SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring in rural and small metropolitan communities in Central Michigan.

Central Michigan University (CMU) participated in a state-wide SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring program throughout the 2021-2022 academic year. Wastewater samples were collected weekly from ten on-campus sites and nine off-campus wastewater treatment plants servicing small metropolitan and rural communities. SARS-CoV-2 genome copies were quantified using droplet digital PCR. Case data reported by Central Michigan District Health Department and CMU were collected and compared with wastewater data. During the delta wave, wastewater detection and on-campus case reports increased rapidly with the start of the academic semester and peaked quickly, compared with a more gradual and prolonged increase in detection and case reports off-campus. During the omicron wave, transmission dynamics were similar on-campus and off-campus. Normalization of on-campus and off-campus wastewater data with pepper mild mottle virus gene expression suggested lower SARS-CoV-2 shedding per person in on-campus compared to off-campus samples during the delta wave, but no difference in virus shedding during the omicron wave. We discuss the possibility that a higher on-campus vaccination rate may have reduced virus shedding per person during the delta wave, but that this effect was lost with the omicron variant. This study suggests that wastewater monitoring is effective in rural and small metropolitan communities when used in conjunction with case reports to understand regional transmission dynamics and the impact of public health policies at a public university on virus shedding in the community.

From Grieving to Giving: When Former Bereavement Campers Return as Volunteers.

This study examines the lived experiences of bereavement camp participants who return to camp as volunteer counselors. Participants in the study were eight bereavement camp counselors who once attended camp as bereaved participants. Using a qualitative case study design, the participants were interviewed by the researchers, and data collected from these interviews were analyzed using the constant comparison method. The findings revealed a variety of personal meaning-making themes and subcategories described by the study participants. These themes were compared between the bereavement camp camper experience and the returning bereavement camp volunteer experience. This analysis uncovered a personal growth development that facilitated a continuing progression for participants through their individual grief and growth process. Implications for the further development and staffing of bereavement camps using returning campers as volunteers and the enhanced therapeutic value these returning volunteers can provide to bereavement camps due to their own experience are discussed.

Probing the effect of polymer molecular weight on penetration into the wood cell wall using polyethylenimine (PEI) as a model compound.

Decking is one of the largest applications for the treated wood market. The most challenging property to obtain for treated wood is dimensional stability, which can be achieved, in part, by cell wall bulking, cell wall polymer crosslinking and removal of hygroscopic components in the cell wall. A commonly accepted key requirement is for the actives to infuse through the cell wall, which has a microporosity of ∼5-13 nm. Equally as challenging is being able to measure and quantify the cell wall penetration. Branched polyethylenimine (PEI) was studied as a model polymer for penetration due to its water solubility, polarity, variable molecular weight ranges, and ability to form a chelation complex with preservative metals to treat lumbers. Two different molecular weight polyethylenimines (PEI), one with a weight average molecular weight (Mw) equal to 800 Da and the other 750 000 Da, were investigated for penetration by microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. Analytical methods were developed to both create smooth interfaces and for relative quantitation and visualisation of PEI penetration into the wood. The results showed both PEI with Mw of 800 Da and PEI with Mw of 750 000 Da coated the lumens in high density. However, only the PEI with Mw of 800 appeared to penetrate the cell walls in sufficient levels. Literature has shown the hydrodynamic radii of PEI 750 000 is near 29 nm, whereas a smaller PEI at 25 K showed 4.5 nm. Most importantly the results, based on methods developed, show how molecular weight and tertiary structure of the polymer can affect its penetration, with the microporosity of the wood being the main barrier.

Benefits transfer and the aquatic environment: An investigation into the context of fish passage improvement.

We present findings from a choice experiment investigating improvements in the aquatic environment from mitigation of barriers to fish passage. Implemented at a local and national level, results reveal positive preferences for increased numbers of fish species as well as fish abundance. In addition, we examine if in this case the willingness to pay estimates are suitable for direct transfer between national and local settings. For both samples, we consider the extent to which stated attribute non-attendance impacts estimates of willingness to pay and the potential ability of researchers to transfer values between contexts. Implications of the use of benefit transfer within this policy context are discussed in light of our findings.

The Impact of Death Education on Fear of Death and Death Anxiety Among Human Services Students.

Human services professionals will undoubtedly work with the dying and bereaved populations at one time or other. Yet, they are poorly prepared to do so since death education, that is, lessons about the human and emotional aspects of death, its implications, and subsequent bereavement issues, is often not part of their curriculum. This nonequivalent comparison group study (N = 86) examined death fear and death anxiety among human services students before and after receiving death education using the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale. The results showed a statistically significant decrease in death anxiety among the group of students who participated in death education compared to those who did not.

Child maltreatment histories among female inmates reporting inmate on inmate sexual victimization in prison: the mediating role of emotion dysregulation.

