Discerning Fact From Fiction: An Assessment of Coronavirus-19 Misinformation Among Patients in Rural Michigan.

Coronavirus-19 misinformation poses a unique challenge for public health communication efforts. In rural communities, COVID-19 misinformation is not well studied. We investigate patients' ability to discriminate COVID-19 fact from fiction from their news sources, as well as general COVID-19 knowledge, perceptions, public health practices, and their primary news sources in 258 adult patients at a primary health clinic in rural Michigan. Most of the population surveyed was able to correctly differentiate reliable COVID-19 public health information from fabricated information. However, only 55.4% of participants reported that they would be somewhat or extremely likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The most reported news source was mainstream broadcast television channels such as CBS and ABC. Our data support those older participants are better informed and more likely to practice safe public health practices than younger participants. Based on our data, we offer strategies for public health campaigns in rural communities, such as targeted interventions towards younger people and utilizing local television stations and community institutions to disseminate public health communications and health promotions. Public health interventions beyond education should be considered to mitigate the gap between COVID-19 knowledge and prevention behaviors. Future studies should investigate the role of health care providers in COVID-19 communication with patients, understanding hesitations toward COVID-19 vaccination, and communication strategies to best increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake in rural communities.

Filter-based assay for Escherichia coli in aqueous samples using bacteriophage-based amplification.

This paper describes a method to detect the presence of bacteria in aqueous samples, based on the capture of bacteria on a syringe filter, and the infection of targeted bacterial species with a bacteriophage (phage). The use of phage as a reagent provides two opportunities for signal amplification: (i) the replication of phage inside a live bacterial host and (ii) the delivery and expression of the complementing gene that turns on enzymatic activity and produces a colored or fluorescent product. Here we demonstrate a phage-based amplification scheme with an M13KE phage that delivers a small peptide motif to an F(+), α-complementing strain of Escherichia coli K12, which expresses the ω-domain of ß-galactosidase (ß-gal). The result of this complementation-an active form of ß-gal-was detected colorimetrically, and the high level of expression of the ω-domain of ß-gal in the model K12 strains allowed us to detect, on average, five colony-forming units (CFUs) of this strain in 1 L of water with an overnight culture-based assay. We also detected 50 CFUs of the model K12 strain in 1 L of water (or 10 mL of orange juice, or 10 mL of skim milk) in less than 4 h with a solution-based assay with visual readout. The solution-based assay does not require specialized equipment or access to a laboratory, and is more rapid than existing tests that are suitable for use at the point of access. This method could potentially be extended to detect many different bacteria with bacteriophages that deliver genes encoding a full-length enzyme that is not natively expressed in the target bacteria.

Design of multi-drug release coatings targeting infection and inflammation.

Although infection and inflammation commonly coexist, there is a paucity of appropriate methods for concurrent localized delivery of antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) at appropriate concentrations and timescales. The commonly used therapeutic approach of systemic delivery of antibiotics and NSAIDs is associated with many complications, including rises in antibiotic resistant bacteria and severe gastrointestinal problems. As a potential solution, in this work we have assembled polymer multilayers to concurrently release therapeutic concentrations of an antibiotic, vancomycin, and an NSAID, diclofenac. Prior to film assembly, interactions between film components were thoroughly examined. Taking advantage of novel interactions found to exist between film components, several optimal film architectures were engineered using both dip and spray layer-by-layer assembly. A wide range of drug release profiles were obtained, with vancomycin delivery lasting from 4 hours to 2.3 days at final loadings of 13 to 30 µg/cm(2), while diclofenac released over 1.7 to 14 days at final loadings of 10 to 36 µg/cm(2). These drug release profiles have the potential to address a range of infection and inflammation requirements, from short term infection and inflammation eradication for trauma relief to infection prevention and long term inflammation mitigation from biomedical implants. Film-released vancomycin and diclofenac were found to be highly active against their respective targets in vitro, Staphylococcus aureus and cyclooxygenase. These films were also successfully applied to several medically relevant substrates, including intraocular lenses, bandages, and sutures, demonstrating potential for use as medical device coatings.

Dual functional polyelectrolyte multilayer coatings for implants: permanent microbicidal base with controlled release of therapeutic agents.

