Front Microbiol
September 2024
As nuclear technology evolves in response to increased demand for diversification and decarbonization of the energy sector, new and innovative approaches are needed to effectively identify and deter the proliferation of nuclear arms, while ensuring safe development of global nuclear energy resources. Preventing the use of nuclear material and technology for unsanctioned development of nuclear weapons has been a long-standing challenge for the International Atomic Energy Agency and signatories of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Environmental swipe sampling has proven to be an effective technique for characterizing clandestine proliferation activities within and around known locations of nuclear facilities and sites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has become a valuable tool for monitoring the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 on university campuses. However, concerns about effectiveness of raw sewage as a COVID-19 early warning system still exist, and it's not clear how useful normalization by simultaneous comparison of Pepper Mild Mottle Virus (PMMoV) is in addressing variations resulting from fecal discharge dilution. This study aims to contribute insights into these aspects by conducting an academic-year field trial at the student residences on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus, raw sewage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To describe the short-term outcome of acute arthroscopically assisted ulnar shortening (AUS), to treat short radius syndrome in dogs.
Study Design: Case series.
Animals: Eleven client owned dogs.
Inadequate sampling approaches to wastewater analyses can introduce biases, leading to inaccurate results such as false negatives and significant over- or underestimation of average daily viral concentrations, due to the sporadic nature of viral input. To address this challenge, we conducted a field trial within the University of Tennessee residence halls, employing different composite sampling modes that encompassed different time intervals (1 h, 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, and 24 h) across various time windows (morning, afternoon, evening, and late-night). Our primary objective was to identify the optimal approach for generating representative composite samples of SARS-CoV-2 from raw wastewater.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGynaecological malignancies affect women in low and middle income countries (LMICs) at disproportionately higher rates compared with high income countries (HICs) with little known about variations in access, quality, and outcomes in global cancer care. Our study aims to evaluate international variation in post-operative morbidity and mortality following gynaecological oncology surgery between HIC and LMIC settings. Study design consisted of a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of women undergoing surgery for gynaecological malignancies (NCT04579861).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany warnings issued to members of the public are deterministic in that they do not include event likelihood information. This is true of the current polygon-based tornado warning used by the American National Weather Service, although the likelihood of a tornado varies within the boundaries of the polygon. To test whether adding likelihood information benefits end users, two experimental studies and one in-person interview study were conducted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA has been frequently detected in sewage from many university dormitories to inform public health decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, a clear understanding of SARS-CoV-2 RNA persistence in site-specific raw sewage is still lacking. To investigate the SARS-CoV-2 RNA persistence, a field trial was conducted in the University of Tennessee dormitories raw sewage, similar to municipal wastewater.
Methods: The decay of enveloped SARS-CoV-2 RNA and non-enveloped Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) RNA was investigated by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in raw sewage at 4°C and 20°C.
Front Microbiol
February 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about an urgent need to monitor the community prevalence of infection and detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2. Testing individual people is the most reliable method to measure the spread of the virus in any given community, but it is also the most expensive and time-consuming. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been used since the 1960s when scientists implemented monitoring to measure the effectiveness of the Polio vaccine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To examine the self-perceived knowledge, confidence and preparedness of undergraduate pharmacy students to provide palliative care.
Methods: A descriptive exploratory analysis was conducted in 2021 at an Australian university involving final-year pharmacy students (n = 200) who were provided with the opportunity to complete a survey on self-perceived knowledge, confidence and preparedness overall and with respect to a range of graduate capabilities which are essential to provide care in palliative care settings. Key capability areas include: communication, showing empathy, making clinical judgements and self-reflection.
Background: The Global Gynecological Oncology Surgical Outcomes Collaborative (GO SOAR) has developed a network of gynecological oncology surgeons, surgical departments, and other interested parties that have the long-term ability to collaborate on outcome studies. Presented is the protocol for the GO SOAR2 study.
Primary Objectives: To compare survival following interval and delayed cytoreductive surgery, between delayed cytoreductive surgery and no surgery (chemotherapy alone); and international variations in access to cytoreductive surgery for women with stage III-IV epithelial ovarian cancer.
