Evaluation of a Peroxide-Based Algaecide for Cyanobacteria Control: A Mesocosm Trial in Lake Okeechobee, FL, USA

A 72 h small-scale trial was conducted in enclosed mesocosms in the Lake Okeechobee waterway to evaluate the effectiveness of a USEPA-registered peroxide-based algaecide (formulated as sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate) for controlling a natural cyanobacteria population. Mesocosms were initially subjected to either no algaecide or the maximum label rate of 10 mg H2O2·L−1. A subset of mesocosms were then subjected to a sequential application of 5 mg H2O2·L−1 at 48 h after initial treatment. Following application, peroxide concentrations rapidly decreased and were undetectable by 48 h. At 24 h after treatment, significant decreases in all biomass indicators were observed (compared to untreated mesocosms), including extracted chlorophyll a, microscopic counts (total phytoplankton and total cyanobacteria), and cyanobacteria-specific 16S rRNA gene copies by over 71%. Although peroxide treatment reduced cyanobacteria biomass, there was no change in overall community structure and the remaining population was still dominated by cyanobacteria (>90%). After 48 h exposure, some biomass recovered in single application mesocosms resulting in only a 32–45% reduction in biomass. Repeated peroxide dosing resulted in the greatest efficacy, which had a sustained (60–91%) decrease in all biomass indicators for the entire study. While a single application of the peroxide was effective in the first 24 h, a sequential treatment is likely necessary to sustain efficacy when using this approach to manage cyanobacteria in the field. Results of this study support that this peroxide-based algaecide is a strong candidate to continue with scalable field trials to assess its potential future utility for operational management programs in the Lake Okeechobee waterway.

Psychometric Properties of Scared-C Scale in a Romanian Community Sample and Its Future Utility for Dental Practice

The psychological management of children and adolescents in need of pedodontics or orthodontic treatments continues to be an essential objective in dental activity because along with the accuracy of the techniques that are used, anxiety reduction, and knowledge of how to approach the patient are necessary for the treatment to be successful. Therefore, our study aimed to validate the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders questionnaire, the child version of 41 items (SCARED-C) in the Romanian population for later use in pediatric dentistry. The instrument showed moderate to good internal consistency (α Cronbach from 0.63 to 0.91 for the total scale) and good test–retest reliability (0.70) on a subset of a sample comprising 85 children. A confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the factor structure of the Romanian version of the SCARED-C; the results showed that SCARED-C has good psychometric properties that can be used for screening anxiety in Romanian children and adolescents. The implications of using the SCARED-C in dental practice are discussed. Future studies need to be conducted to explore the convergent and discriminative validity of the instrument and its sensitivity to current DSM-V criteria. Application on a pediatric dental sample is also required.

Funded Pension Schemes in Aging Societies: A Pure Economic Argument?

This study enables different angel to explore central planners’ considerations regarding pension systems in a modern western market with aging influence. In particular, considerable weight has been given to the effect of the crisis due to the pandemic and frequent market turmoil. This study expands the number of players analyzed in the field and takes into consideration different interests among the current and future generations. In addition, we allow differentiation among earning cohorts. By using the overlapping generation model and Monte Carlo simulations, we find that in a wide macroeconomic range, pension equilibrium surprisingly stands with unfunded pension schemes despite the heavy aging influence. Contrary to the classic economic arguments by the World Bank and IMF that were widespread during the 1980s and 1990s, the choice of a pension system is much more complex. We find that the central planner must take into account not only the aging rhythm and market yield but also other parameters, such as the current and future utility perspective, the government’s debt price, GDP per capita growth rate, risk aversion, and the possibility of market turmoil.

Cardiovascular monitoring systems for aging in place: current perspectives and a novel toilet seat-based system

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death. Questions remain as to how older adults, providers and researchers can harness remote patient monitoring (RPM) to maintain/improve cardiovascular health--especially in light of COVID-19 and increased reliance on telehealth. The objective of this study was to understand the perceptions of older adults with cardiovascular challenges and providers surrounding a novel RPM device. The Heart Seat (THS) developed by Casana, is a toilet-seat-based cardiac monitoring device. Focus groups, stratified by gender, were conducted in 2021 by the UF Health Precision Health Research Center (UFIRB202100290) with older (55+) adults (n=36) in The Villages, Florida. Adoption, benefits/concerns, usability, utility and gender differences were explored. One-on-one provider interviews (n=6) explored future utility of THS. The primary benefit of THS noted by providers and older adults was ease-of-use and passive data collection, promoting adherence. Providers considered THS ‘easy-to-use’ and a positive alternative to current RPM devices. While genders' sentiments towards cardiac monitoring devices were similar, males reported having more experience with RPM. Despite this, females reported using cardiac monitoring devices more consistently than males. Therefore, passive RPM may be beneficial for increasing adherence in males. Participants' largest concern surrounding RPM was information sharing, including data monitoring, and security. Providers were also concerned about information sharing, specifically who would receive/monitor and interpret data from RPM. RPM devices should focus on enhancing ease-of-use, catering to user and provider information sharing and data monitoring/interpretation preferences and privacy.

