MAD water: integrating modular, adaptive, and decentralized approaches for water security in the climate change era

Centralized water infrastructure has, over the last century, brought safe and reliable drinking water to much of the world. But climate change, combined with aging and underfunded infrastructure, is increasingly testing the limits of—and reversing gains made by—this approach. To address these growing strains and gaps, we must assess and advance alternatives to centralized water provision and sanitation. The water literature is rife with examples of systems that are neither centralized nor networked, yet meet water needs of local communities in important ways, including: informal and hybrid water systems, decentralized water provision, community-based water management, small drinking water systems, point-of-use treatment, small-scale water vendors, and packaged water. Our work builds on these literatures by proposing a convergence approach that can integrate and explore the benefits and challenges of modular, adaptive, and decentralized (“MAD”) water provision and sanitation, often foregrounding important advances in engineering technology. We further provide frameworks to evaluate justice, economic feasibility, governance, human health, and environmental sustainability as key parameters of MAD water system performance

Growth and Functionality of Cells Cultured on Conducting and Semi-Conducting Surfaces Modified with Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs)

Bioengineering of dermal and epidermal cells on surface modified substrates is an active area of research. The cytotoxicity, maintenance of cell phenotype and long-term functionality of human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells on conducting indium tin oxide (ITO) and semi-conducting, silicon (Si) and gallium arsenide (GaAs), surfaces modified with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) containing amino (–NH2) and methyl (–CH3) end groups have been investigated. Contact angle measurements and infrared spectroscopic studies show that the monolayers are conformal and preserve their functional end groups. Morphological analyses indicate that HDFs grow well on all substrates except GaAs, exhibiting their normal spindle-shaped morphology and exhibit no visible signs of stress or cytoplasmic vacuolation. Cell viability analyses indicate little cell death after one week in culture on all substrates except GaAs, where cells died within 6 h. Cells on all surfaces proliferate except on GaAs and GaAs-ODT. Cell growth is observed to be greater on SAM modified ITO and Si-substrates. Preservation of cellular phenotype assessed through type I collagen immunostaining and positive staining of HDF cells were observed on all modified surfaces except that on GaAs. These results suggest that conducting and semi-conducting SAM-modified surfaces support HDF growth and functionality and represent a promising area of bioengineering research

Data-Informed Communication: How Measurement-Based Care Can Optimize Child Psychotherapy

Measurement-based care (MBC) research and practice, including clinical workflows and systems to support MBC, are grounded in adult-serving mental health systems. MBC research evidence is building in child and adolescent services, but MBC practice is inherently more complex due to identified client age, the family system and the need to involve multiple reporters. This paper seeks to address a gap in the literature by providing practical guidance for youth-serving clinicians implementing MBC with children and their families. We focus on MBC as a data-informed, client-centered communication process, and present three key strategies to enhance usual care child and adolescent psychotherapy via developmentally-appropriate MBC. These strategies include (1) go beyond standardized measures; (2) lean into discrepancies; and (3) get curious together. Case-based examples drawn from various child-serving settings illustrate these key strategies of MBC in child psychotherapy

Measurement-based Care as a Practice Improvement Tool: Clinical and Organizational Applications in Youth Mental Health

Measurement-based care (MBC) is a systematic, ongoing assessment to monitor treatment progress and inform clinical decision-making. MBC is considered an evidence-based practice, with extensive research support in adult clinical populations and emerging evidence in youth populations. This paper describes both clinical (e.g., enhancing therapy alliance, informing case conceptualization) and organizational (e.g., informing quality improvement efforts) applications of MBC, and illustrates the clinical applications through two case examples from publicly funded mental health agency settings. The paper concludes by detailing future research needed to enhance the clinical and organizational utility of MBC

Preventing Postpartum Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Over the Internet: An Open-Trial Pilot Study

•Anxiety disorders are the most common postpartum psychiatric conditions.•In this open-trial pilot study, we evaluate a prevention program for postpartum anxiety.•Findings reveal the program is acceptable and feasible.•Participants experienced improvements in postpartum anxiety risk factors. Anxiety disorders are the most common postpartum psychiatric conditions, yet limited research exists on the prevention of postpartum anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Postpartum anxiety leads to significant problems in both mother and child, such as maternal depression, difficulty breastfeeding, interference with parent-infant bonding, and childhood anxiety. In the current study, we tested the feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy of an Internet-delivered postpartum anxiety and OCD prevention program, “Preventing Postpartum Onset Distress” (P-POD), in a sample of 15 pregnant women in their third trimester. Geared toward at-risk pregnant people, P-POD includes seven 30-minute educational, interactive modules that teach skills derived from cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety and OCD. P-POD also includes three additional modules for partners, with strategies for supporting their partners. Findings suggest that P-POD is acceptable and feasible. Participants experienced reductions in postpartum anxiety risk factors. However, this was a small, open-trial pilot study with a relatively homogeneous sample. Future research should compare P-POD to an active control condition, use more diverse samples, include qualitative interviews, and assess symptoms postpartum