Objective: Diet may reduce Alzheimer’s dementia risk and slow cognitive decline, but the understanding of the relevant neuropathologic mechanisms remains limited. The association of dietary patterns with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology has been suggested using neuroimaging biomarkers. This study examined the association of MIND and Mediterranean dietary patterns with beta-amyloid load, phosphorylated tau tangles, and global AD pathology in postmortem brain tissue of older adults. Methods: Autopsied participants of the Rush Memory and Aging Project) with complete dietary information (collected through a validated food frequency questionnaire) and AD pathology data (beta-amyloid load, phosphorylated tau tangles, and global AD pathology [summarized neurofibrillary tangles, neuritic and diffuse plaques]) were included in this study. Linear regression models controlled for age at death, sex, education, APO-ε4 status, and total calories were used to investigate the dietary patterns (MIND and Mediterranean diet) and dietary components associated with AD pathology. Further effect modification was tested for APO-ε4 status and sex. Results: Among our study participants (N=581, age at death: 91.0 ± 6.3 years; mean age at first dietary assessment: 84.2 ±5.8; 73% female; 6.8 ± 3.9 years of follow-up) dietary patterns were associated with lower global AD pathology (MIND: β= -0.022, p=0.034, standardized β=-2.0; Mediterranean: β=-0.007, p=0.039, standardized β=-2.3) and specifically less beta-amyloid load (MIND: β=-0.068, p=0.050, standardized β=-2.0; Mediterranean: β=-0.040, p=0.004, standardized β=-2.9). The findings persisted when further adjusted for physical activity, smoking, and vascular disease burden. The associations were also retained when participants with mild cognitive impairment or dementia at the baseline dietary assessment were excluded. Those in the highest tertile of green leafy vegetables intake had less global AD pathology when compared to those in the lowest tertile (Tertile-3 vs. Tertile-1: β= -0.115, p=0.0038). Conclusion: The MIND and Mediterranean diets are associated with less postmortem AD pathology, primarily beta-amyloid load. Among dietary components, green leafy vegetables inversely correlate with AD pathology.

In May 2021, the M/V X-Press Pearl cargo ship caught fire 18 km off the west coast of Sri Lanka and spilled ∼1680 tons of spherical pieces of plastic or “nurdles” (∼5 mm; white in color). Nurdles are the preproduction plastic used to manufacture a wide range of end products. Exposure to combustion, heat, and chemicals led to agglomeration, fragmentation, charring, and chemical modification of the plastic, creating an unprecedented complex spill of visibly burnt plastic and unburnt nurdles. These pieces span a continuum of colors, shapes, sizes, and densities with high variability that could impact cleanup efforts, alter transport in the ocean, and potentially affect wildlife. Visibly burnt plastic was 3-fold more chemically complex than visibly unburnt nurdles. This added chemical complexity included combustion-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. A portion of the burnt material contained petroleum-derived biomarkers, indicating that it encountered some fossil-fuel products during the spill. The findings of this research highlight the added complexity caused by the fire and subsequent burning of plastic for cleanup operations, monitoring, and damage assessment and provides recommendations to further understand and combat the impacts of this and future spills.