Addressing Information Needs in Sport Management, an Interdisciplinary Field

Sport management as a scholarly discipline is relatively new, and very few students who earn doctorates in this field go into academia, instead choosing to go into practice where salaries are much higher. Due to these circumstances, literature research in sport management is difficult for students as well as librarians, as very little primary research exists in published journals and books. This poster reviews challenges for librarians, the best information resources to support academic sport management programs, common student questions, and tangential research areas that support research in this discipline

Formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine during water disinfection with chloramine:insights into reaction mechanisms from isotope fractionation analyses

Disinfection processes such as chlorination, chloramination, and ozonation are a crucial measure to provide safe drinking water because they effectively inactivate pathogenic microorganisms. However, these processes can also lead to the formation of harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as the carcinogen N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). NDMA is primarily formed during chloramination of wastewater and wastewater-impacted surface waters, where natural organic materials and anthropogenic pollutants serve as NDMA precursors. A better understanding of NDMA precursors and various formation pathways is vital for developing appropriate mitigation strategies. Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) can be used to both allocate sources of organic contaminants in the environment and elucidate their (trans)formation pathways. The goal of this dissertation was to explore the use of CSIA for assessing NDMA formation mechanisms and identifying reactive precursor moieties from stable isotope fractionation trends. In laboratory model systems, NDMA formation was studied during chloramination of secondary and tertiary amines, which are relevant precursor compounds in natural waters. Reaction kinetics and stoichiometries were determined to elucidate poorly characterized reaction steps of the NDMA formation pathway involving chloramine, molecular oxygen, and intermediate species. Although molar NDMA yields from the selected precursors differed significantly (1% - 90%), one O2 molecule was consumed per N(CH3)2 moiety of the precursor. This observation indicates that the reaction of O2 with secondary and tertiary amines proceeded via the same mechanism, but did not control the molar NDMA yield. NDMA formation coincided with the disappearance of the precursor, demonstrating that (oxygen) intermediates were highly reactive and short-lived. Changes of 18O/16O isotope ratios in aqueous O2 revealed that oxygen reacted with radical species, which was confirmed by additional experiments with radical scavengers (tert-butanol, ABTS, and trolox). Based on these results, a NDMA formation mechanism was proposed involving N-centered aminyl radicals. To investigate whether changes of the natural isotopic composition of NDMA can provide additional insights into the NDMA formation mechanism, an analytical method for the accurate determination of C, H, and N isotope ratios of NDMA was developed using solid-phase extraction coupled to gas chromatography isotope ratio mass spectrometry (SPE-GC/IRMS). During chloramination of tertiary amines, C and H isotope ratios of NDMA remained widely unaltered. Along with quantitative deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, this result demonstrated that the N(CH3)2 moiety of NDMA originated from the tertiary amine precursor. In contrast, the N atom of the nitroso group of NDMA stemmed from NH2Cl as inferred from experiments with 15N-enriched NH2Cl. N isotope ratios of NDMA increased significantly during its formation meaning that 14N reacted preferentially to NDMA. Several steps of the reaction sequence leading to NDMA can be responsible for this observable N isotope fractionation. Trends in correlated C and N isotope ratios of NDMA were nevertheless characteristic for chloramination of four tertiary amines and might serve as probes for this class of precursors. This important proof-of-concept work is a first step towards applying CSIA to reveal relevant NDMA precursors in water treatment processes

Cognitive Effort and Aphasia

Some researchers have suggested that impairments of individuals with aphasia on cognitive-linguistic tasks reflect an impaired ability to match effort with task demands (e.g. Murray et al., 1997, Clark & Robin, 1991). However, a direct physiological measure of effort IWA invest during such tasks is lacking. Heart rate variability is a well-studied measure of the stress response and is an indicator of the effort allocated to cognitively demanding tasks (Hansen et al., 2003). This research will utilize HRV to understand the relationship among perceptions of task difficulty, behavioral performance, and effort allocated to a verbal working memory task

Urban stormwater capture for water supply: look out for persistent, mobile and toxic substances

publishedVersio

Compound-specific isotope analysis of benzotriazole and its derivatives

Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) is an important tool for the identification of contaminant sources and transformation pathways, but it is rarely applied to emerging aquatic micropollutants owing to a series of instrumental challenges. Using four different benzotriazole corrosion inhibitors and its derivatives as examples, we obtained evidence that formation of organometallic complexes of benzotriazoles with parts of the instrumentation impedes isotope analysis. Therefore, we propose two strategies for accurate $\delta^{13}$ C and $\delta^{15}$ N measurements of polar organic micropollutants by gas chromatography isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/IRMS). Our first approach avoids metallic components and uses a Ni/Pt reactor for benzotriazole combustion while the second is based on the coupling of online methylation to the established GC/IRMS setup. Method detection limits for on-column injection of benzotriazole, as well as its 1-CH $_{3}$ -, 4-CH $_{3}$ -, and 5-CH $_{3}$ -substituted species were 0.1-0.3mM and 0.1-1.0mM for δ13C and δ15N analysis respectively, corresponding to injected masses of 0.7-1.8 nmol C and 0.4-3.0 nmol N, respectively. The Ni/Pt reactor showed good precision and was very long-lived ( $>$ 1000 successful measurements). Coupling isotopic analysis to offline solid-phase extraction enabled benzotriazole-CSIA in tap water, wastewater treatment effluent, activated sludge, and in commercial dishwashing products. A comparison of $\delta ^{13}$ C and $\delta ^{15}$ N values from different benzotriazoles and benzotriazole derivatives, both from commercial standards and in dishwashing detergents, reveals the potential application of the proposed method for source apportionmen

