Evaluation of real-time fluorescence sensors and benchtop fluorescence for tracking and predicting sewage contamination in the Tijuana River Estuary at the US-Mexico border.

Cross-border flow of untreated sewage from Mexico into the USA via the Tijuana River is public health issue with negative consequences for coastal communities. Here we evaluate the potential application of fluorescence-based, submersible tryptophan-like (TRP) and humic-like (CDOM) fluorescence sensors for real-time tracking of wastewater pollution in an estuarine environment. Sonde fluorescence measurements were compared with benchtop fluorescence, fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentrations, and real-time specific conductivity measurements in the Tijuana River Estuary during dry and wet weather conditions, and with and without cross-border flow. TRP and CDOM fluorescence concentrations were low during times without cross-border flow and two-three orders of magnitude higher during storm events and after cross-border sewage flow events. Major deterioration in water quality, including hypoxic conditions, was observed after consistent, long-term cross-border sewage flow. Real-time TRP and CDOM fluorescence concentrations had a significant linear relationship with fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentrations during dry weather periods with cross-border flow (p < 0.001) but were poorly correlated during stormflow and during less polluted periods with no cross-border flow. TRP and CDOM fluorescence acquired on discrete samples using a benchtop fluorometer correlated significantly (p < 0.001) with FIB concentrations under all cross-border flow conditions. Based on relationships between benchtop TRP fluorescence and percent wastewater, the greatest amount of untreated wastewater in the estuary's surface layer during cross-border flow events was estimated at >80 % and occurred during neap tides, when concentrated, sewage-laden freshwater flowed over dense saline seawater due to stratification and lack of mixing in the estuary. These results are important because exposure to untreated sewage poses severe health risks for residents and visitors to adjacent coastal areas. While benchtop fluorescence was more effective for estimating the degree of wastewater pollution, submersible TRP and CDOM sensors provided a real-time alert of sewage contamination, which can be utilized in other sewage impacted estuarine environments.

Detecting feigned symptoms of depression, anxiety, and ADHD, in college students with the structured inventory of malingered symptomatology.

OBJECTIVE: Research consistently shows how easily students can feign symptoms of ADHD on self-report checklists to determine eligibility for curricular and standardized testing accommodations. However, it is unclear how easily students can feign psychological symptoms to accesses academic accommodations, making the assessment of symptom validity important in both populations. METHOD: Using a between-subjects design, 75 college students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) coached feigning of ADHD, (2) coached feigning of depression and anxiety (DA), and (3) honest responding (HR). Participants completed the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS). RESULTS: The SIMS showed 100% specificity, but low sensitivity (36-52%) for detecting feigned symptoms with different cutoffs. Differences on SIMS subtests were apparent by group with elevated scores for the DA group on the Affective Disorders subscale and elevation for the ADHD group on the Low Intelligence and Amnestic subscales. Participants identified as feigning by the SIMS typically reported more severe symptoms than participants not identified on the DASS-21. CONCLUSIONS: The SIMS equally classified the feigned ADHD and DA participants for both cutoff scores utilized. Potential reasons for low sensitivity rates are discussed and future research recommendations are made.

Furthering the Understanding of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition Factor Structure in a Clinical Sample.

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) is a commonly administered battery for assessing intellectual and cognitive abilities. Despite its popularity, construct validation studies primarily utilize the WAIS-IV normative sample rather than ecologically-valid clinical samples. The current study expands the literature on the validity of WAIS-IV by testing a bifactor model in such a sample. We examined archival data from 300 concurrent psychological evaluations performed at a university-based community clinic. Participants received the full WAIS-IV standard battery. Consistent with recent literature, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) favored a direct hierarchical model, where the g factor has a direct influence on WAIS-IV subtest performance and index scores explain only modest degrees of residual variance. Results challenge traditional intelligence nosologies and suggest consideration of a two-step method of WAIS-IV interpretation in clinical samples, whereby the Full Scale IQ score (FSIQ) score is examined first and individual subtest scores are analyzed second.

Examination of Wechsler adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition short-form IQ estimations in an outpatient psychoeducational sample.

OBJECTIVE: The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th edition (WAIS-IV) is a commonly utilized cognitive battery across many clinical settings. However, due to various patient variables, an abbreviated assessment of intellectual abilities, may be clinically advantageous to allow for a more thorough assessment of other cognitive domains. The current study represents an attempt to propose additional short-form IQ estimations in an outpatient clinical sample. METHODS: We examined archival data from 318 concurrent psychological/psychoeducational evaluations performed within a university clinic (Mage = 28.67; 53.8% women). Thirty-six unique 4-subtest short-form IQ combinations were created to ensure that each WAIS-IV index score was represented by a single subtest. RESULTS: Complete data for the ten core subtests and FSIQ were available for 192 cases. Stepwise regression analyses revealed three short-form combinations that significantly accounted for unique variance in true FSIQ scores in the final model (R2 = .981, F[3, 188] = 3257.597, p < .001). Regression-based and prorated FSIQ estimates were calculated, and both methods revealed that approximately 70-75% of participants' FSIQ estimates fell within five Standard Score points of true FSIQ. CONCLUSION: Results suggest the utility of three derived 4-subtest short-form IQ estimations for use within a clinical sample.

