10 research outputs found
Personal Internalization of a Confederate Monument Removal Event Associated with Increased Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among University Students
This study sought to determine the association between racialized events relating to the removal of a Confederate monument and mental health outcomes among students at a Southern state-university in the United States. After the removal of a Confederate monument located on the universityâs campus, racialized protests and violent clashes with police forces ensued. To assess the impact of these events on student mental health outcomes, a cross-sectional survey was disseminated to 10,000 current students. Student mental health was measured using the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS). The key exposure, personal internalization of the event, was measured using the seven-question Centrality of Event Scale (CES) and was defined as the perceived importance of the racialized event for the studentsâ identity and life story. Student demographic information including race, ethnicity, gender, age, and minority status was collected anonymously. Logistic regression was used to compare mental health outcomes of students with high versus low personal internalization of the event, with an interaction term included to capture if the relationship was stronger among students who identified as a minority. After adjusting for minority status, higher internalization of the event was associated with adverse mental health outcomes (OR = 1.96 [95%CI, 1.18-3.25]). However, there was insufficient evidence to determine that minority status modified the results, which may be due to limited power. Overall, these findings demonstrate that increased internalization of the removal event was associated with adverse mental health outcomes among students during the first two weeks of the academic semester, underscoring the importance of state and university officialâs consideration of the mental health implications of racial tensions arising from Confederate monument removal events for diverse student populations and strategies for mitigating these outcomes
Evaluating Activated Carbon Adsorption of Dissolved Organic Matter and Micropollutants Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy
Dissolved
organic matter (DOM) negatively impacts granular activated
carbon (GAC) adsorption of micropollutants and is a disinfection byproduct
precursor. DOM from surface waters, wastewater effluent, and 1 kDa
size fractions were adsorbed by GAC and characterized using fluorescence
spectroscopy, UV-absorption, and size exclusion chromatography (SEC).
Fluorescing DOM was preferentially adsorbed relative to UV-absorbing
DOM. Humic-like fluorescence (peaks A and C) was selectively adsorbed
relative to polyphenol-like fluorescence (peaks T and B) potentially
due to size exclusion effects. In the surface waters and size fractions,
peak C was preferentially removed relative to peak A, whereas the
reverse was found in wastewater effluent, indicating that humic-like
fluorescence is associated with different compounds depending on DOM
source. Based on specific UV-absorption (SUVA), aromatic DOM was preferentially
adsorbed. The fluorescence index (FI), if interpreted as an indicator
of aromaticity, indicated the opposite but exhibited a strong relationship
with average molecular weight, suggesting that FI might be a better
indicator of DOM size than aromaticity. The influence of DOM intermolecular
interactions on adsorption were minimal based on SEC analysis. Fluorescence
parameters captured the impact of DOM size on the fouling of 2-methylisoborneol
and warfarin adsorption and correlated with direct competition and
pore blockage indicators
A Participatory Science Approach to Evaluating Factors Associated with the Occurrence of Metals and PFAS in Guatemala City Tap Water
Limited information is available regarding chemical water quality at the tap in Guatemala City, preventing individuals, water utilities, and public health authorities from making data-driven decisions related to water quality. To address this need, 113 participants among households served by a range of water providers across the Guatemala City metropolitan area were recruited as participatory scientists to collect first-draw and flushed tap water samples at their residence. Samples were transported to the U.S. and analyzed for 20 metals and 25 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). At least one metal exceeded the Guatemalan Maximum Permissible Limit (MPL) for drinking