Can Simple Psychological Interventions Increase Preventive Health Investment?

Behavioral constraints may explain part of low demand for preventive health products. We test the effects of two light-touch psychological interventions on water chlorination and related health and economic outcomes using a randomized controlled trial among 3750 women in rural Kenya. One intervention encourages participants to visualize alternative realizations of the future; one builds participants’ ability to make concrete plans. After 12 weeks, visualization increases objectively measured chlorination, reduces diarrhea episodes among children, and increases savings. Effects on chlorination and savings persist after almost three years. Effects of the planning intervention are weaker and largely insignificant. Analysis of mechanisms suggests both interventions increase self-efficacy – beliefs about one’s ability to achieve desired outcomes. Visualization also increases participants’ skill in forecasting their future utility (Gabaix and Laibson 2017). The interventions do not differentially affect beliefs and knowledge about chlorination. Results suggest simple psychological interventions can increase future-oriented behaviors, including use of preventive health technologies.

Psychometric Properties of SCARED-C Scale in a Romanian Community Sample and its Future Utility for Dental Practice

SCARED-C instrument (the child version, 41 items) is used for screening anxiety in children between 8 to 18 years old and has been first introduced by Birmaher & collab. in 1995, with good psychometric data - internal consistency from α =.74 to .93 - and good discriminative validity indices in the original versions (1997, 1999). Since then, many countries have adopted the scale, for its utility in identifying five subsets of anxiety disorders (subscales): somatic/panic disorder, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social phobia, and school avoidance. The present study contains the first Romanian translated and adapted version of the SCARED-C instrument on a community sample of 477 children (8-18 years old) from Mureș county schools. The instrument showed moderate to good internal consistency (α Cronbach from to .63 to .91 for the total scale) and good test-retest reliability (.70) on a subset of 85 children sample. A confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the factor structure of the Romanian version of SCARED-C; results showed that SCARED-C has good psychometric properties to be used for screening anxiety in Romanian children and adolescents. The implications for using SCARED-C in dental practice are discussed. Future studies need to be conducted for exploring convergent and discriminative validity of the instrument and the sensitivity to current DSM-V criteria. Application on a dental pediatric sample is also required.

1425. Revisiting β-Lactams for Treatment of Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infections: Evaluation of Twice-daily Cephalexin for Empiric Treatment of UTIs

Background Current IDSA guidelines for the treatment of UTIs discourage oral β-lactams based on lack of adequately powered studies to assess efficacy compared to fluoroquinolones or TMP-SMX. However, increasing E. coli and Klebsiella spp. resistance to first-line antibiotics has necessitated the need for alternative agents. Methods This was a single-center retrospective chart review of adult patients discharged from the University of New Mexico ED with twice-daily cephalexin for the treatment of uncomplicated UTIs from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019. Patients were excluded if < 18 years of age, received ≥ 10 days of cephalexin, received antibiotics for other indications, received antibiotics within 60 days prior to ED visit, or had structural abnormalities. The primary outcome of this study was the proportion of patients with clinical success 30 days after discharge from the ED. Patients not meeting criteria for clinical failure were classified as clinical success. Clinical failure was defined as return of patient within 30 days due to non-resolving or worsening UTI symptoms or change in antibiotic therapy after discharge based on urine culture and susceptibilities. Results A total of 264 patients were included for evaluation. The average age was 56.0 ± 20.2 years and 82.6% were female. Patients received an average 5.6 ± 0.9 days of antibiotic therapy including IV therapy. Of the 264 patients included for evaluation, 81.1% met criteria for clinical success. Of the patients with clinical failure, 29 (13.6%) required a change in antibiotics based on cultures and sensitivities, 17 (6.4%) returned for non-resolving or worsening symptoms, and 4 (1.5%) required both a change in antibiotics and returned for non-resolving or worsening symptoms. Conclusion Short courses of twice-daily cephalexin appear to be safe and effective for empiric treatment of uncomplicated UTIs. Adding β -lactams back to the antibiotic armamentarium for UTI treatment may delay the development of resistance to non- β -lactam antibiotics, ensuring their future utility. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

