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Bilingualism is thought to confer advantages in executive functioning, thereby contributing to cognitive reserve and a later age of dementia symptom onset. While the relation between bilingualism and age of onset has been explored in Alzheimer's dementia, there are few studies examining bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In line with previous findings, we hypothesized that bilinguals with behavioral variant FTD would be older at symptom onset compared to monolinguals, but that no such effect would be found in patients with nonfluent/agrammatic variant primary progressive aphasia (PPA) or semantic variant PPA. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found no significant difference in age at symptom onset between monolingual and bilingual speakers within any of the FTD variants, and there were no notable differences on neuropsychological measures. Overall, our results do not support a protective effect of bilingualism in patients with FTD-spectrum disease in a U.S. based cohort.

This multi-institutional study assessed the efficacy of Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 as a nonpathogenic Salmonella surrogate for thermal processing of nonfat dry milk powder, peanut butter, almond meal, wheat flour, ground black pepper, and date paste. Each product was analyzed by two laboratories (five independent laboratories total), with the lead laboratory inoculating (E. faecium or a five-strain Salmonella enterica serovar cocktail of Agona, Reading, Tennessee, Mbandaka, and Montevideo) and equilibrating the product to the target water activity before shipping. Both laboratories subjected samples to three isothermal treatments (between 65 and 100°C). A log-linear and Bigelow model was fit to survivor data via one-step regression. On the basis of D80°C values estimated from the combined model, E. faecium was more thermally resistant (P0.05) than Salmonella in nonfat dry milk powder (DEf-80°C, 100.2 ± 5.8 min; DSal-80°C, 28.9 ± 1.0 min), peanut butter (DEf-80°C, 133.5 ± 3.1 min; DSal-80°C, 57.6 ± 1.5 min), almond meal (DEf-80°C, 34.2 ± 0.4 min; DSal-80°C, 26.1 ± 0.2 min), ground black pepper (DEf-80°C, 3.2 ± 0.8 min; DSal-80°C, 1.5 ± 0.1 min), and date paste (DEf-80°C, 1.5 ± 0.0 min; DSal-80°C, 0.5 ± 0.0 min). Although the combined laboratory D80°C for E. faecium was lower (P0.05) than for Salmonella in wheat flour (DEf-80°C, 9.4 ± 0.1 min; DSal-80°C, 10.1 ± 0.2 min), the difference was ∼7%. The zT values for Salmonella in all products and for E. faecium in milk powder, almond meal, and date paste were not different (P0.05) between laboratories. Therefore, this study demonstrated the impact of standardized methodologies on repeatability of microbial inactivation results. Overall, E. faecium NRRL B-2354 was more thermally resistant than Salmonella, which provides support for utilizing E. faecium as a surrogate for validating thermal processing of multiple low-moisture products. However, product composition should always be considered before making that decision.

The logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome characterized linguistically by gradual loss of repetition and naming skills, resulting from left posterior temporal and inferior parietal atrophy. Here, we sought to identify which specific cortical loci are initially targeted by the disease (epicenters) and investigate whether atrophy spreads through pre-determined networks. First, we used cross-sectional structural MRI data from individuals with lvPPA to define putative disease epicenters using a surface-based approach paired with an anatomically-fine-grained parcellation of the cortical surface (i.e., HCP-MMP1.0 atlas). Second, we combined cross-sectional functional MRI data from healthy controls and longitudinal structural MRI data from individuals with lvPPA to derive the epicenter-seeded resting-state networks most relevant to lvPPA symptomatology and ascertain whether functional connectivity in these networks predicts longitudinal atrophy spread in lvPPA. Our results show that two partially distinct brain networks anchored to the left anterior angular and posterior superior temporal gyri epicenters were preferentially associated with sentence repetition and naming skills in lvPPA. Critically, the strength of connectivity within these two networks in the neurologically-intact brain significantly predicted longitudinal atrophy progression in lvPPA. Taken together, our findings indicate that atrophy progression in lvPPA, starting from inferior parietal and temporo-parietal junction regions, predominantly follows at least two partially non-overlapping pathways, which may influence the heterogeneity in clinical presentation and prognosis.