Despite data indicating that child maltreatment (CM) in various forms is associated with adult sexual victimization among community women, few studies have explicitly explored how types of CM might relate to prison sexual victimization. Because little is known about how CM might give rise to prison sexual victimization, the present study also examined emotion dysregulation emanating from early abuse experiences as a potential mediator in the link between early CM and inmate-on-inmate prison sexual victimization. Approximately 168 incarcerated women completed self-report inventories assessing various types of childhood maltreatment, emotion dysregulation, and coerced or forced sexual experiences in prison. Nearly 77% of the sample endorsed experiencing at least one form of CM, with 64% of inmates reporting that they experienced two or more forms of CM. Approximately 9% of inmates reported sexual coercion and 22% reported a forced sexual experience in prison. Each form of CM was associated with prison sexual coercion; however, fewer associations emerged between CM and forced prison sexual experiences. Emotion dysregulation was found to mediate links between CM, particularly co-occurring CM, and sexual coercion in prison, but it was unrelated to forced prison sexual experiences. Implications are discussed.

Species identification in cell culture: a two-pronged molecular approach.

Species identification of cell lines and detection of cross-contamination are crucial for scientific research accuracy and reproducibility. Whereas short tandem repeat profiling offers a solution for a limited number of species, primarily human and mouse, the standard method for species identification of cell lines is enzyme polymorphism. Isoezymology, however, has its own drawbacks; it is cumbersome and the data interpretation is often difficult. Furthermore, the detection sensitivity for cross-contamination is low; it requires large amounts of the contaminant present and cross-contamination within closely related species may go undetected. In this paper, we describe a two-pronged molecular approach that addresses these issues by targeting the mitochondrial genome. First, we developed a multiplex PCR-based assay to rapidly identify the most common cell culture species and quickly detect cross-contaminations among these species. Second, for speciation and identification of a wider variety of cell lines, we amplified and sequenced a 648-bp region, often described as the "barcode region" by using a universal primer mix targeted at conserved sequences of the cytochrome C oxidase I gene (COI). This method was challenged with a panel of 67 cell lines from 45 diverse species. Implementation of these assays will accurately determine the species of cell lines and will reduce the problems of misidentification and cross-contamination that plague research efforts.

Static and dynamic novelty detection methods for jet engine health monitoring.

Novelty detection requires models of normality to be learnt from training data known to be normal. The first model considered in this paper is a static model trained to detect novel events associated with changes in the vibration spectra recorded from a jet engine. We describe how the distribution of energy across the harmonics of a rotating shaft can be learnt by a support vector machine model of normality. The second model is a dynamic model partially learnt from data using an expectation-maximization-based method. This model uses a Kalman filter to fuse performance data in order to characterize normal engine behaviour. Deviations from normal operation are detected using the normalized innovations squared from the Kalman filter.

Rearrest and linkage to mental health services among clients of the Clark County mental health court program.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined rearrest and linkage to mental health services among 368 misdemeanants with severe and persistent mental illness who were served by the Clark County Mental Health Court (MHC). This court, established in April 2000, is based on the concepts of therapeutic jurisprudence. This study addressed the following questions about the effectiveness of the Clark County MHC: Did MHC clients receive more comprehensive mental health services? Did the MHC successfully reduce recidivism? Were there any client or program characteristics associated with recidivism? METHODS: A secondary analysis of use of mental health services and jail data for the MHC clients enrolled from April 2000 through April 2003 was conducted. The authors used a 12-month pre-post comparison design to determine whether MHC participants experienced reduced rearrest rates for new offenses, reduced probation violations, and increased mental health services 12 months postenrollment in the MHC compared with 12 months preenrollment. RESULTS: The overall crime rate for MHC participants was reduced 4.0 times one year postenrollment in the MHC compared with one year preenrollment. One year postenrollment, 54 percent of participants had no arrests, and probation violations were reduced by 62 percent. The most significant factor in determining the success of MHC participants was graduation status from the MHC, with graduates 3.7 times less likely to reoffend compared with nongraduates. CONCLUSIONS: The Clark County MHC successfully reduced rearrest rates for new criminal offenses and probation violations and provided the mental health support services to stabilize mental health consumers in the community.

Lessons learned in preparing to receive large numbers of contaminated individuals.

Traditionally, medical radiation emergency plans have provided for the receipt and care of a limited number of individuals, usually no more than two or three at any given time. Large numbers of contaminated, uninjured individuals cannot be effectively handled in the emergency departments (EDs) of hospitals as they present a risk of forcing the ED to close because of contamination and they divert ED personnel away from patients needing medical attention. Alternative locations and plans for handling large numbers of contaminated but otherwise uninjured patients must be considered. Such plans developed at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center (HMC) during the 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant (TMI) were resurrected post 9/11 and used there in developing and upgrading plans and capabilities for handling large numbers of contaminated, uninjured individuals.

Obesity-related differential gene expression in the visceral adipose tissue.

