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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Predictive Power Of Wastewater For Nowcasting Infectious Disease Transmission: A Retrospective Case Study Of Five Sewershed Areas In Louisville, Kentucky, Fayette Klaassen, Rochelle H. Holm, Ted Smith, Ted Cohen, Aruni Bhatnagar, Nicolas A. Menzies Jan 2024

Predictive Power Of Wastewater For Nowcasting Infectious Disease Transmission: A Retrospective Case Study Of Five Sewershed Areas In Louisville, Kentucky, Fayette Klaassen, Rochelle H. Holm, Ted Smith, Ted Cohen, Aruni Bhatnagar, Nicolas A. Menzies

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Epidemiological nowcasting traditionally relies on count surveillance data. The availability and quality of such count data may vary over time, limiting representation of true infections. Wastewater data correlates with traditional surveillance data and may provide additional value for nowcasting disease trends. Methods: We obtained SARS-CoV-2 case, death, wastewater, and serosurvey data for Jefferson County, Kentucky (USA), between August 2020 and March 2021, and parameterized an existing nowcasting model using combinations of these data. We assessed the predictive performance and variability at the sewershed level and compared the effects of adding or replacing wastewater data to case and death reports. …


Microbial Community Function And Bacterial Pathogen Composition In Pit Latrines In Peri-Urban Malaw, Savanna K. Smith, Benjamin B. Risk, Rochelle H. Holm, Elizabeth Tilley, Petros Chigwechokha, Drew Capone, Joe Brown, Francis L. De Los Reyes Iii Oct 2023

Microbial Community Function And Bacterial Pathogen Composition In Pit Latrines In Peri-Urban Malaw, Savanna K. Smith, Benjamin B. Risk, Rochelle H. Holm, Elizabeth Tilley, Petros Chigwechokha, Drew Capone, Joe Brown, Francis L. De Los Reyes Iii

Faculty Scholarship

Despite the widespread global reliance on pit latrines as improved sanitation systems, the decomposition of waste within pit latrines is poorly understood. One area needing elucidation is the characterization and function of microbial communities within pit latrines. To address this gap, we characterized the microbial communities of 55 lined pit latrines at three sampling layers from two communities in peri-urban Malawi. The microbial communities of the fecal sludge samples were analyzed for beta diversity, pathogen presence, and functional profiling. Household surveys were conducted and used to compare microbial community patterns to household characteristics and pit latrine use patterns. Compared to …


Addressing The Challenges Of Establishing Quality Wastewater Or Non- Sewered Sanitation-Based Surveillance, Including Laboratory And Epidemiological Considerations, In Malawi, Rochelle H. Holm, Ruth Nyirenda, Ted Smith, Petros Chigwechokha Oct 2023

Addressing The Challenges Of Establishing Quality Wastewater Or Non- Sewered Sanitation-Based Surveillance, Including Laboratory And Epidemiological Considerations, In Malawi, Rochelle H. Holm, Ruth Nyirenda, Ted Smith, Petros Chigwechokha

Faculty Scholarship

Learning from clinical laboratories, wastewater or environmental (including non-sewered sanitation) environmental microbiology laboratories can be established in resource-limited settings that focus on pathogen detection and pandemic prevention. Transparent discussions on the laboratory challenges and adaptations required for this can help meet the future requirements of health research and surveillance. This report aims to describe the challenges encountered when setting up a wastewater or environmental laboratory for multipathogen surveillance in Malawi, a resource-limited setting, as well as the lessons learnt. We identified nine unifying themes: what to monitor, human resource capacity, indicators of data quality, equipment availability, supply of consumable goods, …


A Citizen Science Experiment: How Well Do Park Visitors Identify Wetland Health?, Madison Cicha, Kassidy Haynes, Andrew Mehring, Mark Tierney, Andrea Gaughan Phd Sep 2023

A Citizen Science Experiment: How Well Do Park Visitors Identify Wetland Health?, Madison Cicha, Kassidy Haynes, Andrew Mehring, Mark Tierney, Andrea Gaughan Phd

The Cardinal Edge

Citizen science refers to a discipline of scientific projects that utilize public participation and collaboration to complete or supplement a collected data set. Our study as a whole aims to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) source-sink status of small, constructed wetlands in Kentucky through field and remotely sensed data. Additional facets of the project include evaluating the influence of the primary producer community on GHG uptake and emissions, and our ability to identify healthy small wetlands from science and community-based perspectives. Specifically, the citizen science aspect intends to assess both (1) gaps between knowledge of the general public regarding wetland …


