Assessing population-level stress through glucocorticoid hormone monitoring in wastewater.

Stress is oftentimes overlooked in societies, despite its life-threatening impact. Here, we assessed the feasibility of measuring endogenous stress hormones to estimate population-level stress by wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). Two primary glucocorticoids, cortisol and cortisone, were monitored in wastewater by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), to assess changes in these physiological markers of stress in a student population (n = 26,000 ± 7100) on a university campus in the southwestern U.

Alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine consumption on a public U.S. university campus determined by wastewater-based epidemiology.

Alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine use in at-risk populations is a public health concern that claims over 550,000 lives annually. Self-reported surveys from college students often reveal overconsumption of these substances. Unfortunately, the costs of these surveys are high, and consequently, the results from few studies are often extrapolated across the entire target population.

Long-term tracking of opioid consumption in two United States cities using wastewater-based epidemiology approach.

Access to near-real time opioid use data is essential to the effective management of the U.S. opioid crisis.

Critical review of major sources of human exposure to N-nitrosamines.

More than 24 N-nitrosamine compounds contribute to the total N-nitrosamine (TNA) burden monitored routinely to assess human exposure to this important group of known and suspected human carcinogens. A literature review (n = 122) identified multiple sources of human exposure to TNAs, including waters (40 ± 10.5 ng/L; average ± standard deviation), food and beverages (6.

Tracking narcotics consumption at a Southwestern U.S. university campus by wastewater-based epidemiology.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) was applied to estimate the consumption of twelve narcotics within a Southwestern U.S. university campus.

Occurrence of N-nitrosamines in U.S. freshwater sediments near wastewater treatment plants.

In the present study, 40 freshwater sediments collected near 14 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across the United States were analyzed for eight N-nitrosamines by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Three N-nitrosamines were detected for the first time in freshwater sediments in units of ng/g dry weight at the specified detection frequency: N-nitrosodibutylamine (NDBA; 0.2-3.