water in 63% of households (n = 71). Arsenic and lead exceeded the MPL in 33.6% (n = 38) and 8.9% (n = 10) of samples, respectively. Arsenic was strongly associated with groundwater while lead occurrence was not associated with location, water source, or provider. One or more PFAS were detected in 19% of samples (n = 21, range 2.1–64.2 ppt). PFAS were significantly associated with the use of plastic water storage tanks but not with location, water source, or provider. Overall, the high prevalence of arsenic above the MPL in Guatemala City tap water represents a potential health risk that current water treatment processes are not optimized to remove. Furthermore, potential contaminants from premise plumbing and storage, including lead and PFAS, represent additional risks requiring further investigation and public engagement
Bi-allelic variants in CELSR3 are implicated in central nervous system and urinary tract anomalies
CELSR3 codes for a planar cell polarity protein. We describe twelve affected individuals from eleven independent families with bi-allelic variants in CELSR3. Affected individuals presented with an overlapping phenotypic spectrum comprising central nervous system (CNS) anomalies (7/12), combined CNS anomalies and congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT) (3/12) and CAKUT only (2/12). Computational simulation of the 3D protein structure suggests the position of the identified variants to be implicated in penetrance and phenotype expression. CELSR3 immunolocalization in human embryonic urinary tract and transient suppression and rescue experiments of Celsr3 in fluorescent zebrafish reporter lines further support an embryonic role of CELSR3 in CNS and urinary tract formation
Enhanced infection prophylaxis reduces mortality in severely immunosuppressed HIV-infected adults and older children initiating antiretroviral therapy in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe: the REALITY trial
Meeting abstract FRAB0101LB from 21st International AIDS Conference 18â22 July 2016, Durban, South Africa.
Introduction: Mortality from infections is high in the first 6 months of antiretroviral therapy (ART) among HIVâinfected adults and children with advanced disease in subâSaharan Africa. Whether an enhanced package of infection prophylaxis at ART initiation would reduce mortality is unknown.
Methods:
The REALITY 2Ă2Ă2 factorial openâlabel trial (ISRCTN43622374) randomized ARTânaĂŻve HIVâinfected adults and children >5 years with CD4 <100 cells/mm3. This randomization compared initiating ART with enhanced prophylaxis (continuous cotrimoxazole plus 12 weeks isoniazid/pyridoxine (antiâtuberculosis) and fluconazole (antiâcryptococcal/candida), 5 days azithromycin (antiâbacterial/protozoal) and singleâdose albendazole (antiâhelminth)), versus standardâofâcare cotrimoxazole. Isoniazid/pyridoxine/cotrimoxazole was formulated as a scored fixedâdose combination. Two other randomizations investigated 12âweek adjunctive raltegravir or supplementary food. The primary endpoint was 24âweek mortality.
Results:
1805 eligible adults (n = 1733; 96.0%) and children/adolescents (n = 72; 4.0%) (median 36 years; 53.2% male) were randomized to enhanced (n = 906) or standard prophylaxis (n = 899) and followed for 48 weeks (3.8% lossâtoâfollowâup). Median baseline CD4 was 36 cells/mm3 (IQR: 16â62) but 47.3% were WHO Stage 1/2. 80 (8.9%) enhanced versus 108(12.2%) standard prophylaxis died before 24 weeks (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 0.73 (95% CI: 0.54â0.97) p = 0.03; Figure 1) and 98(11.0%) versus 127(14.4%) respectively died before 48 weeks (aHR = 0.75 (0.58â0.98) p = 0.04), with no evidence of interaction with the two other randomizations (p > 0.8). Enhanced prophylaxis significantly reduced incidence of tuberculosis (p = 0.02), cryptococcal disease (p = 0.01), oral/oesophageal candidiasis (p = 0.02), deaths of unknown cause (p = 0.02) and (marginally) hospitalisations (p = 0.06) but not presumed severe bacterial infections (p = 0.38). Serious and grade 4 adverse events were marginally less common with enhanced prophylaxis (p = 0.06). CD4 increases and VL suppression were similar between groups (p > 0.2).
Conclusions:
Enhanced infection prophylaxis at ART initiation reduces early mortality by 25% among HIVâinfected adults and children with advanced disease. The pill burden did not adversely affect VL suppression. Policy makers should consider adopting and implementing this lowâcost broad infection prevention package which could save 3.3 lives for every 100 individuals treated