Long-term wastewater-based surveillance and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on drug use trends in a U.S. Northeast rural town.

Herein we discuss the findings of a two-year wastewater-based drug use surveillance from September 2018 to August 2020 and present objective evidence on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on drug use in a rural community. 24-h composite wastewater samples were collected twice each month from a university town in Northeastern United States and were analyzed for ten priority opioids and stimulants: morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, methadone, fentanyl cocaine, methamphetamine, amphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine (MDEA). All target drugs were detected at 100 % frequency in wastewater samples. On a mass basis, the average estimated per capita drug consumption were highest for cocaine, morphine, and amphetamine, and lowest for MDMA, MDEA, and hydrocodone. Furthermore, the estimated per capita consumption of fentanyl was higher than previous reports from rural and university settings in the U.S. Generally, drug consumption was higher during the spring semesters, with year-on-year semester increases also noted over the 2-y study period. Except for methadone and cocaine, the estimated average per capita consumption of drugs increased over the pandemic period, with the highest increase noted for MDMA (286 % increase compared to baseline, p = 0.016). Estimated average consumption of methadone and cocaine decreased slightly by 6 % and 7 %, respectively. These results demonstrate the utility and strength of wastewater-based approaches in capturing long-term and evolving trends in drug use within communities. Our study findings reflect the regionwide problem with opioid-related overdoses and increasing stimulant prescription rates. Our findings also provide objective data and insights for health policymakers on the effects of the pandemic period on community drug use in a rural U.S. town.

Pandemic wave trends in COVID-19 cases, mobility reduction, and climate parameters in major metropolitan areas in the United States

In this paper, we analyzed the association among trends in COVID-19 cases, climate, air quality, and mobility changes during the first and second waves of the pandemic in five major metropolitan counties in the United States: Maricopa in Arizona, Cook in Illinois, Los Angeles in California, Suffolk in Massachusetts, and New York County in New York. These areas represent a range of climate conditions, geographies, economies, and state-mandated social distancing restrictions. In the first wave of the pandemic, cases were correlated with humidity in Maricopa, and temperature in Maricopa and Los Angeles. In Suffolk and New York, cases were correlated with mobility changes in recreation, grocery, parks, and transit stations. Neither cases nor death counts were strongly correlated with air quality. Periodic fluctuations in mobility were observed for residential areas during weekends, resulting in stronger correlation coefficients when only weekday datasets were included in the analysis. We also analyzed case-mobility correlations when mobility days were lagged, and found that the strongest correlation in the first wave occurred between 12 and 14 lag days (optimal at 13 days). There was stronger but greater variability in correlation coefficients across metropolitan areas in the first pandemic wave than in the second wave, notably in recreation areas and parks. In the second wave, there was less variability in correlations over lagged time and geographic locations. Overall, we did not find conclusive evidence to support associations between lower cases and climate in all areas. Furthermore, the differences in cases-mobility correlation trends during the two pandemic waves are indicative of the effects of travel restrictions in the early phase of the pandemic and gradual return to travel routines in the later phase. This study highlights the utility of mobility data in understanding the dynamics of disease transmission. It also emphasizes the criticality of timeline and local context in interpreting transmission trends. Mobility data can capture community response to local travel restrictions at different phases of their implementation and provide insights on how these responses evolve over time alongside disease trends.

Rice husk ash and Zr-MOF nanoparticles improve the properties and ultrafiltration performance of PVDF nanomembranes

Herein we demonstrate the effects of rice husk ash (RHA) and two Zr-metal organic frameworks (MOFs;OPA-UiO-66 and OPA-UiO-66-SO3H) nanoparticles on the properties and performance of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite membranes. The nanoparticles and PVDF dope were pre-blended and fabricated as thin-film nanomembranes via soft lithography. The new membranes had uniform pore structures and demonstrated high permeability and durability. Improved tensile strength was associated with increased β crystalline formation of the PVDF, with the greatest increase observed for PVDF/RHA due to the high silica content of the RHA. RHA increased membrane hydrophilicity whereas the MOFs increased hydrophobicity. In ultrafiltration, the new membranes exhibited superior performance compared to conventional PVDF composite membranes made with titanium oxide and nanoclay. High rejection rates and significantly improved antifouling properties were achieved in both PVDF/RHA and PVDF/MOF membranes for high concentration aqueous solutions of sulfamethoxazole, bovine serum albumin, and SARS-CoV-2. This improved performance was attributed to multiple functional groups in RHA and MOFs that promote various surface interactions between contaminants and PVDF membranes. The new high-performance nanomembranes have potential applications in separation and purification processes, biosensing, and in personal protective equipment.

Low-cost nanofabrication of isoporous nanomembranes using hybrid lithography

This work demonstrates an improved route to develop low-cost and robust isoporous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanomembranes for industrial separation and purifications processes. The 4-step process excels at making uniform 100 nm and 20 nm pore membranes that exhibit high flux in both dead-end and cross-flow filtration. Our tests demonstrate that 90–100% rejection rates could be achieved in these membranes for perfluorooctanoic acid, sulfamethoxazole, bovine serum albumin, and SARS-COV-2 in high-concentration aqueous solutions. The membranes are nominally 50 μm thick and retain structural integrity, exhibiting high tensile strengths of 8.56 MPa and 8.31 MPa, respectively, due to improved routes to β crystalline formations of the PVDF. Our useful fabrication procedure is compatible with developed technologies that can quickly expand the opportunities of isoporous PVDF for processing of advanced materials and devices.

Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 on College Campuses: Initial Efforts, Lessons Learned, and Research Needs.

Wastewater surveillance for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging approach to help identify the risk of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. This tool can contribute to public health surveillance at both community (wastewater treatment system) and institutional (e.g., colleges, prisons, and nursing homes) scales. This paper explores the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from initial wastewater surveillance efforts at colleges and university systems to inform future research, development and implementation. We present the experiences of 25 college and university systems in the United States that monitored campus wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 during the fall 2020 academic period. We describe the broad range of approaches, findings, resources, and impacts from these initial efforts. These institutions range in size, social and political geographies, and include both public and private institutions. Our analysis suggests that wastewater monitoring at colleges requires consideration of local information needs, sewage infrastructure, resources for sampling and analysis, college and community dynamics, approaches to interpretation and communication of results, and follow-up actions. Most colleges reported that a learning process of experimentation, evaluation, and adaptation was key to progress. This process requires ongoing collaboration among diverse stakeholders including decision-makers, researchers, faculty, facilities staff, students, and community members.