Online Dashboards For Sars-Cov-2 Wastewater Data Need Standard Best Practices: An Environmental Health Communication Agenda, Colleen C. Naughton, Rochelle H. Holm, Nancy J. Lin, Brooklyn P. James, Ted Smith May 2023

Online Dashboards For Sars-Cov-2 Wastewater Data Need Standard Best Practices: An Environmental Health Communication Agenda, Colleen C. Naughton, Rochelle H. Holm, Nancy J. Lin, Brooklyn P. James, Ted Smith

Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the benefits of wastewater surveillance to supplement clinical data. Numerous online information dashboards have been rapidly, and typically independently, developed to communicate environmental surveillance data to public health officials and the public. In this study, we review dashboards presenting SARS-CoV-2 wastewater data and propose a path toward harmonization and improved risk communication. A list of 127 dashboards representing 27 countries was compiled. The variability was high and encompassed aspects including the graphics used for data presentation (e.g., line/bar graphs, maps, and tables), log versus linear scale, and 96 separate ways of labeling SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentrations. …


The Detection Of Periodic Reemergence Events Of Sars-Cov-2 Delta Strain In Communities Dominated By Omicron, Claire E. Westcott, Kevin J. Sokoloski, Eric C. Rouchka, Julia H. Chariker, Rochelle H. Holm, Ray A. Yeager, Joseph B. Moore Iv, Erin M. Elliott, Daymond Talley, Aruni Bhatnagar Oct 2022

The Detection Of Periodic Reemergence Events Of Sars-Cov-2 Delta Strain In Communities Dominated By Omicron, Claire E. Westcott, Kevin J. Sokoloski, Eric C. Rouchka, Julia H. Chariker, Rochelle H. Holm, Ray A. Yeager, Joseph B. Moore Iv, Erin M. Elliott, Daymond Talley, Aruni Bhatnagar

Faculty Scholarship

Despite entering an endemic phase, SARS-CoV-2 remains a significant burden to public health across the global community. Wastewater sampling has consistently proven utility to understanding SARS-CoV-2 prevalence trends and genetic variation as it represents a less biased assessment of the corresponding communities. Here, we report that ongoing monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 genetic variation in samples obtained from the wastewatersheds of the city of Louisville in Jefferson county Kentucky has revealed the periodic reemergence of the Delta strain in the presence of the presumed dominant Omicron strain. Unlike previous SARS-CoV-2 waves/emergence events, the Delta reemergence events were geographically restricted in the community …


Wastewater-Informed Public Health Intervention Playbook Sep 2022

Wastewater-Informed Public Health Intervention Playbook

Sustain Magazine

As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic quickly spread from country to country and continent to continent in 2020, governments and scientists needed a way to track COVID-19 through populations in order to position public health interventions in the most impactful locations. Having a decision-based risk framework may help to guide policy creation that could minimize or prevent possible outbreaks and surges of infection within communities. The University of Louisville in partnership with Louisville’s Department of Public Health and Wellness tested this strategy in 2021 and 2022. This Wastewater-Informed Public Health Intervention Playbook describes the decisions and actions of that academic and public …


Quantifying The Relationship Between Sub-Population Wastewater Samples And Community-Wide Sars-Cov-2 Seroprevalence, Ted Smith, Rochelle H. Holm, Rachel J. Keith, Alok R. Amraotkar, Chance R. Alvarado, Krzysztof Banecki, Boseung Choi, Ian Santisteban, Adrienne M. Bushau-Sprinkle, Kathleen T. Kitterman, Joshua Fuqua, Krystal T. Hamorsky, Kenneth E. Palmer, J. Michael Brick, Aruni Bhatnagar, Grzegorz A. Rempala Sep 2022

Quantifying The Relationship Between Sub-Population Wastewater Samples And Community-Wide Sars-Cov-2 Seroprevalence, Ted Smith, Rochelle H. Holm, Rachel J. Keith, Alok R. Amraotkar, Chance R. Alvarado, Krzysztof Banecki, Boseung Choi, Ian Santisteban, Adrienne M. Bushau-Sprinkle, Kathleen T. Kitterman, Joshua Fuqua, Krystal T. Hamorsky, Kenneth E. Palmer, J. Michael Brick, Aruni Bhatnagar, Grzegorz A. Rempala

