No. 02 November, 2022

Paulding County Juvenile Court has successfully utilized behavioral health screening for youths referred to the court. Nearly 60% of youths had high levels of externalizing problems such as hyperactivity, impulsivity, attention deficits and conduct problems. Almost half had high levels of internalizing problems related to depression, anxiety, and/or traumatic stress. Less than 5% had high levels of criminal/violent behavior or substance abuse

Impact of Emotional Distress on Prescription Opioid Abuse in a Rural Juvenile Drug Court Sample

Background: Ohio is at the epicenter of the opioid epidemic, and the current crisis disproportionately burdens rural areas. The Self-Medication Hypothesis and work examining adverse childhood experiences posit that drug use may be understood as a coping strategy to address emotional distress.Methods: Juvenile drug court participants in a Northwest Ohio county were administered a standardized biopsychosocial assessment. Intake interviews from January 2010 and November 2018 were used to evaluate the relationship between emotional distress reported using the Emotional Problem Scale (EPS) and lifetime nonmedical use of prescription opioids. Linear regression was used to examine temporal trends in EPS scores. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between EPS scores and prescription opioid misuse, controlling for temporal trends.Results: Linear regression showed a significant increase in emotional distress over the study period for both pre-scription opioid users and nonusers. Average scores increased 29.5 points (on a 100 point scale) over the duration of the study (P <0.0001). A 10-point increase in EPS score was associated with a nearly 50% increase in the lifetime odds of pre-scription opioid misuse (OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.19-1.82, P = 0.0004). The odds of prescription opioid misuse declined each year (OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.48-0.81, P = 0.0006).Conclusion: Rates of prescription opioid misuse have decreased over time despite a significant association be-tween emotional distress and opioid misuse and trend toward increasing EPS scores. While efforts to reduce prescription opioid misuse appear to have been effective in this population, significant work is needed to reduce underlying risk fac-tors

Mapping Athletic Performance Related Genes in the Equine Genome and a Genome Scan for Superior Athletic Performance in the Thoroughbred

The primary goal of the Thoroughbred industry is to breed and train superior equine athletes capable of excelling on the racetrack. To date, research into the genetic underpinnings of athletic ability has been limited in the horse. Advances in equine genomics and the genetics of athletic performance in humans have opened up the possibility of investigating this important trait in the Thoroughbred. Initially, 46 candidate genes associated with human athletic performance were mapped in the equine genome by radiation hybrid (RH) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) mapping. RH data and later the draft equine genomic sequence allowed us to identify microsatellites adjacent to these and other candidate genes (95 in total). Additional microsatellites were added to increase genome coverage, producing a final panel of 186 markers. All the potential markers were initially screened on a pool of DNA for 16 Thoroughbreds to ensure they were polymorphic. The panel was genotyped on 162 Thoroughbreds in total; Centimorgans (cM) between microsatellites were determined with CRI-MAP. The animal?s athletic ability was estimated using career winnings loge transformed to create a linear trait; unraced animals were treated as missing data. Linkage analysis was carried out using the MERLIN program, and association analysis was carried out using the QTDT program. Appropriate thresholds for statistical significance were determined by carrying out 1000 simulated genome scans based on the structure of the original data. LOD scores above 1.54 met the criteria of statistical significance (with a 5% chance of type I error). In the actual genome scan, the marker L12.2 had the highest observed LOD score of 1.16 and p-value of 0.01 and consequently was not significant; the association analysis also did not detect significant association with performance on the track. Given the complexity of the phenotype under investigation and the modest sample size, the lack of linkage/association was not unexpected. Nevertheless, this study has contributed to the RH and FISH maps of the equine genome. Additionally, the development of the genome scanning panel for this study has provided useful information on the most informative microsatellites for linkage or association studies in the Thoroughbred

Productivity of Boran cattle maintained by chemoprophylaxis under trypanosomiasis risk

Evaluates the productivity of grade Boran cattle maintained by chemoprophylaxis under severe trypanosomiasis risk at Mkwaja ranch, Tanzania; uses data based on more than 20,000 calving records over the 10-year period from 1973 to 1982; discusses environmental influences on performance traits and links between tsetse population dynamics & cattle; includes comparison of Boran genotypes and its effect on pre-weaning growth characters

No. 01 November, 2020

1. Approximately one-half of the students enrolled in a rural dropout-recovery school had experienced child maltreatment, which is generally higher than comparable national estimates. 2. Nearly 90% of these students had experienced household challenges (e.g., parental separation, incarceration, mental illness, and family violence), a percentage that is several times higher than national estimates. 3. Over 70% of students were exposed to three or more Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs), a percentage that far exceeds national estimates. 4. The COVID-19 pandemic and measures to contain it present serious mental and behavioral health challenges for at-risk youths such as those in the current sample

End-to-End Modeling of the TDM Readout System for CMB-S4

The CMB-S4 experiment is developing next-generation ground-based microwave telescopes to observe the Cosmic Microwave Background with unprecedented sensitivity. This will require an order of magnitude increase in the 100 mK detector count, which in turn increases the demands on the readout system. The CMB-S4 readout will use time division multiplexing (TDM), taking advantage of faster switches and amplifiers in order to achieve an increased multiplexing factor. To facilitate the design of the new readout system, we have developed a model that predicts the bandwidth and noise performance of this circuity and its interconnections. This is then used to set requirements on individual components in order to meet the performance necessary for the full system. We present an overview of this model and compare the model results to the performance of both legacy and prototype readout hardware.Comment: This manuscript was submitted to the Journal of Low Temperature Physics as part of the special issue "LTD20", supporting the conference contribution RP-00

