however, lenticular hypermetabolism contralateral to the predominant side of motor involvement was evident in the left hemiparkinsonian group. Correlational analysis revealed that higher glucose metabolic rates in the basal ganglia of these hemiparkinsonians were associated with lower visuospatial test scores. In frontal and parietal cortex, decreasing glucose metabolism was positively associated with neurobehavioral function; in temporal cortex, measures of attention and memory decreased with increasing glucose metabolic rates.

In the following, a continuous wave radar system based on the Six-port principle will be shown for measurement tasks at enclosed systems needing micrometer accuracy as well as high update rates like tank level monitoring or hydraulic cylinder piston control. To exceed the ambiguity limit of such an interferometric system, a dual tone approach is used. The system will be presented with measurement results at 24 GHz within a WR42 waveguide to prove the feasibility of the proposed concept. Furthermore, considerations on timing will show the potential as a low-latency system, capable of high measurement data update rates, and different influences on the system performance and limitations of such a system will be discussed in comparison to alternative setups.

Introduction: Patients of specialized nicotine dependence clinics are hypothesized to form a distinct subpopulation of smokers due to the features associated with treatment seeking. The aim of the study was to describe this subpopulation of smokers and compare it to smokers in general population.

Material and methods: A chart review of 796 outpatients attending a specialized nicotine dependence clinic, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada was performed. Client smoking patterns and sociodemographic characteristics were compared to smokers in the general population using two Ontario surveys – the Ontario Tobacco Survey (n = 898) and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Monitor (n = 457).

Results: Smokers who seek treatment tend to smoke more and be more heavily addicted. They were older, had longer history of smoking and greater number of unsuccessful quit attempts, both assisted and unassisted. They reported lower education and income, had less social support and were likely to live with other smokers.

Conclusions: Smokers who seek treatment in specialized centers differ from the smokers in general population on several important characteristics. These same characteristics are associated with lower chances for successful smoking cessation and sustained abstinence and should be taken into consideration during clinical assessment and treatment planning.