Health promotion and disease prevention programme registries can play an important role in increasing transparency of “good/ best Practices” and promoting their implementation. In the EU, there are different approaches to how registries seek to support the implementation of practices. However, there is limited knowledge of the extent to which there are informative differences or overlaps in the mechanisms chosen for accreditation, capacity building and implementation. This presentation focuses on six national registries in the EU (Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia) and the European Public Health Best Practice Portal. Information was obtained through a working group on Good/ Best Practice Portals, established in 2019. Information on the process of adding good/best practices to the registry and on measures that promote implementation was gathered and evaluated through a descriptive case comparison. The comparison suggests that implementation can be promoted through different approaches for capacity building measures and incentives for implementation. The latter included funding resources, titling/awarding of practice and professional feedback in only a few registries. Registries may be useful not only for transparency of good and best Practices but also for implementation through capacity building and several incentives. The information provided in this presentation may be informative in guiding development of similar resources elsewhere and a starting point for discussion on how to support best the implementation of good/ best practices.

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Utility of the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination III online calculator to differentiate the primary progressive aphasia variants’ by Foxe et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcac161) and ‘A “Mini Linguistic State Examination” to classify primary progressive aphasia’ by Patel et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcab299)

In this article, we report on the recommendations of a binational conference that examined the institutional capacities and future ability of Mexico and the United States to address the need for affordable and sustainable dementia care that results from growing older adult populations. These recommendations reflect the large difference in resources between the two nations and each country’s political and institutional capacity. Progress in both countries will require an expansion of programs or the generation of new ones, to meet the needs of older adults, including improving access to services and actively managing the dementia care burden. A comprehensive federal health care safety net will be required in both nations, but economic realities will constrain its implementation. Both nations suffer from a persistent shortage of geriatric primary care physicians and geriatricians, especially in rural areas. Advances in diagnosis, treatment, and care management require additional knowledge and skills of general and specialized staff in the health care workforce to deliver evidence-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate long-term care, and human rights-oriented services. We conclude with a discussion of recommendations for binational dementia care policy and practice.

Three recent Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition catalogues devise new interpretative frameworks and situate O’Keeffe in new contexts that are especially relevant to American Studies scholars interested in visual culture, material culture, gender studies, reception studies, and modernism. One places O’Keeffe in the company of other white women making modernist art in the early decades of the twentieth century; another provides critical interpretations that acknowledge and reject previous views that were skewered by monolithic gender and sexual lenses; and a third moves O’Keeffe into popular culture domains such as fashion, consumerism, and interior design. Raising questions about how curators present and shape artists’ legacies, as well as how they translate exhibitions into book form, these catalogues offer opportunities to explore new directions in O’Keeffe scholarship, such as an internationalizing trend and a turn to interdisciplinary American Studies methodologies.

Hot-air drying processes are used to provide specific quality attributes to products, such as dehydrated apple pieces. To comply with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act, there is a need to understand microbial lethality during these processes. The objective of this study was to determine the level of inactivation provided by hot-air drying on a Salmonella cocktail inoculated onto apple cubes and to evaluate the performance of Enterococcus faecium as a surrogate. A cocktail of Salmonella serovars (Agona, Tennessee, Montevideo, Mbandaka, and Reading) and E. faecium were individually inoculated onto cored, peeled Gala apple cubes at 9.2 ± 0.3 and 8.8 ± 0.1 log CFU per sample, respectively. Apple cubes were dried at 104 or 135°C in ∼1.5-kg batches using a hot-air dryer with a vertically directed heat source and without mixing. Three subsamples, consisting of four inoculated cubes, were enumerated at each time point (n ≥ 5) from multiple product bed depths. Water activity decreased throughout the duration of the study, with samples drying faster at 135 than 104°C. Samples at the bottom bed depth, closer to the heat source, dried faster than those at the higher bed depth, regardless of temperature. Significant microbial inactivation was not seen immediately. It took >10 min at the bottom bed depth or >40 min of drying at the top bed depth, regardless of temperature (P < 0.05). By the end of drying, average Salmonella inactivation of greater than 5 log CFU per sample was achieved. At temperature conditions evaluated, E. faecium inactivation was slower than Salmonella, indicating that it would likely serve as a good surrogate for in-plant validation studies. Case hardening did not inhibit microbial inactivation in the conditions tested. Hot-air drying under the conditions evaluated may provide a preventive control in the production of dehydrated products, such as apples. HIGHLIGHTS

Speech-language pathology caseloads often include individuals with hearing loss and a coexisting neurogenic communication disorder. However, specific treatment techniques and modifications designed to accommodate this population are understudied. Using a single-case experimental design, the current study investigated the utility of modified Video Implemented Script Training for Aphasia (VISTA) for an individual with nonfluent/agrammatic variant primary progressive aphasia and severe-to-profound, bilateral hearing loss. We analyzed the impact of this intervention, which incorporates orthographic input and rehearsal, on script production accuracy, speech intelligibility, grammatical complexity, mean length of utterance, and speech rate. Treatment resulted in comparable positive outcomes relative to a previous study evaluating script training in nonfluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia patients with functional hearing. Follow-up data obtained at three months, six months, and one year post-treatment confirmed maintenance of treatment effects for trained scripts. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate a modified speech-language intervention tailored to the needs of an individual with PPA and hearing loss, with findings confirming that simple treatment modifications may serve to broaden the range of treatment options available to those with concomitant sensory and communication impairments.