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the expression patterns in human adipose tissue, and identifies genes that may be involved in the abnormal energy homeostasis. METHODS: Subjects were prospectively recruited from morbidly obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery and from non-obese organ donors. Extensive clinical data and visceral fat specimens were obtained from each subject at the time of surgery. A group of 50 obese patients and 9 non-obese controls were selected for further study. Two custom two-color cDNA microarrays were produced with 40,173 human individual cDNA clones. Microarray experiments were performed for each sample, and a selected group of gene expression values were confirmed with real-time RT-PCR. RESULTS: A comparison of gene expression profiles from obese and non-obese patients identified 1,208 genes with statistically significant differential expression between the 2 groups. Most prominent among these genes are multiple glycolysis enzyme encoding genes; others are involved in oxysterol biosynthesis and signaling, or are ATP-binding transporters and solute carriers. CONCLUSION: Differential gene expression in the adipose tissue of morbidly obese patients includes genes related to lipid and glucose metabolism, membrane transport, and genes promoting the cell cycle. These findings are a first step toward clarifying the molecular pathogenesis of obesity and identifying potential targets for therapeutic intervention.

Recent experiences with shielding a PET/CT facility.

Since the photon energy of positron emitting radionuclides is significantly higher than the maximum kVp of diagnostic x rays, designing a shielding plan for a PET/CT imaging facility requires careful consideration of future workloads and potential occupancy of surrounding spaces. The shielding calculations can be done by hand or with the aid of available software. In calculating the shielding, specific considerations arise. Some of these are presented as a checklist of things to consider when preparing to calculate the shielding required for a PET/CT facility.

Potential dose to nuclear medicine technologists from 99mTc-DTPA aerosol lung studies.

Air sampling performed during 190 Tc-labeled DTPA aerosol lung ventilation studies indicated that the maximum airborne concentration to which the nuclear medicine technologists might be exposed was 7.1 x 10(-1) Bq mL(-1) (1.9 x 10(-5) microCi mL(-1)). If a single technologist performed ALL the aerosol studies, at this maximum airborne concentration, based on the Annual Limit on Intake (ALI), the resulting dose equivalents could be either 1 mSv (100 mrem) to the lungs or 0.1 mSv (10 mrem) to the total body. However, the procedures are shared by the technical staff, the times of exposure are represented by only a fraction of the overall procedure time, and the average airborne concentrations were found to be more than an order of magnitude lower than the maximum. This resulted in a projected average annual dose equivalent of 7.0 x 10(-3) mSv (0.7 mrem) to the lungs or 7.0 x 10(-4) mSv (0.07 mrem) to the whole body from the performance of these procedures.

Potential Dose to Nuclear Medicine Technologists from 99mTc-DTPA Aerosol Lung Studies.

Air sampling performed during 190 Tc-labeled DTPA aerosol lung ventilation studies indicated that the maximum airborne concentration to which the nuclear medicine technologists might be exposed was 7.1 × 10 Bq mL (1.9 × 10 µCi mL). If a single technologist performed ALL the aerosol studies, at this maximum airborne concentration, based on the Annual Limit on Intake (ALI), the resulting dose equivalents could be either 1 mSv (100 mrem) to the lungs or 0.1 mSv (10 mrem) to the total body. However, the procedures are shared by the technical staff, the times of exposure are represented by only a fraction of the overall procedure time, and the average airborne concentrations were found to be more than an order of magnitude lower than the maximum. This resulted in a projected average annual dose equivalent of 7.0 × 10 mSv (0.7 mrem) to the lungs or 7.0 × 10 mSv (0.07 mrem) to the whole body from the performance of these procedures.

A practical and scaleable synthesis of A-224817.0, a novel nonsteroidal ligand for the glucocorticoid receptor.

A practical and scaleable synthesis of a novel nonsteroidal ligand for the glucocorticoid receptor A-224817.0 1A is described. The synthesis proceeds in seven steps starting from 1,3-dimethoxybenzene. The biaryl intermediate 5 was prepared by an optimized high-yielding and high-throughput Negishi protocol. The quinoline core 8 was constructed by using a modified Skraup reaction. The final product was obtained by a direct allylation reaction of lactol 10 with allyltrimethylsilane. The process was accomplished efficiently to produce 1A in 25% overall yield and >99% purity with simple and practical isolation and purification procedures.

Asymmetric synthesis of A-240610.0 via a new atropselective approach for axially chiral biaryls with chirality transfer.

A new approach for atropselective preparation of axially chiral biaryl was developed. This process proceeded through a chirality transfer from a stereogenic center of a secondary alcohol to the stereogenic axis via regioselective intramolecular silyl group migration. This methodology allowed for the preparation of a single atropisomer 2 in good yield (85%) with high diastereoselectivity (99:1), which subsequently led to the successful development of an efficient asymmetric synthesis of A-240610.0, 1.