Tracking Bacterial Pollution Sources in Hampton Harbor

Fecal-borne microorganisms impact many shellfish-growing waters in coastal New Hampshire. Watersheds are often subject to fecal contamination by a variety of sources and efforts to improve water quality are often limited because of lack of information on which contaminant sources are most significant. Ribotyping and other microbial source tracking methods are useful new tools for providing information on the sources of fecal-borne bacterial contaminants in surface waters. New Hampshire has areas of abundant oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and clam (Mya arenaria) resources, the latter being most important in Hampton Harbor. In this study, Escherichia coli isolates (bacteria colonies) were obtained from water samples collected from ten sites in Hampton Harbor year-round during both dry and wet conditions. A library of known E. coli isolates was created from twenty different potential source species in the New Hampshire coastal watershed, including humans, livestock, pets, wildlife and avian species. The ribosomal RNA DNA of E. coli isolates was analyzed using ribotyping in which the patterns of ribosomal DNA were detected using chemiluminescence, then optimized and analyzed using GelCompar II software. A total of 249 isolates from the twenty known source species were used as a reference to identify sources for 390 unknown isolates from water samples taken from August 2000 through October 2001. Banding patterns for water samples and source species isolates were considered to be the same if there was 80% or greater similarity between patterns. Overall, sources for 62% of the isolates were identified

Evaluating the Stormwater Treatment Performance of AbTech Industries Smart Sponge® Plus, Landry, N

The ability of AbTech’s Smart Sponge® Plus to remove fecal-borne bacteria from stormwater was evaluated in a storm drainage system located in Seabrook, New Hampshire. The Smart Sponge ® Plus was installed into a water quality inlet and samples were collected from influent (pre-treatment) and effluent (post-treatment) for analysis of bacterial concentrations and loadings during 15 storm events from September 3, 2003 to May 24, 2004, excluding winter months. The 15 storms included events with a range of rainfall intensities and amounts, as well as accompanying runoff volumes. Flow weighted composite samples were analyzed for fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli and enterococci to determine if concentrations were lowered as stormwater passed through the Smart Sponge® Plus material. In most cases, bacterial concentrations were reduced within the treatment system, but to varying degrees. The efficiency ratio based on reduction in event mean concentration for each bacterial indicator in the flow was calculated for each storm event. The values ranged most widely for fecal coliforms, whereas the range of ratios was narrower and the values were more consistent for enterococci. The overall load reductions for the bacterial indicators were 50.3% for fecal coliforms, 51.3% for Escherichia coli and 43.2% for enterococci. Relatively consistent pH values were observed in influent and effluent samples. The overall range of pH values was large, ranging from 5.21 units in influent from storm event #11 to 7.64 units in influent from storm event #1. Conductivity values were gr eater in the effluent in 14 of the 15 storm events, especially in storm events #12 and #13 when effluent conductivities were \u3e50% higher than influent values. Quality assurance/quality control procedures supported the methods and results of the study. Overall, the observed reductions in bacterial concentrations in post-treatment stormwater would still result in discharge of elevated bacterial levels that would continue to limit uses in receiving waters

Relationship of BMI and Weight Perception to Weight Controlling Behaviors in 9th-12th Graders in the United States

Research indicates that high school students constitute the largest portion of those participating in unhealthy weight control behaviors. There is, however, little research that indicates what this behavior is influenced from. This study investigated the relationship of Body Mass Index (BMI) and (discordant or concordant) weight perception to weight control behaviors among 9th-12th graders in the United States. Using data from the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), over 40 states and 13,000 surveys completed. Multiple Chi-square tests were performed, examining the association between BMI and weight perception in relation to weight control behaviors. We then examined whether perception predicted weight control behaviors rather than actual BMI status

Assessment of the University of Kentucky\u27s Nutrition Education Program\u27s Smarter Lunchrooms Pilot Plate Waste Project in Three Kentucky Schools

School-based approaches utilizing policy, systems, and environmental strategies are needed to address the complex factors driving childhood obesity. The purpose of this pilot study is to implement Smarter Lunchroom strategies in three participating Kentucky middle schools in 2019 and then assess two outcomes: (1) determine the impact of the intervention on fruit and vegetable purchases and waste, and (2) determine how purchases or waste varied by interventions selected for each setting. After the 6-week intervention, combined we found no statistical significant increases in fruit and vegetable purchasing from pre to post-intervention. No statistical significant decreases in fruit and vegetable plate waste from pre to post-intervention were found. When stratified by individual school, School 3 was the only participating school that showed a statistical significant change (p = 0.023) from pre to post-intervention for fruit and vegetable plate waste. A major limitation is the small sample size. Overall, substantial change was observed. Stratified descriptive statistics showed School 2 decreasing plate waste by 26.83% from pre to post-intervention. Implications for future Smarter Lunchroom public health interventions are presented