Introduction The effect of bilingualism on age at onset has yet to be examined within different clinical variants of Alzheimer's disease. Methods We reviewed the research charts of 287 well-characterized participants with either amnestic Alzheimer's dementia or logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) and identified bilingual speakers based on regular use of two or more languages and/or ability to communicate with native speakers in two or more languages. We evaluated whether bilingual speakers demonstrated a delay in age of symptom onset relative to monolingual speakers while controlling for other variables known to influence cognitive reserve. Results A 5-year delay in age at symptom onset was observed for bilingual relative to monolingual speakers with lvPPA. This delay in onset was not observed in the amnestic Alzheimer's dementia cohort. Discussion Bilingualism may serve as a unique cognitive reserve variable in lvPPA, but not in amnestic Alzheimer's dementia.

Isothermal inactivation experiments often are used to investigate the thermal resistance of pathogens, such as Salmonella, in foods; however, little is known about the reproducibility of such experimental methodologies. The objective of this study was to quantify the reproducibility of Salmonella isothermal resistance results via a six-laboratory comparison. Inoculation was performed at a single location and then distributed to each laboratory for isothermal analysis. Salmonella Agona 447967 was inoculated into oat flour, re-equilibrated to a water activity (aw) of 0.45, and then packaged and distributed to each laboratory. Before conducting the inactivation trials, each laboratory was required to verify the inoculated product's aw, enumerate Salmonella population levels, and verify that the isothermal treatment medium was at the target temperature (80°C). All laboratories were required to process at least three replications, collect at least six sample time points with three subsamples at each sampling point, enumerate survivors using an identical plating methodology and media, and verify that the temperature did not substantially change during isothermal treatment. The log-linear model was fit to the Salmonella survivor data, and the resultant D-values were statistically compared via Welch's t test (α = 0.05). Two significant differences in thermal inactivation kinetics were identified as potentially resulting from suspected methodology deviations. Two of the inoculated batches distributed for analysis yielded significantly lower D-values, which likely resulted from a deviation in the inoculation procedures. One laboratory yielded significantly lower D-values, which was likely the result of temperature deviations. Overall, excluding the D-values resulting from deviations, the inactivation results were reproducible, yielding D-values of 30.2 ± 3 min. These results indicate that isothermal inactivation results can be reproducible but that even minor methodology deviations can substantially affect measured Salmonella thermal resistance. HIGHLIGHTS

Objective: Sensory deficits are important risk factors for delirium but have been investigated in single-center studies and single clinical settings. This multicenter study aims to evaluate the association between hearing and visual impairment or bi-sensory impairment (visual and hearing impairment) and delirium. Design: Cross-sectional study nested in the 2017 "Delirium Day" project. Setting and participants: Patients 65 years and older admitted to acute hospital medical wards, emergency departments, rehabilitation wards, nursing homes, and hospices in Italy. Methods: Delirium was assessed with the 4AT (a short tool for delirium assessment) and sensory deficits with a clinical evaluation. We assessed the association between delirium, hearing and visual impairment in multivariable logistic regression models, adjusting for: Model 1, we included predisposing factors for delirium (ie, dementia, weight loss and autonomy in the activities of daily living); Model 2, we added to Model 1 variables, which could be considered precipitating factors for delirium (ie, psychoactive drugs and urinary catheters). Results: A total of 3038 patients were included; delirium prevalence was 25%. Patients with delirium had a higher prevalence of hearing impairment (30.5% vs 18%; P < .001), visual impairment (24.2% vs 15.7%; P < .01) and bi-sensory impairment (16.2% vs 7.5%) compared with those without delirium. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, the presence of bi-sensory impairment was associated with delirium in Model 1 [odds ratio (OR) 1.5, confidence interval (CI) 1.2-2.1; P = .00] and in Model 2 (OR 1.4; CI 1.1-1.9; P = .02), whereas the presence of visual and hearing impairment alone was not associated with delirium either in Model 1 (OR 0.8; CI 0.6-1.2, P = .36; OR 1.1; CI 0.8-1.4; P = .42) or in Model 2 (OR 0.8, CI 0.6-1.2, P = .27; OR 1.1, CI 0.8-1.4, P = .63). Conclusions and implications: Our findings support the importance of routine screening and specific interventions by a multidisciplinary team to implement optimal management of sensory impairments and hence prevention and the management of the patients with delirium.

