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%)

Caring in prison: the intersubjective web of professional relationships

In this paper, we present a synthesis of two doctoral theses where links are made between the intersubjective, relational dynamics seen in clinical supervision, and applied in practice to a framework for emotional labor in prison nurses. We explore the nature of intersubjectivity, from nursing and psychotherapeutic perspectives, and discuss the way in which it impacts on and influences relationships between nurses, prisoner patients, prison officers, and organizations within prison healthcare settings. The impact of this intersubjectivity is illustrated through the exploration of an intersubjective web that is created and informs interaction between the key actors within the prison nurse's practice, i.e., prison officers, prisoner patients, and the organization. We suggest that by being cognizant of the intersubjective web that influences these interactions, a more meaningful understanding of practice and relationships can be achieved. This deeper understanding can then be utilized to develop practitioners both professionally and personally. We conclude by promoting regular, formal clinical supervision as an ideal space within which to explore the way in which this intersubjective web influences relationships, impacts on emotional labor, and subsequently patient care and staff well being

Cortical thickness is not associated with current depression in a clinical treatment study

BackgroundReduced cortical thickness is a candidate biological marker of depression, although findings are inconsistent. This could reflect analytic heterogeneity, such as use of region‐wise cortical thickness based on the Freesurfer Desikan–Killiany (DK) atlas or surface‐based morphometry (SBM). The Freesurfer Destrieux (DS) atlas (more, smaller regions) has not been utilized in depression studies. This could also reflect differential gender and age effects.MethodsCortical thickness was collected from 170 currently depressed adults and 52 never‐depressed adults. Visually inspected and approved Freesurfer‐generated surfaces were used to extract cortical thickness estimates according to the DK atlas (68 regions) and DS atlas (148 regions) for region‐wise analysis (216 total regions) and for SBM.ResultsOverall, except for small effects in a few regions, the two region‐wise approaches generally failed to discriminate depressed adults from nondepressed adults or current episode severity. Differential effects by age and gender were also rare and small in magnitude. Using SBM, depressed adults showed a significantly thicker cluster in the left supramarginal gyrus than nondepressed adults (P = 0.047) but there were no associations with current episode severity.ConclusionsThree analytic approaches (i.e., DK atlas, DS atlas, and SBM) converge on the notion that cortical thickness is a relatively weak discriminator of current depression status. Differential age and gender effects do not appear to represent key moderators. Robust associations with demographic factors will likely hinder translation of cortical thickness into a clinically useful biomarker. Hum Brain Mapp, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4370–4385, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138250/1/hbm23664_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138250/2/hbm23664.pd

A Mediterranean Diet and Walking Intervention to Reduce Cognitive Decline and Dementia Risk in Independently Living Older Australians:The MedWalk Randomized Controlled Trial Experimental Protocol, Including COVID-19 Related Modifications and Baseline Characteristics.

Background:Several clinical trials have examined diet and physical activity lifestyle changes as mitigation strategies for risk factors linked to cognitive decline and dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, the ability to modify these behaviors longer term, to impact cognitive health has remained elusive.Objective:The MedWalk trial’s primary aim is to investigate whether longer-term adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet and regular walking, delivered through motivational interviewing and cognitive-behavioral therapy (MI-CBT), can reduce age-associated cognitive decline and other dementia risk factors in older, independently living individuals without cognitive impairment.Methods:MedWalk, a one-year cluster-randomized controlled trial across two Australian states, recruited 60–90-year-old people from independent living retirement villages and the wider community. Participants were assigned to either the MedWalk intervention or a control group (maintaining their usual diet and physical activity). The primary outcome is 12-month change in visual memory and learning assessed from errors on the Paired Associates Learning Task of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Secondary outcomes include cognition, mood, cardiovascular function, biomarkers related to nutrient status and cognitive decline, MI-CBT effectiveness, Mediterranean diet adherence, physical activity, quality of life, cost-effectiveness, and health economic evaluation.Progress and Discussion:Although COVID-19 impacts over two years necessitated a reduced timeline and sample size, MedWalk retains sufficient power to address its aims and hypotheses. Baseline testing has been completed with 157 participants, who will be followed over 12 months. If successful, MedWalk will inform interventions that could substantially reduce dementia incidence and ameliorate cognitive decline in the community.<br/

The predictive moment: reverie, connection and predictive processing

According to the theory of predictive processing, understanding in the present involves non-consciously representing the immediate future, based on probabilistic inference shaped by learning from the past. This paper suggests links between this neuroscientific theory and the psychoanalytic concept of reverie – an empathic, containing attentional state – and considers implications for the ways therapists intuit implicit material in their clients. Using findings from a study about therapists’ experiences of this state, we propose that reverie can offer practitioners from diverse theoretical backgrounds a means to enter the predictive moment deeply, making use of its subtle contents to connect with clients

In silico Experimentation of Glioma Microenvironment Development and Anti-tumor Therapy

Tumor cells do not develop in isolation, but co-evolve with stromal cells and tumor-associated immune cells in a tumor microenvironment mediated by an array of soluble factors, forming a complex intercellular signaling network. Herein, we report an unbiased, generic model to integrate prior biochemical data and the constructed brain tumor microenvironment in silico as characterized by an intercellular signaling network comprising 5 types of cells, 15 cytokines, and 69 signaling pathways. The results show that glioma develops through three distinct phases: pre-tumor, rapid expansion, and saturation. We designed a microglia depletion therapy and observed significant benefit for virtual patients treated at the early stages but strikingly no therapeutic efficacy at all when therapy was given at a slightly later stage. Cytokine combination therapy exhibits more focused and enhanced therapeutic response even when microglia depletion therapy already fails. It was further revealed that the optimal combination depends on the molecular profile of individual patients, suggesting the need for patient stratification and personalized treatment. These results, obtained solely by observing the in silico dynamics of the glioma microenvironment with no fitting to experimental/clinical data, reflect many characteristics of human glioma development and imply new venues for treating tumors via selective targeting of microenvironmental components

Seasonal and Ontogenetic Changes in Movement Patterns of Sixgill Sharks

Understanding movement patterns is fundamental to population and conservation biology. The way an animal moves through its environment influences the dynamics of local populations and will determine how susceptible it is to natural or anthropogenic perturbations. It is of particular interest to understand the patterns of movement for species which are susceptible to human activities (e.g. fishing), or that exert a large influence on community structure, such as sharks.We monitored the patterns of movement of 34 sixgill sharks Hexanchus griseus using two large-scale acoustic arrays inside and outside Puget Sound, Washington, USA. Sixgill sharks were residents in Puget Sound for up to at least four years before making large movements out of the estuary. Within Puget Sound, sixgills inhabited sites for several weeks at a time and returned to the same sites annually. Across four years, sixgills had consistent seasonal movements in which they moved to the north from winter to spring and moved to the south from summer to fall. Just prior to leaving Puget Sound, sixgills altered their behavior and moved twice as fast among sites. Nineteen of the thirty-four sixgills were detected leaving Puget Sound for the outer coast. Three of these sharks returned to Puget Sound.For most large marine predators, we have a limited understanding of how they move through their environment, and this clouds our ability to successfully manage their populations and their communities. With detailed movement information, such as that being uncovered with acoustic monitoring, we can begin to quantify the spatial and temporal impacts of large predators within the framework of their ecosystems

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

Evidence of Inbreeding Depression on Human Height

WOS:000306840400001Peer reviewe