What’s in the Water?: Detecting Chlamydia and Gonorrhea in Treasure Valley Wastewater

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) gained prominence as a reliable method for predicting SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks and trends during the COVID-19 pandemic. We modified the technique to detect Chlamydia (C. trachomatis) and Gonorrhea (N. gonorrhoeae) in wastewater sourced from four wastewater facilities in the Treasure Valley (West, Lander, Meridian, and Nampa) using variations of two extraction methods, the AllPrep PowerViral DNA/RNA Mini Kit and paper filtration (0.22µm and 0.45µm). Both pathogens were detected in samples from both Boise, Idaho facilities (West and Lander) on three of the six days tested (N. gonorrhoeae 6/14/23, and C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae 6/19/23 and 6/28/23). Neither pathogen was detected in samples from the Meridian and Nampa facilities. Pathogens were detected in 25% of all treatment facilities sampled. The 0.22µm filter paper produced positive results in 3 of 4 tests (75%), while the 0.45µm paper did not produce any positive results. Surprisingly, Nanotrap A, designed for viral detection, was more effective in detecting the bacteria than Nanotrap B, designed for bacterial detection (50% vs 33%)

Ethical Use and Impact of Participatory Approaches to Research in Post-Disaster Environments: An Australian Bushfire Case Study

Copyright © 2018 L. Gibbs et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This paper presents a case study of Beyond Bushfires, a large, multisite, mixed method study of the psychosocial impacts of major bushfires in Victoria, Australia. A participatory approach was employed throughout the study which was led by a team of academic investigators in partnership with service providers and government representatives and used on-site visits and multiple methods of communication with communities across the state to inform decision-making throughout the study. The ethics and impacts of conducting and adapting the approach within a post-disaster context will be discussed in reference to theories and models of participatory health research. The challenges of balancing local interests with state-wide implications will also be explored in the description of the methods of engagement and the study processes and outcomes. Beyond Bushfires demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating participatory methods in large, post-disaster research studies and achieving rigorous findings and multilevel impacts, while recognising the potential for some of the empowering aspects of the participatory experience to be reduced by the scaled-up approach

Personality for free: psychometric properties of a public domain Australian measure of the five-factor model

Fifty items from Goldberg's International Personality Item Pool were compiled to form a public-domain measure of personality, the Australian Personality Inventory (API). Data from a random community sample (N=7615) and a university-based sample (N =271) were used to explore psychometric properties of this 50-item measure of the five-factor model of personality (FFM). In both samples, internal reliabilities were adequate. In the university-based sample an appropriate pattern of convergent and divergent relationship was found between scale scores and domain scores from the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. After adjusting for an apparent response set (mean response across items), exploratory factor analyses clearly retrieved the FFM in both samples. It is provisionally concluded that raw scale scores from the API provide reliable estimates of the FFM, but adjustment for mean response across the 50 items might clarify the five-factor structure, especially in less educated samples

3D nanoprinting via spatially controlled assembly and polymerization.

Macroscale additive manufacturing has seen significant advances recently, but these advances are not yet realized for the bottom-up formation of nanoscale polymeric features. We describe a platform technology for creating crosslinked polymer features using rapid surface-initiated crosslinking and versatile macrocrosslinkers, delivered by a microfluidic-coupled atomic force microscope known as FluidFM. A crosslinkable polymer containing norbornene moieties is delivered to a catalyzed substrate where polymerization occurs, resulting in extremely rapid chemical curing of the delivered material. Due to the living crosslinking reaction, construction of lines and patterns with multiple layers is possible, showing quantitative material addition from each deposition in a method analogous to fused filament fabrication, but at the nanoscale. Print parameters influenced printed line dimensions, with the smallest lines being 450 nm across with a vertical layer resolution of 2 nm. This nanoscale 3D printing platform of reactive polymer materials has applications for device fabrication, optical systems and biotechnology

Presenter First: Organizing Complex GUI Applications for Test-Driven Development

Presenter First (PF) is a technique for organizing source code and development activities to produce fully tested GUI applications from customer stories using test-driven development. The three elements of Presenter First are a strategy for how applications are developed and tested, a variant on the Model View Presenter (MVP) design pattern, and a particular means of composing MVP triads. Presenter tests provide an economical alternative to automated GUI system tests. We have used Presenter First on projects ranging in size from several to a hundred MVP triads. This paper describes MVP creation, composition, scaling, and the tools and process we use. An example C # application illustrate

The five factor model and accessibility/remoteness: novel evidence for person-environment interaction

The Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) is a validated index of the availability of services and opportunities for social interaction afforded by every location in Australia. ARIA therefore measures a feature of the social environment, and provides a unique foundation for investigating the relationship between persons and environments. The present study used ARIA alongside a measure of the Five-Factor Model of personality to test predictions about person–environment interactions deduced from the seminal work of Emmons and colleagues. Survey responses were received from N = 7615 adults residing across a range of non-metropolitan locales ranging from very accessible (ARIA = 0.0) to very remote (ARIA = 11.1). Respondents were categorised into High, Moderate and Low Accessibility based on the ARIA value of their location of residence. Consistent with the choice of situations model, average levels of the traits openness to experience (O) and extraversion (E) tended to be higher amongst respondents living in High Accessibility locations. As predicted under the affect congruence model, analyses of extreme subgroups found that for both O and E, those respondents high on the trait who resided in more accessible locales reported higher Positive Affect than similar respondents who resided in less accessible locales. Avenues for future research are discussed in light of the findings and the present study’s limitations

Big boys don't cry : an investigation of stoicism and its mental health outcomes

Two mail-out survey studies were conducted to investigate the stoicism construct, as operationalised in the Liverpool stoicism scale (LSS). In Study 1, N = 467 participants (57.9% female) completed the LSS and measures of wellbeing, psychological distress and attitudes to seeking psychological help. All participants had previously completed a measure of the five factor model of personality (FFM). The aim of Study 2 (N = 567, 57.5% female) was to replicate the psychometric analyses of the LSS, and permit calculation of test-retest reliability amongst a subsample (n = 278) who also participated in Study 1. The LSS was found to have adequate internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .83), and adequate test-retest reliability (r = .82, p &#lt; .001). As expected, LSS scores were significantly higher for males (M = 59.5, SD = 7.8) than females (M = 51.1, SD = 9.0, t(411) = 10.20, p &#lt; .001, Cohen's d = 1.00). Structural equation modeling demonstrated the expected association between stoicism and gender (factor loading = -.38), openness to experience (factor loading = -.38), and age (factor loading = .11). Stoicism was found unrelated to measures of distress, and was negatively associated with quality of life (r = -.13, p &#lt; .01). Moreover, the relationship between stoicism and lower quality of life was found to be mediated by negative attitudes to seeking psychological help. It is concluded that the LSS is a reliable measure of a unidimensional stoicism construct, which has intelligible relationships with the FFM and potential explanatory power in relation to men's mental health

Rurality and mental health: the role of accessibility

Objective: The absence of an agreed definition of 'rural' limits the utility of existing research into a possible relationship between rurality of residence and mental health. The present study investigates the bipolar dimension accessibility/remoteness as a possible correlate of mental health. Method: A continuous area of non-metropolitan Australia was selected to provide a range of scores on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA). A questionnaire measuring demographics, the five-factor model of personality and three aspects of mental health (distress, disability and wellbeing) was mailed to 20 000 adults selected randomly from electoral rolls. Results: Responses were received from 7615 individuals (response rate = 40.5%; 57.1% female). ARIA was not associated with either distress or disability measures, but a small negative association was found between accessibility and two measures of wellbeing. Individuals residing in locales with better access to services and opportunities for interaction reported higher levels of satisfaction with life (SWL) and positive affect (PA). Adjusting statistically for a range of demographic and personality correlates did not alter the effect of ARIA on SWL. The effect on PA remained significant after adjusting for demographics, but not once personality correlates entered the model. Conclusions: By sampling across a single proposed parameter of rurality, a novel profile of correlations was identified. In accord with existing data, accessibility was not associated with distress or disability. In contrast, accessibility was positively associated with the wellbeing aspect of mental health. Further attention to the measurement of rural place and the exploration of accessibility as a parameter with mental health relevance, is warranted

Mental health problems in rural contexts : what are the barriers to seeking help from professional providers?

The aim of this review was to determine which sociodemographic, illness-related and psychological/attitudinal factors impact on a person's decision to seek help and the factors associated with attitudes to help-seeking in rural contexts. A computer search of the literature for 1990-2006 using the terms "help-seeking" and "mental" found 350 studies. Examination of the abstracts by one of the authors (AK) identified 20 relevant studies, which we review under two major headings: those papers dealing with help-seeking studies not specific to (but which may have included) rural settings; and a second group of studies conducted specifically in rural locations or that directly compared rural with urban locations. A number of factors were found consistently to be predictive of both mental health utilisation and attitudes toward formal help-seeking. They included sociodemographic factors such as gender, age, and marital status; illness-related factors such as having a mental disorder, comorbidity, and psychological distress; and, to a much lesser extent, psychological/attitudinal factors, including stigma, stoicism, and self-efficacy. Psychological/ attitudinal factors have been poorly investigated compared to sociodemographic and illness-related variables and are worthy of further investigation. Their impact and value may vary according to location. Proposed herein is the development of a comprehensive framework that has emerged from the health and place literature as one way of understanding barriers to accessing mental health care