Here we present a new bifunctional layer-by-layer (LbL) construct made by combining a permanent microbicidal polyelectrolyte multilayered (PEM) base film with a hydrolytically degradable PEM top film that offers controlled and localized delivery of therapeutics. Two degradable film architectures are presented: (1) bolus release of an antibiotic (gentamicin) to eradicate initial infection at the implant site, or (2) sustained delivery of an anti-inflammatory drug (diclofenac) to cope with inflammation at the site of implantation due to tissue injury. Each degradable film was built on top of a permanent base film that imparts the implantable device surface with microbicidal functionality that prevents the formation of biofilms. Controlled-delivery of gentamicin was demonstrated over hours and that of diclofenac over days. Both drugs retained their efficacy upon release. The permanent microbicidal base film was biocompatible with A549 epithelial cancer cells and MC3T3-E1 osteoprogenitor cells, while also preventing bacteria attachment from turbid media for the entire duration of the two weeks studied. The microbicidal base film retains its functionality after the biodegradable films have completely degraded. The versatility of these PEM films and their ability to prevent biofilm formation make them attractive as coatings for implantable devices.

Errorless practice as a possible adjuvant to donepezil in Alzheimer's disease.

Six individuals with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) participated in a phase 1 study employing a repeated measures, parallel baseline design testing the hypothesis that error-free experience during word production practice combined with an acetyl cholinesterase inhibitor would improve confrontation naming ability. While acetyl cholinesterase inhibitors are safe and delay cognition decline associated with AD, improvement over baseline cognition is less evident; clinically significant cognitive deficits persist and progress. Both animal and clinical research strongly implicate acetylcholine in learning, a form of neuroplasticity. In clinical practice, however, people with AD are given cholinergic medications without concomitant systematic/targeted retraining. In this study six participants with probable AD and taking donepezil participated in targeted word production practice using an errorless learning strategy. Results showed that combining behavioral enrichment training and an acetyl cholinesterase inhibitor resulted in significant improvements in verbal confrontation naming of trained items for three of six participants. Differences in baseline dementia severity, living conditions, and medications may have influenced the training response. Detection of substantial treatment effects in 50% of subjects suggests further language treatment studies in AD in combination with an acetyl cholinesterase inhibitor are warranted and provide useful information on inclusion/exclusion criteria for use in subsequent studies.

Treatment of word-finding deficits in fluent aphasia through the manipulation of spatial attention: Preliminary findings.

BACKGROUND: Attention, the processing of one source of information to the exclusion of others, is important for most cognitive processes, including language. Evidence suggests not only that dysfunctional attention mechanisms contribute to language deficits after stroke, but also that orienting attention to a patient's ipsilesional hemispace recruits attention mechanisms in the intact hemisphere and improves language functions in some persons with aphasia. AIMS: The aim of the current research was to offer proof of concept for the strategy of improving picture-naming performance in fluent aphasia by moving stimuli into the left hemispace. It was hypothesised that repeated orientation of attention to the ipsilesional hemispace during picture naming would lead to improved naming accuracy for participants with fluent aphasia. METHODS #ENTITYSTARTX00026; PROCEDURES: Three participants with stable fluent aphasia received daily treatment sessions that consisted of naming simple line drawings presented 45 degrees to the left of body midline on a computer monitor. Naming probes were administered before initiation of the treatment protocol to establish a baseline, and before each treatment session to measure change during treatment. The C statistic was used to establish the stability of baseline performance and to determine whether the slope of the treatment phases differed significantly from the slope of the baseline. OUTCOMES #ENTITYSTARTX00026; RESULTS: Two of the three participants showed significant improvement over baseline performance in the percent correct of naming probes. One participant showed no improvement over baseline accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that engaging right-hemisphere attention mechanisms may improve naming accuracy in some people with fluent aphasia. Findings justify further investigation of this treatment in a larger controlled study.

Treatability of different components of aphasia - insights from a case study.

In this phase I clinical rehabilitation study, we investigated the effects of phonological rehabilitation for alexia and aphasia in an individual 54 years after a left-hemisphere ischemic infarction. In the context of a single-subject design, we studied whether treatment would improve phonological processing, reading, and generalization to untreated behaviors. While results showed a lack of generalization to real-word reading aloud, improvement was present in phonological processing, language function (Western Aphasia Battery Aphasia Quotient, Boston Naming Test, Reading Comprehension Battery for Aphasia), and auditory processing (Revised Token Test). Improvement in the lexical-semantic system was attributed to informal forced-use language treatment. We concluded that phonological therapies are unlikely to be successful unless a minimum initial level of phonological sequence knowledge exists; therapies that pressure subjects to use verbal communication can achieve clinically important gains in communicative ability that generalize to untreated behaviors. This study also demonstrates the importance of a careful analysis of the patient's language ability before a therapeutic strategy is chosen.