Anomia is an early and prominent feature of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and other neurodegenerative disorders. Research investigating treatment for lexical retrieval impairment in individuals with progressive anomia has focused primarily on monolingual speakers, and treatment in bilingual speakers is relatively unexplored. In this series of single-case experiments, 10 bilingual speakers with progressive anomia received lexical retrieval treatment designed to engage relatively spared cognitive-linguistic abilities and promote word retrieval. Treatment was administered in two phases, with one language targeted per phase. Cross-linguistic cognates (e.g., rose and rosa) were included as treatment targets to investigate their potential to facilitate cross-linguistic transfer. Performance on trained and untrained stimuli was evaluated before, during, and after each phase of treatment, and at 3, 6, and 12 months post-treatment. Participants demonstrated a significant treatment effect in each of their treated languages, with maintenance up to one year post-treatment for the majority of participants. Most participants showed a significant cross-linguistic transfer effect for trained cognates in both the dominant and nondominant language, with fewer than half of participants showing a significant translation effect for noncognates. A gradual diminution of translation and generalization effects was observed during the follow-up period. Findings support the implementation of dual-language intervention approaches for bilingual speakers with progressive anomia, irrespective of language dominance.

Clinical understanding of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) has been established based on English-speaking population. The lack of linguistic diversity in research hinders the diagnosis of PPA in non-English speaking patients. This case report describes the tonal and orthographic deficits of a multilingual native Cantonese-speaking woman with nonfluent/agrammatic variant PPA (nfvPPA) and progressive supranuclear palsy. Our findings suggest that Cantonese-speaking nfvPPA patients exhibit tone production impairments, tone perception deficits at the lexical selection processing, and linguistic dysgraphia errors unique to logographic script writer. These findings suggest that linguistic tailored approaches offer novel and effective tools in identifying non-English speaking PPA individuals.

Influenza A viruses cause widespread human respiratory disease. The viral multifunctional NS1 protein inhibits host antiviral responses. This inhibition results from the binding of specific cellular antiviral proteins at various positions on the NS1 protein. Remarkably, binding of several proteins also requires the two amino-acid residues in the NS1 N-terminal RNA-binding domain (RBD) that are required for binding double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Here we focus on the host restriction factor DHX30 helicase that is countered by the NS1 protein, and establish why the dsRNA-binding activity of NS1 is required for its binding to DHX30. We show that the N-terminal 152 amino-acid residue segment of DHX30, denoted DHX30N, possesses all the antiviral activity of DHX30 and contains a dsRNA-binding domain, and that the NS1-DHX30 interaction in vivo requires the dsRNA-binding activity of both DHX30N and the NS1 RBD. We demonstrate why this is the case using bacteria-expressed proteins: the DHX30N-NS1 RBD interaction in vitro requires the presence of a dsRNA platform that binds both NS1 RBD and DHX30N. We propose that a similar dsRNA platform functions in interactions of the NS1 protein with other proteins that requires these same two amino-acid residues required for NS1 RBD dsRNA-binding activity.

Purpose Recent studies confirm the utility of speech-language intervention in primary progressive aphasia (PPA); however, long-term outcomes, ideal dosage parameters, and relative benefits of intervention across clinical variants warrant additional investigation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether naming treatment affords significant, lasting, and generalized improvement for individuals with semantic and logopenic PPA and whether dosage manipulations significantly affect treatment outcomes. Method Eighteen individuals with PPA (9 semantic and 9 logopenic variant) underwent lexical retrieval treatment designed to leverage spared cognitive–linguistic domains and develop self-cueing strategies to promote naming. One group ( n = 10) underwent once-weekly treatment sessions, and the other group ( n = 8) received the same treatment with 2 sessions per week and an additional “booster” treatment phase at 3 months post-treatment. Performance on trained and untrained targets/tasks was measured immediately after treatment and at 3, 6, and 12 months post-treatment. Results Outcomes from the full cohort of individuals with PPA showed significantly improved naming of trained items immediately post-treatment and at all follow-up assessments through 1 year. Generalized improvement on untrained items was significant up to 6 months post-treatment. The positive response to treatment was comparable regardless of session frequency or inclusion of a booster phase. Outcomes were comparable across PPA subtypes, as was maintenance of gains over the post-treatment period. Conclusion This study documents positive naming treatment outcomes for a group of individuals with PPA, demonstrating strong direct treatment effects, maintenance of gains up to 1 year post-treatment, and generalization to untrained items. Lexical retrieval treatment, in conjunction with daily home practice, had a strong positive effect that did not require more than 1 clinician-directed treatment session per week. Findings confirm that strategic training designed to capitalize on spared cognitive–linguistic abilities results in significant and lasting improvement, despite ongoing disease progression, in PPA.