Retrospective Analysis of the Test of Memory Malingering in a Low Intellectual Quotient Intractable Epilepsy Sample.

OBJECTIVE: The Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) is commonly used by neuropsychologists (Sharland, M. J., & Gfeller, J. D. (2007). A survey of neuropsychologists' beliefs and practices with respect to the assessment of effort. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 22 (2), 213-223); however there is variable research regarding its use in low intelligence and epileptic populations (Hill, S. K., Ryan, L. M., Kennedy, C. H., & Malamut, B. L. (2003). The relationship between measures of declarative memory and the Test of Memory Malingering in patients with and without temporal lobe dysfunction. Journal of Forensic Neuropsychology, 3 (3), 1-18; Hurley, K. E., & Deal, W. P. (2006). Assessment instruments measuring malingering used with individuals who have mental retardation: Potential problems and issues. Mental Retardation, 44 (2), 112-119; Simon, M. J. (2007). Performance of mentally retarded forensic patients on the Test of Memory Malingering. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 63 (4), 339-344). The present study evaluates whether the standard TOMM cutoffs are resistant to low estimated IQ (≤80) in a clinical sample of patients with intractable epilepsy. A second aim is to decipher possible relationships between the TOMM and memory performance. METHODS: Retrospective data analysis was conducted between 2010 and 2019 on 42 adults with intractable epilepsy who completed a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation as part of screening procedures for epilepsy surgery. IQ estimates and TOMM were administered to all participants. Some were also administered memory- and mood-related measures. RESULTS: Traditional TOMM cutoffs demonstrated excellent specificity with only one participant scoring below the cutoff score on the Retention Trial, but not on Trial 2. The TOMM significantly correlated with several scores on various memory tests. CONCLUSIONS: The TOMM may be appropriate for use in low intellectually functioning populations with intractable epilepsy given the excellent specificity seen in this study. Future studies may seek to better understand the relationship between TOMM and memory performance in other low-functioning populations.

Examining the relationship between neuroticism and post-concussion syndrome in mild traumatic brain injury.

Objective: We sought to examine the relationship between personality traits and post-concussion symptom reporting in individuals with and without a self-reported history of concussion. Methods: Data were collected via a cross-sectional electronic survey from 619 individuals via Amazon Mechanical Turk (mTurk). Participants completed a background demographic questionnaire, as well as both the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) and IPIP-NEO-120 personality inventory. Results: Significant relationships were seen between concussion symptom reporting and personality traits of neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, but not openness, among both groups. The positive concussion group reported more severe symptoms across nearly all PCSS items, despite being, on average, multiple years removed from their injury. Furthermore, broad personality traits did not differ between concussion groups. Discussion: The positive concussion group reported persisting symptoms many years post-injury, suggesting a small subset of individuals may not become fully asymptomatic following a concussion. While differences among personality traits, including neuroticism, were not seen, psychiatric distress, namely symptoms of depression, accounted for a significant degree of variance in symptom reporting and is likely a strong influencer in recovery trajectory. As such, an increased emphasis on psychotherapeutic treatment following a concussion, especially in cases with prolonged recovery, may be warranted.

Global health funding and economic development.

The impact of increased national wealth, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), on public health is widely understood, however an equally important but less well-acclaimed relationship exists between improvements in health and the growth of an economy. Communicable diseases such as HIV, TB, Malaria and the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are impacting many of the world's poorest and most vulnerable populations, and depressing economic development. Sickness and disease has decreased the size and capabilities of the workforce through impeding access to education and suppressing foreign direct investment (FDI). There is clear evidence that by investing in health improvements a significant increase in GDP per capita can be attained in four ways: Firstly, healthier populations are more economically productive; secondly, proactive healthcare leads to decrease in many of the additive healthcare costs associated with lack of care (treating opportunistic infections in the case of HIV for example); thirdly, improved health represents a real economic and developmental outcome in-and-of itself and finally, healthcare spending capitalises on the Keynesian 'economic multiplier' effect. Continued under-investment in health and health systems represent an important threat to our future global prosperity. This editorial calls for a recognition of health as a major engine of economic growth and for commensurate investment in public health, particularly in poor countries.

To drink or not to drink: motives and expectancies for use and nonuse in adolescence.

Drinking motives have a prominent role in cognitive models of adolescent and adult alcohol decision-making (Cooper, Russell, Skinner, & Windle, 1992; Cooper, 1994). The complementary construct of motivation not to drink has received less attention (Epler, Sher & Piasecki, 2009). We examined how abstinence motives interacted with drinking motives and alcohol expectancies to predict alcohol consumption in samples of US high school students (N>2500). Nondrinking motives predicted lower rates of lifetime and current alcohol use. Motives not to drink interacted with specific drinking motives, like social and coping motives, and alcohol expectancies to predict certain aspects of drinking behavior. For example, motives not to drink had the greatest impact on youth with weaker social motivations. Findings highlight the distinction between motives not to drink and other alcohol-related cognitions in predicting adolescent alcohol consumption. This work not only supports the utility of this construct in developing models of youth alcohol-related decision-making but also has implications for prevention programming.