Performance Assessment of Diffuse Optical Spectroscopic Imaging Instruments in a 2-Year Multicenter Breast Cancer Trial

We present a framework for characterizing the performance of an experimental imaging technology, diffuse optical spectroscopic imaging (DOSI), in a 2-year multicenter American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) breast cancer study (ACRIN-6691). DOSI instruments combine broadband frequency-domain photon migration with time-independent near-infrared (650 to 1000 nm) spectroscopy to measure tissue absorption and reduced scattering spectra and tissue hemoglobin, water, and lipid composition. The goal of ACRIN-6691 was to test the effectiveness of optically derived imaging endpoints in predicting the final pathologic response of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Sixty patients were enrolled over a 2-year period at participating sites and received multiple DOSI scans prior to and during 3- to 6-month NAC. The impact of three sources of error on accuracy and precision, including different operators, instruments, and calibration standards, was evaluated using a broadband reflectance standard and two different solid tissue-simulating optical phantoms. Instruments showed \u3c 0.0010 mm−1 (10.3%) and 0.06 mm−1 (4.7%) deviation in broadband absorption and reduced scattering, respectively, over the 2-year duration of ACRIN-6691. These variations establish a useful performance criterion for assessing instrument stability. The proposed procedures and tests are not limited to DOSI; rather, they are intended to provide methods to characterize performance of any instrument used in translational optical imaging

Investigation of an international water polo tournament in Czechia as a potential source for early introduction of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant into Belgium, Switzerland and Germany, November 2021

Background: The earliest recognised infections by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (Pango lineage B.1.1.529) in Belgium and Switzerland suggested a connection to an international water polo tournament, held 12-14 November 2021 in Brno, Czechia.AimTo study the arrival and subsequent spread of the Omicron variant in Belgium and Switzerland, and understand the overall importance of this international sporting event on the number of infections in the two countries. Methods: We performed intensive forward and backward contact tracing in both countries, supplemented by phylogenetic investigations using virus sequences of the suspected infection chain archived in public databases. Results: Through contact tracing, we identified two and one infected athletes of the Belgian and Swiss water polo teams, respectively, and subsequently also three athletes from Germany. In Belgium and Switzerland, four and three secondary infections, and three and one confirmed tertiary infections were identified. Phylogenetic investigation demonstrated that this sporting event played a role as the source of infection, but without a direct link with infections from South Africa and not as a superspreading event; the virus was found to already be circulating at that time in the countries involved. Conclusion: The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant started to circulate in Europe several weeks before its identification in South Africa on 24 November 2021. Accordingly, it can be assumed that travel restrictions are usually implemented too late to prevent the spread of newly detected SARS-CoV-2 variants to other regions. Phylogenetic analysis may modify the perception of an apparently clear result of intensive contact tracing

GWAS reveals determinants of mobilization rate and dynamics of an active endogenous retrovirus of cattle.

peer reviewedFive to ten percent of mammalian genomes is occupied by multiple clades of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), that may count thousands of members. New ERV clades arise by retroviral infection of the germline followed by expansion by reinfection and/or retrotransposition. ERV mobilization is a source of deleterious variation, driving the emergence of ERV silencing mechanisms, leaving "DNA fossils". Here we show that the ERVK[2-1-LTR] clade is still active in the bovine and a source of disease-causing alleles. We develop a method to measure the rate of ERVK[2-1-LTR] mobilization, finding an average of 1 per ~150 sperm cells, with >10-fold difference between animals. We perform a genome-wide association study and identify eight loci affecting ERVK[2-1-LTR] mobilization. We provide evidence that polymorphic ERVK[2-1-LTR] elements in four of these loci cause the association. We generate a catalogue of full length ERVK[2-1-LTR] elements, and show that it comprises 15% of C-type autonomous elements, and 85% of D-type non-autonomous elements lacking functional genes. We show that >25% of the variance of mobilization rate is determined by the number of C-type elements, yet that de novo insertions are dominated by D-type elements. We propose that D-type elements act as parasite-of-parasite gene drives that may contribute to the observed demise of ERV elements

Reconstruction of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in a primary school using epidemiological and genomic data.

peer reviewedMathematical modelling studies have shown that repetitive screening can be used to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission in primary schools while keeping schools open. However, not much is known about how transmission progresses within schools and whether there is a risk of importation to households. During the academic year 2020-2021, a prospective surveillance study using repetitive screening was conducted in a primary school and associated households in Liège (Belgium). SARS-CoV-2 screening was performed via throat washing either once or twice a week. We used genomic and epidemiological data to reconstruct the observed school outbreaks using two different models. The outbreaker2 model combines information on the generation time and contact patterns with a model of sequence evolution. For comparison we also used SCOTTI, a phylogenetic model based on the structured coalescent. In addition, we performed a simulation study to investigate how the accuracy of estimated positivity rates in a school depends on the proportion of a school that is sampled in a repetitive screening strategy. We found no difference in SARS-CoV-2 positivity between children and adults and children were not more often asymptomatic compared to adults. Both models for outbreak reconstruction revealed that transmission occurred mainly within the school environment. Uncertainty in outbreak reconstruction was lowest when including genomic as well as epidemiological data. We found that observed weekly positivity rates are a good approximation to the true weekly positivity rate, especially in children, even when only 25% of the school population is sampled. These results indicate that, in addition to reducing infections as shown in modelling studies, repetitive screening in school settings can lead to a better understanding of the extent of transmission in schools during a pandemic and importation risk at the community level