Microbiol Resour Announc
November 2021
Reported here is a coding-complete genome sequence of a SARS-CoV-2 variant obtained from raw wastewater samples at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville campus. This sequence provides insight into SARS-CoV-2 variants that circulate on large college campuses but remain mostly undetected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of stem positioning on the biomechanical performance of a novel, collared, short-stem total hip implant under compression and torsion .
Study Design: Six canine cadaveric femurs were implanted with a collared short-stem femoral implant. Canal flare index (CFI), stem angle, absolute and relative cut heights and relative size were measured radiographically and used as independent variables.
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans is an emerging fungus that is causing salamander declines in Europe. We evaluated whether an invasive frog species (Cuban treefrog, Osteopilus septentrionalis) that is found in international trade could be an asymptomatic carrier when exposed to zoospore doses known to infect salamanders. We discovered that Cuban treefrogs could be infected with B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between radiographic fit/fill measurements and biomechanical performance of three canine cementless total hip implant designs using an biomechanical testing protocol that replicates compression and torsion.
Study Design: Eighteen (six/group) canine cadaveric femurs were implanted with one of three cementless total hip implant designs: (1) collarless, (2) collared or (3) lateral bolt stems. Femoral length, canal flare index (CFI), canal fill, stem fit, stem level and stem angle were measured as independent variables.
Purpose: The administration of chemotherapy is a complex task which has many safety issues. Safe administration of chemotherapy by nurses should be evidence-based. The aim of this integrative review was to synthesise the evidence about education and practice requirements for safe administration of chemotherapy by nurses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Using existing data from clinical registries to support clinical trials and other prospective studies has the potential to improve research efficiency. However, little has been reported about staff experiences and lessons learned from implementation of this method in pediatric cardiology.
Objectives: We describe the process of using existing registry data in the Pediatric Heart Network Residual Lesion Score Study, report stakeholders' perspectives, and provide recommendations to guide future studies using this methodology.
Vet Comp Orthop Traumatol
September 2019
Objective: The aim of this study was to develop an biomechanical protocol for canine cementless hip arthroplasty that represents physiological gait loading (compression and torsion) and to evaluate if three alternative implant designs improve fixation compared with the traditional collarless, tapered stem in the clinically challenging case of moderate canal flare index.
Study Design: Twenty-four (six/group) laboratory-prepared canine constructs were tested using a simulated gait and overload (failure) protocol. Construct stiffness, failure load/displacement and migration were measured as outcome variables.
Objective: To report outcomes of dogs with common calcanean tendon (CCT) ruptures treated with a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) enhanced nonabsorbable loop-suture technique.
Study Design: Retrospective case series.
Animals: Client-owned dogs (n = 12).
Background: The Pediatric Heart Network Collaborative Learning Study (PHN CLS) increased early extubation rates after infant tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and coarctation of the aorta (CoA) repair across participating sites by implementing a clinical practice guideline (CPG). The impact of the CPG on hospital costs has not been studied.
Methods: PHN CLS clinical data were linked to cost data from Children's Hospital Association by matching on indirect identifiers.
Canine hip dysplasia and developmental dysplasia of the human hip share demographic, phenotypic, and clinical features including the predisposition to develop osteoarthritis in affected joints. To support the results of genetic mapping studies for CHD and its concomitant osteoarthritis with functional information, we performed RNA-seq on hip capsule and teres ligament of affected and unaffected dogs. RNA seq showed that expressed genes segregated according age, capsule or ligament, and hip phenotype.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCirc Arrhythm Electrophysiol
July 2018
Background: Interpretation of pediatric ECGs is limited by lack of accurate sex- and race-specific normal reference values obtained with modern technology for all ages. We sought to obtain contemporary digital ECG measurements in healthy children from North America, to evaluate the effects of sex and race, and to compare our results to commonly used published datasets.
Methods: Digital ECGs (12-lead) were retrospectively collected for children ≤18 years old with normal echocardiograms at 19 centers in the Pediatric Heart Network.
Objective: To examine the animal trauma triage (ATT) and modified Glasgow Coma Scale (mGCS) scores as predictors of mortality outcome (death or euthanasia) in injured dogs.
Design: Observational cohort study conducted from September 2013 to March 2015 with follow-up until death or hospital discharge.
Setting: Nine veterinary hospitals including private referral and veterinary teaching hospitals.