The association between psychosocial factors and mental health symptoms in cervical spine pain with or without radiculopathy on health outcomes : a systematic review

Background Neck pain, with or without radiculopathy, can have significant negative effects on physical and mental wellbeing. Mental health symptoms are known to worsen prognosis across a range of musculoskeletal conditions. Understanding the association between mental health symptoms and health outcomes in this population has not been established. Our aim was to systematically review the association between psychosocial factors and/or mental health symptoms on health outcomes in adults with neck pain, with or without radiculopathy. Methods A systematic review of published and unpublished literature databases was completed. Studies reporting mental health symptoms and health outcomes in adults with neck pain with or without radiculopathy were included. Due to significant clinical heterogeneity, a narrative synthesis was completed. Each outcome was assessed using GRADE. Results Twenty-three studies were included (N = 21,968 participants). Sixteen studies assessed neck pain only (N = 17,604 participants); seven studies assessed neck pain with radiculopathy (N = 4,364 participants). Depressive symptoms were associated with poorer health outcomes in people with neck pain and neck pain with radiculopathy. These findings were from seven low-quality studies, and an additional six studies reported no association. Low-quality evidence reported that distress and anxiety symptoms were associated with poorer health outcomes in people with neck pain and radiculopathy and very low-quality evidence showed this in people with neck pain only. Stress and higher job strain were negatively associated with poorer health outcomes measured by the presence of pain in two studies of very low quality. Conclusions Across a small number of highly heterogenous, low quality studies mental health symptoms are negatively associated with health outcomes in people with neck pain with radiculopathy and neck pain without radiculopathy. Clinicians should continue to utilise robust clinical reasoning when assessing the complex factors impacting a person’s presentation with neck pain with or without radiculopathy. PROSPERO registration number CRD42020169497

Swabian MOSES 2021: An interdisciplinary field campaign for investigating convective storms and their event chains

The Neckar Valley and the Swabian Jura in southwest Germany comprise a hotspot for severe convective storms, causing tens of millions of euros in damage each year. Possible reasons for the high frequency of thunderstorms and the associated event chain across compartments were investigated in detail during the hydro-meteorological field campaign Swabian MOSES carried out between May and September 2021. Researchers from various disciplines established more than 25 temporary ground-based stations equipped with state-of-the-art in situ and remote sensing observation systems, such as lidars, dual-polarization X- and C-band Doppler weather radars, radiosondes including stratospheric balloons, an aerosol cloud chamber, masts to measure vertical fluxes, autosamplers for water probes in rivers, and networks of disdrometers, soil moisture, and hail sensors. These fixed-site observations were supplemented by mobile observation systems, such as a research aircraft with scanning Doppler lidar, a cosmic ray neutron sensing rover, and a storm chasing team launching swarmsondes in the vicinity of hailstorms. Seven Intensive Observation Periods (IOPs) were conducted on a total of 21 operating days. An exceptionally high number of convective events, including both unorganized and organized thunderstorms such as multicells or supercells, occurred during the study period. This paper gives an overview of the Swabian MOSES (Modular Observation Solutions for Earth Systems) field campaign, briefly describes the observation strategy, and presents observational highlights for two IOPs

Self-reported dental hygiene, obesity, and systemic inflammation in a pediatric rural community cohort

Background A growing body of epidemiologic evidence links oral health, obesity, and cardiovascular health, though few studies have reported on these relationships in children. While underlying mechanisms are unclear, adult studies have suggested sub-acute systemic inflammation, also implicated in the etiology of both obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study investigated associations between self-reported dental hygiene, obesity, and systemic inflammation in children. Methods 128 children \u3c 19 years of age from rural counties in West Virginia participated in a community-based health screening that included anthropometric assessments, blood collection, and a questionnaire about dental hygiene and self-assessed oral health. Results Participants ranged from 3.0-18.7 years. Univariate analysis demonstrated an association between parent-reported dental hygiene, including frequency of preventive dental care and parent-assessed overall dental health, and markers of systemic inflammation but not obesity. In multivariable regression, parent-assessed overall dental health and obesity were independent predictors of systemic inflammation, after adjustment for age, gender, and parent education. Conclusions This is the first known study of the association between dental hygiene, obesity, and systemic inflammation in children. These results highlight the importance of preventive dental care in overall, systemic health in children and are consistent with previous reports in adults