Introduction Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive deterioration of speech and language. A growing body of research supports the utility of speech and language intervention in individuals with PPA, although access to these services remains limited. One potential means of increasing treatment accessibility is the delivery of treatment via telemedicine. Evidence supports the use of teletherapy in stroke-induced aphasia, but research examining the application of teletherapy in PPA is limited. In the current study, a non-randomized group comparison design was used to evaluate the feasibility and utility of treatment delivered via teletherapy relative to treatment administered in person for individuals with PPA. Methods Two treatment protocols were administered as part of a larger study investigating treatment for speech and language deficits in PPA. Participants with semantic (n=10) and logopenic (n=11) PPA received lexical retrieval treatment and individuals with nonfluent/agrammatic PPA (n=10) received video-implemented script training for aphasia designed to promote speech production and fluency. Treatment was administered via teletherapy for approximately half of the participants receiving each intervention. Treatment outcomes and performance on standardized tests were assessed at pre-treatment and post-treatment, as well as 3, 6, and 12 months post-treatment. Results Overall, both treatment approaches resulted in significant gains for primary outcome measures. Critically, comparison of in-person and teletherapy groups revealed comparable outcomes. Generalization to untrained targets and tasks and maintenance of treatment-induced gains were also comparable for traditional vs teletherapy participants. Conclusion Overall, treatment outcomes were largely equivalent for individuals receiving treatment via teletherapy vs traditional, in-person delivery. Results support the application of teletherapy for administering restitutive interventions to individuals with mild-to-moderate PPA. Potential implications for using teletherapy in the treatment of cognitive-linguistic and motoric impairments in other disorders and suggestions for administering treatment via telemedicine are discussed.

Shipping contributions to atmospheric particulate matter were estimated by an approach based on high temporal resolution measurements of mass and number size distribution, correlated with meteorological and ship movements data, in two Adriatic harbours. Trends of contributions are discussed. Contribution to particle number concentrations (PNC) was 3–4 times larger than that to PM2.5. In Venice, strategies for reduction of shipping emissions were effective in lowering the PM2.5 primary impact, while PNC contribution was significant in Brindisi. The maximum contribution was found to ultrafine particles (UFP), followed by a minimum at diameters between 1 and 1.5 µm and a growth in the coarse range.

Defining the role of intrinsic disorder in proteins in the myriad of biological processes with which it is involved represents a significant goal in modern biophysics. Toward this end, NMR is uniquely suited for molecular studies of dynamic and disordered regions, but studying these regions in concert with their more structured domains and binding partners presents spectroscopic challenges. Here, we investigate the interactions between the structured and disordered regions of the human glucocorticoid receptor (GR). To do this, we developed an NMR strategy that relies on a novel relaxation filter for the simultaneous study of structured and unstructured regions. Using this approach, we conducted a comparative analysis of three translational isoforms of GR containing a folded DNA-binding domain (DBD) and two disordered regions that flank the DBD, one of which varies in size in the different isoforms. Notably, we were able to assign resonances that had previously been inaccessible because of the spectral complexity of the translational isoforms, which in turn allowed us to 1) identify a region of the structured DBD that undergoes significant changes in the local chemical environment in the presence of the disordered region and 2) determine differences in the conformational ensembles of the disordered regions of the translational isoforms. Furthermore, an ensemble-based thermodynamic analysis of the isoforms reveals conserved patterns of stability within the N-terminal domain of GR that persist despite low sequence conservation. These studies provide an avenue for further investigations of the mechanistic underpinnings of the functional relevance of the translational isoforms of GR while also providing a general NMR strategy for studying systems containing both structured and disordered regions.