SMARTPHONE-BASED REALITY CAPTURE FOR SUBSURFACE UTILITIES: EXPERIENCES FROM WATER UTILITY COMPANIES IN DENMARK

Inaccurate and inconsistent documentation of subsurface utilities is a reoccurring problem in the construction industry affecting not only the end-users, but all actors involved in designing, constructing, and maintaining pipes, cables and other utilities hidden underground. In this study, a new method for 3D capturing of subsurface utilities, based on a newly developed Smartphone-based Reality Capture (RC) solution is explored. The research was divided into two parts. Firstly a testing of the method accuracy and secondly, an investigation of the usability of the method. The research results firstly showed that the RC solution is a feasible surveying method, that facilitate capturing of as-built utility assets, which can be used as a supporting tool to conventional surveying methods or alone, as the testing showed an accuracy of ±5 cm for the generated point clouds. Secondly the usability testing revealed that the RC solution benefited the utility owners by allowing time-savings on construction projects, as well as generating visual-realistic 3D models of exposed subsurface utilities to be used for quality assurance and planning of future utility work.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Prevalence and Perception of Telehealth Utilization. (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth has emerged as a safer way to access healthcare. The telehealth industry has been rapidly expanding over the last decade as a modality to provide patient-centered care. However, the prevalence of its use and patient acceptability remains unclear in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. OBJECTIVE The primary aim was to assess the prevalence of telehealth use before and during the pandemic by utilizing social media (Instagram) as an online platform for survey administration across different countries simultaneously. Our secondary aim was to assess the perceptions regarding telehealth usage amongst those utilizing it. METHODS An online social media platform (Instagram) that reaches 130,000 subjects daily, was used to administer a questionnaire that assessed the current prevalence of telehealth use and public attitudes and acceptability towards this modality of healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS 1524 respondents participated in the survey (females 89.3%; age range 25-38) of whom 91.2% lived in the GCC. Prior to COVID-19, 1440 (88%) had no exposure to telehealth. Following the covid-19 pandemic telehealth usage increased by 237% to a total of 644 users (40%) (follow-up consultations (n=410, 47%); first-time consultations (n=348, 40%)) that was associated with older age (p=0.001), having one or more comorbidities (p=0.001), taking one or more pills (p=0.001), living in the GCC (p=0.003). Those who reported using telehealth (n=679), 247 (36.4%) reported their willingness to continue using telehealth, 254 (37.4%) were unsure and 178 (26.2%) did not wish to continue to use telehealth after the COVID19 pandemic. An inverse relationship between telehealth usage and the increasing number of medical comorbidities was shown (OR= 0.76, p= 0.023). Respondents using messaging or video telehealth usage were more likely recommend virtual visits than those who used audio calls (OR= 0.49, p= 0.024). Overall, there was general satisfaction with telehealth usage and respondents found telehealth to be equally effective to in-person visits. CONCLUSIONS Telehealth usage increased dramatically and was found to be acceptable though less so if there were other comorbidities; however, further innovation to increase telehealth acceptability is needed if this is to have greater future utility in healthcare delivery.

Good and bad boundaries in ultrasound compounding: preserving anatomic boundaries while suppressing artifacts

Purpose Ultrasound compounding is to combine sonographic information captured from different angles and produce a single image. It is important for multi-view reconstruction, but as of yet there is no consensus on best practices for compounding. Current popular methods inevitably suppress or altogether leave out bright or dark regions that are useful and potentially introduce new artifacts. In this work, we establish a new algorithm to compound the overlapping pixels from different viewpoints in ultrasound. Methods Inspired by image fusion algorithms and ultrasound confidence, we uniquely leverage Laplacian and Gaussian pyramids to preserve the maximum boundary contrast without overemphasizing noise, speckles, and other artifacts in the compounded image, while taking the direction of the ultrasound probe into account. Besides, we designed an algorithm that detects the useful boundaries in ultrasound images to further improve the boundary contrast. Results We evaluate our algorithm by comparing it with previous algorithms both qualitatively and quantitatively, and we show that our approach not only preserves both light and dark details, but also somewhat suppresses noise and artifacts, rather than amplifying them. We also show that our algorithm can improve the performance of downstream tasks like segmentation. Conclusion Our proposed method that is based on confidence, contrast, and both Gaussian and Laplacian pyramids appears to be better at preserving contrast at anatomic boundaries while suppressing artifacts than any of the other approaches we tested. This algorithm may have future utility with downstream tasks such as 3D ultrasound volume reconstruction and segmentation.