Book review: Deporting black Britons: portraits of deportation to Jamaica by Luke de Noronha

In Deporting Black Britons: Portraits of Deportation to Jamaica, Luke de Noronha weaves together the personal histories of four men who have been deported from the UK to Jamaica. Showing how their migratory journeys and experiences have been shaped by state-based racial discrimination and criminalisation, de Noronha explores what these accounts reveal about racism, migration and citizenship in the UK as well as the broader global (im)mobilities regime. Privileging the voices of de Noronha’s interviewees and guided by a strong activist orientation, the book’s persuasive writing style succeeds in offering a vivid depiction of lives impacted by deportation, writes Natalie Dietrich Jones. Deporting Black Britons: Portraits of Deportation to Jamaica. Luke de Noronha. Manchester University Press. 2020

Eating while young and Black : food, foodways, and gentrification in Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States and, increasingly, a global food destination. The city’s restaurants, urban farms, and food trucks have been widely featured in national and international media. This creative and sustainable food development is both a reflection of Austin’s population growth and a catalyst for urban change, with implications for long-established residents of color. Among cities with a double digit growth rate, Austin is the only one to witness a decline of its African-American population. Historically concentrated in the urban core of East Austin, many African Americans have moved to suburban and rural areas (Tang and Ren 2014). Urban growth, gentrification, sustainable food development, and Black outmigration are familiar to cities throughout the country. Despite this dynamic context, food-related research tends to focus on what Black populations consume. Black health disparities motivate a focus on food intake and “food deserts” in current literature. This dissertation engages a critical participatory action (CPAR) research approach with Black youth ages 15-19 from who reside in East Austin to consider food through a social lens that takes lived experiences with food and the restructuring of the food landscape into account. Youth co-researchers reside in Central East Austin, an area experiencing intensive economic redevelopment and gentrification. I begin by situating youth experiences in context, drawing attention to the impact of development on the local food landscape. Through participatory workshops, film, and interviews, the youth describe personal geographies of eating, shopping, growing, and sharing food. These geographies are broadly defined for this project to encompass the built environment as well as the identities, emotions, and memories the youth connect with food in their daily lives. By focusing on food from a social perspective, this project highlights counter geographies. Youth co-researchers disrupt stock stories about East Austin as a “food desert,” underscore diversity among African-American youth, and illustrate young people’s awareness of urban change. In closing, I offer best practices for engaging with young people in food work.Geography and the Environmen

Evaluating Use and Preference for Performance Feedback to Teach Instructional Strategies

Written and graphical feedback may be useful tools for supporting instructors because they require fewer scheduled meetings and provide instructors with permanent performance records. Although written and graphical feedback have been effective at improving some skills (e.g., use of praise), little is known about efficacy across a wider array of skills or about teacher preferences for these feedback types. Study 1 evaluated use of written and graphical feedback to increase opportunities to respond (OTRs) provided by three instructors of equine-assisted activities and therapies. Feedback increased OTRs for all three instructors. Additionally, all instructors showed untaught increases in praise when receiving feedback for OTRs. Study 2 evaluated instructor preferences for no feedback, written feedback, graphical feedback, and a combination of written and graphical feedback. Instructors almost exclusively preferred written and graphical feedback

Training Supervisors to Provide Feedback Using Video Modeling

Supervisors commonly use feedback to teach staff members to accurately implement behavioral interventions. However, few studies have evaluated methods to teach supervisors to provide effective feedback. In the current study, we used a multiple-baseline design to evaluate the use of video modeling to train four supervisors to provide performance feedback to therapists working with children with autism. We assessed the supervisors\u27 accuracy with implementing eight feedback component skills (e.g., behavior-specific praise, describing incorrect performance, demonstrating correct performance) during simulated role-plays before and after the video-modeling intervention. Following the intervention, we assessed the extent to which the supervisors\u27 skills generalized when providing feedback on a confederate therapist\u27s implementation of novel behavioral protocols and an actual therapist\u27s implementation of protocols with a child with autism. Results showed that all supervisors implemented the feedback component-skills with increased accuracy following the video-modeling intervention. Additionally, supervisors\u27 skills generalized to providing feedback on novel protocols and to an actual therapist. These results suggest that video modeling may be an effective method of training supervisors to provide performance feedback