Gulf War veterans (GWVs) were exposed to neurotoxicants, including sarin nerve gas, anti-nerve agent pills, pesticides, oil well fires, and fumes from unvented tent heaters, all of which have been associated with subsequent adverse health. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms have also been associated with GW deployment; however, associations between exposures and PTSD symptoms have not been investigated. We assessed PTSD symptom trajectories and associations with neurotoxicant exposures in Ft. Devens Cohort (FDC) veterans (N = 259) who endorsed trauma exposure during deployment and completed the PTSD Checklist at three follow-ups (1992-1993, 1997-1998, 2013-2017). Results indicate that among veterans with more severe initial PTSD symptoms, symptoms remained significantly higher across follow-ups, Bs = -1.489-1.028, whereas among those with low initial PTSD symptoms, symptom severity increased significantly over time, Bs = 1.043-10.304. Additionally, neurotoxicant exposure was associated with a significant increase in PTSD symptoms, Bs = -1.870-9.003. Significant interactions between time and exposures were observed for PTSD symptom clusters, suggesting that among participants with high initial PTSD symptom, unexposed veterans experienced symptom alleviation, whereas exposed veterans' PTSD symptoms remained high. In GWVs with low initial PTSD symptoms, both unexposed and exposed veterans experienced PTSD symptom exacerbations over time; however, this occurred at a faster rate among exposed veterans. These findings suggest that in the years following deployment, GWVs who were exposed to both traumatic events and neurotoxicants may experience more severe and chronic PTSD symptoms than those without neurotoxicant exposures.

The use of baking ovens as a microbial kill step should be validated based on results of thermal inactivation models. Although traditional isothermal models may not be appropriate for these dynamic processes, they are being used by the food industry. Previous research indicates that the impact of additional process conditions, such as humidity, should be considered when validating thermal processes for the control of microbial hazards in low-moisture foods. In this study, the predictive performance of traditional and modified thermal inactivation kinetic models accounting for process humidity were assessed for predicting inactivation of Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 in a multi-ingredient composite food during baking. Ingredients (milk powder, protein powder, peanut butter, and whole wheat flour) were individually inoculated to achieve ∼6 log CFU/g, equilibrated to a water activity of 0.25, and then mixed to form a cookie dough. An isothermal inactivation study was conducted for the dough to obtain traditional D- and z-values (n = 63). In a separate experiment, cookies were baked under four dynamic heating conditions: 135°C, high humidity; 135°C, low humidity; 150°C, high humidity; and 150°C, low humidity. Process humidity measurements; time-temperature profiles for the product core, surface, and bulk air; and microbial survivor ratios were collected for the four conditions at six residence times (n = 144). The traditional isothermal model had a high root mean square error (RMSE) of 856.51 log CFU/g, significantly overpredicting bacterial inactivation during the process. The modified model accounting for the dynamic time-temperature profile and process humidity data was a better predictor with an RMSE of 0.55 log CFU/g. These results indicate the importance of accounting for additional process parameters in baking inactivation models and that model performance can be improved by utilizing model parameters obtained directly from industrial-scale experimental data. HIGHLIGHTS

POST-PRINT VERSION The sources impacting size-segregated aerosol were studied in Venice (Italy), in the framework of the ECOMOBILITY project (ECOlogical supporting for traffic Management in cOastal areas By using an InteLlIgenT sYstem, Interreg Italy-Croatia). The importance of this work lies in the fact that aerosol can have a different impact on human health, based on the particle size: nanoparticles could be potentially more dangerous with respect to coarse and fine particles; at the same time, they are poorly studied. The aim of this work is to perform an overview of the chemical composition of size-segregated aerosol, for carrying out a size-dependent source apportionment of aerosol in the urban area of Venice. Aerosol was collected with a MOUDI 110 cascade impactor. After the gravimetric analysis, filters were divided in three parts and each piece underwent a different analytical procedure, for the analysis of trace metals, carbonaceous and ionic species. Source apportionment was conducted using two different approaches: i) approximate formulae; ii) Positive Matrix Factorization. Sea spray aerosol was found mainly in the coarse fraction. The fine fraction was dominated by secondary inorganic aerosol and organic aerosol. Primary anthropogenic aerosol increased as particle dimension decreased. For the first time, the contribution of shipping emission was investigated using chemical tracers on different size ranges below 1 µm and reaching nanoparticles (

The increasing exposure to air pollutants associated with the world-wide process of urbanization is among the most important risk factors for human health. In this context, the development of green infrastructures has gained interest for providing new win-win solutions for improving air quality and urban climate. In the present work, we have characterized an innovative, engineered green infrastructure, the CityTree (CT), in a real urban setting. Abatement rate of priority pollutants (PMx, NOx, black carbon) by a CT unit was determined, during three intensive field campaigns in the city of Modena (Italy). The measurements of the air filtered through the CT (active mode) showed significant reductions in particulate matter concentration: 19–23% for PM10 aerosol mass, 15–20% for PM2.5, 11–13% for PM1, 38% for ultrafine particle number concentration and 17% for black carbon concentration. The measurements in passive mode (with ventilation off) enabled the estimation of the deposition velocities of aerosol particles and gases onto the device surface. The average deposition velocities for PM10 and NOx observed for the CT mosses fall in the range reported in the scientific literature for other types of green surfaces (e.g., grass lawns, hedges). A comparison of the pollutant removal efficiency between passive and active CT mode was performed. The aerosol removal efficiency of the CT resulted from ~3 to almost 20 times higher in filtration than in deposition mode, according to the selected aerosol parameter. These results indicate that moss bio-filters can be more effective in removing air pollutants than standard green infrastructures for in situ applications.

We develop a fully self-consistent subtracted second random-phase approximation for charge-exchange processes with Skyrme energy-density functionals. As a first application, we study Gamow-Teller excitations in the doubly magic nucleus $^{48}\mathrm{Ca}$, the lightest double-$\ensuremath{\beta}$ emitter that could be used in an experiment, and in $^{78}\mathrm{Ni}$, the single-beta-decay rate of which is known. The amount of Gamow-Teller strength below 20 or 30 MeV is considerably smaller than in other energy-density-functional calculations and agrees better with experiment in $^{48}\mathrm{Ca}$, as does the beta-decay rate in $^{78}\mathrm{Ni}$. These important results, obtained without ad hoc quenching factors, are due to the presence of two-particle--two-hole configurations. Their density progressively increases with excitation energy, leading to a long high-energy tail in the spectrum, a fact that may have implications for the computation of nuclear matrix elements for neutrinoless double-$\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay in the same framework.

Gulf War veterans (GWVs) were exposed to numerous neurotoxicants during deployment. Upon returning home, many reported a multitude of symptoms including fatigue, pain, gastrointestinal and respiratory issues, and neurological, cognitive, and mood complaints, collectively termed “Gulf War Illness (GWI).” Now, nearly 30 years post-war, many GWVs continue to suffer from these symptoms, in addition to health concerns associated with normal aging. While most research on GWVs has been cross-sectional, it is important to evaluate the progression and onset of new GWI symptoms longitudinally. The current study investigated the health of GWVs 25+ years after the war by resurveying the Ft. Devens Cohort and comparing their current health to their health reported 15 to 20 years earlier. The sample consists of 317 GWVs (~54 years old at the latest survey, 38 women) who responded to both surveys (1997-1998 and 2013-2017). Multivariable regression analyses were used to assess changes in GWI symptomatology and prevalence of medical conditions. The rates of 12 of 25 health symptoms increased significantly from the prior 1997-1998 survey. Anxiety, numbness in extremities, depressed mood, and joint pain had the greatest increase in endorsement. The rates of 7 of 16 medical conditions increased significantly from the prior 1997-1998 survey. High blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer had the greatest increase in prevalence. In summary, this study demonstrates that both symptoms and physician-diagnosed medical conditions associated with GW deployment/exposure increased in prevalence. For GWVs, focus by providers on the treatment of cognitive and mental health issues as well as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk factors is warranted. Targeting symptom alleviation would help improve the quality of life in these veterans until treatments addressing the entire illness become available.

The ELYO functional proposed in [M. Grasso, D. Lacroix, and C. J. Yang, Phys. Rev. C \textbf{95}, 054327 (2017)] belongs to the family of energy-density functionals (EDFs) inspired by effective-field theories (EFTs) and constrained by \textit{ab--initio} pseudo-data. We present here an extension of this EDF which also accounts for the first $p$-wave term appearing in the low-density expansion from which it derives. It is shown that this enrichment of the ansatz on which the functional is based leads to a significant improvement of the description of neutronic systems, especially in regimes besides the pseudo--data set employed to adjust the parameters. As an illustrative application, the mass-radius relation of neutron stars is considered. In contrast to its initial version, the new functional predicts values which are qualitatively consistent with recent observations., 10 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables

Introduction Substantial gaps in research remain across oldest‐old ethnic populations while the burden of dementia increases exponentially with age among Mexican and Mexican American older adults. Methods Prevalence and correlates of dementia among individuals ≥82 years of age were examined using two population‐based cohort studies: The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS, n = 1078, 2012) and the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (HEPESE, n = 735, 2012–2013). The analytic MHAS and HEPESE samples had an average age of 86.4 and 88.0 years, 1.2 and 1.8 women to men, and 2.7 and 5.1 average years of education, respectively. Results We identified 316 (29.2%) and 267 (36.3%) cases of likely dementia in the MHAS and HEPESE cohorts, respectively. For Mexicans but not Mexican Americans, age‐adjusted prevalence rates of likely dementia were higher in women than men. For both populations prevalence rates increased with age and decreased with education for Mexican Americans but not for Mexicans. In both populations, odds of likely dementia increased with age. Health insurance for the low‐income was significantly associated with higher odds of likely dementia for Mexican American men and women and Mexican women but not men. Living in extended households increased the odds of likely dementia in women, but not in men for both studies. Multiple cardiovascular conditions increased the odds of likely dementia for Mexicans but not for Mexican Americans. Discussion Our study provides evidence of the high burden of dementia among oldest‐old Mexicans and Mexican Americans and its association with health and social vulnerabilities.

We study low-energy dipole excitations in the unstable nucleus $^{68}$Ni with the beyond-mean-field (BMF) subtracted second random-phase-approximation (SSRPA) model based on Skyrme interactions. First, strength distributions are compared with available experimental data and transition densities of some selected peaks are analyzed. The so-called isospin splitting is also discussed by studying the isoscalar/isovector character of such excitations. We estimate then in an indirect way BMF effects on the symmetry energy of infinite matter and on its slope starting from the BMF SSRPA low-lying strength distribution. For this, several linear correlations are used, the first one being a correlation existing between the contribution (associated with the low-energy strength) to the total energy-weighted sum rule (EWSR) and the slope of the symmetry energy. BMF estimates for the slope of the symmetry energy can be extracted in this way. Correlations between such a slope and the neutron-skin thickness of $^{68}$Ni and correlations between the neutron-skin thickness of $^{68}$Ni and the electric dipole polarizability times the symmetry energy are then used to deduce BMF effects on the symmetry energy., Comment: 10 figures

Saharan dust (SD) is a relevant source of mineral particles (PM) for the Mediterranean region with potential impacts on air quality and climate. In this work, a long-term analysis of 56 SD events recorded between 2013 and 2018 at the Environmental-Climate Observatory of Lecce (SE Italy) was performed to investigate the effects and the seasonality of dust advection on PM2.5 and PM10, on carbon content, and on number and mass size distributions. The average duration of events was 2.6 days (10% of days) with a pronounced seasonality, 12.5% during warm seasons and 7.5% during cold seasons. The average contribution to PM10 was 1.5 μg/m3, between 1.4 μg/m3 (cold seasons) and 1.8 μg/m3 (warm seasons). Contribution to PM2.5 was significantly lower and not negligible during warm seasons (0.5 μg/m3). The impact of SD in south-eastern Italy is comparable with that in central Italy rather than to that observed in south-western Italy. Looking at PM10, 70 days exceeding legislation threshold were observed (4.8% of days), 22.9% of these exceedances were during SD. Extreme SD events (contributions > 100 μg/m3) cover 2% of the cases. Comparison of carbon content between SD and non-SD days shows that SD does not influence EC and eBC concentrations; however, SD contributes to secondary organic aerosol in the coarse fraction (PM10-2.5). Size distributions (in number and mass) measured during SD and non-SD days show that SD increases the particle number concentrations for diameters (Dp) larger than about 0.9–1 μm. Maximum increase was for Dp 2.5–3 μm.

Speech–language pathologists play a crucial role in the assessment and treatment of individuals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). The speech–language evaluation is a critical aspect of the diagnostic and rehabilitative process, informing differential diagnosis as well as intervention planning and monitoring of cognitive-linguistic status over time. The evaluation should include a thorough case history and interview and a detailed assessment of speech–language and cognitive functions, with tasks designed to detect core and associated deficits outlined in current diagnostic criteria. In this paper, we review assessments that can be utilized to examine communication and cognition in PPA, including general aphasia batteries designed for stroke and/or progressive aphasia as well as tests of specific cognitive-linguistic functions, including naming, object/person knowledge, single-word and sentence comprehension, repetition, spontaneous speech/language production, motor speech, written language, and nonlinguistic cognitive domains. The comprehensive evaluation can inform diagnostic decision making and facilitate planning of interventions that are tailored to the patient's current status and likely progression of deficits. As such, the speech–language evaluation allows the medical team to provide individuals with PPA and their families with appropriate recommendations for the present and the future.