Faculty Scholarship

Robust epidemiological models relating wastewater to community disease prevalence are lacking. Assessments of SARS-CoV-2 infection rates have relied primarily on convenience sampling, which does not provide reliable estimates of community disease prevalence due to inherent biases. This study conducted serial stratified randomized samplings to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 3717 participants and obtained weekly samples of community wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 concentrations in Jefferson County, KY (USA) from August 2020 to February 2021. Using an expanded Susceptible-Infected-Recovered model, the longitudinal estimates of the disease prevalence were obtained and compared with the wastewater concentrations using regression analysis. The model analysis …


Sars-Cov-2 Rna Abundance In Wastewater As A Function Of Distinct Urban Sewershed Size, Rochelle H. Holm, Anish Mukherjee, Jayesh P. Rai, Ray A. Yeager, Daymond Talley, Shesh N. Rai, Aruni Bhatnagar, Ted Smith Mar 2022

Sars-Cov-2 Rna Abundance In Wastewater As A Function Of Distinct Urban Sewershed Size, Rochelle H. Holm, Anish Mukherjee, Jayesh P. Rai, Ray A. Yeager, Daymond Talley, Shesh N. Rai, Aruni Bhatnagar, Ted Smith

Faculty Scholarship

During the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater-based epidemiology has emerged as a promising approach for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 prevalence on a community-level. Despite much being known about the utility of making these measurements in large wastewater treatment plants, little is known about the correlation with finer geographic resolution, such as those obtained through sewershed sub-area catchments. This study aims to identify community wastewater surveillance characteristics between sewershed areas that affect the strength of the association of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in a metropolitan area. For this, wastewater from 17 sewershed areas were sampled in Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky (USA), from August 2020 to April 2021 …


Surveillance Of Rnase P, Pmmov, And Crassphage In Wastewater As Indicators Of Human Fecal Concentration Across Urban Sewer Neighborhoods, Kentucky, Rochelle H. Holm, M. Nagarkar, R. A. Yeager, D. Talley, A. C. Chaney, J. P. Rai, A. Mukherjee, S. N. Rai, A. Bhatnagar, Ted Smith Jan 2022

Surveillance Of Rnase P, Pmmov, And Crassphage In Wastewater As Indicators Of Human Fecal Concentration Across Urban Sewer Neighborhoods, Kentucky, Rochelle H. Holm, M. Nagarkar, R. A. Yeager, D. Talley, A. C. Chaney, J. P. Rai, A. Mukherjee, S. N. Rai, A. Bhatnagar, Ted Smith

Faculty Scholarship

Wastewater surveillance has been widely used as a supplemental method to track the community infection levels of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. A gap exists in standardized reporting for fecal indicator concentrations, which can be used to calibrate the primary outcome concentrations from wastewater monitoring for use in epidemiological models. To address this, measurements of fecal indicator concentration among wastewater samples collected from sewers and treatment centers in four counties of Kentucky (N = 650) were examined. Results from the untransformed wastewater data over 4 months of sampling indicated that the fecal indicator concentration of human ribonuclease P (RNase …


How A Low-Cost Method For Cumulative Water-Sampling Shows Need For Improvement Of Legal Public-Contact Standards In The United States, Samuel C. Kessler Feb 2021

How A Low-Cost Method For Cumulative Water-Sampling Shows Need For Improvement Of Legal Public-Contact Standards In The United States, Samuel C. Kessler

Grawemeyer Colloquium Papers

Across the world, it is estimated that 4.5 billion people live near water sources “impaired” for use or contact. Standards for human-interaction are established by international organizations such as the WHO, and legislative bodies from national to local levels with jurisdiction over the quality of our waterways to ensure public & environmental health. Standards are often assessed from “grab-samples” taken from a waterbody at a certain time, with a minimum number analyzed. Water-quality standards in the United States are enforced under the Clean Water Act (CWA) via the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), applying to “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). …


Analyzing The Effects Of Of Seasonal Land Cover And Precipitation On The Sediment Delivery Ratio Of An Agriculture Dominated Watershed., Jonah Liebman May 2020

Analyzing The Effects Of Of Seasonal Land Cover And Precipitation On The Sediment Delivery Ratio Of An Agriculture Dominated Watershed., Jonah Liebman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soil erosion is of escalating importance as increasing population and climate change have put increasing pressures on agricultural food production. Vegetation and precipitation are two factors that control the amount of soil erosion extant within a region. Sediment delivery ratios (SDRs) assess the ratio of soil eroded from a watershed system that is permanently removed from the system through stream sediment discharge. Using 1) river discharge and sediment concentration data and 2) the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), this thesis analyzes fluctuations in monthly SDRs for an average hydroclimatological crop-harvest season for the Senachwine Creek watershed, IL. Through calculating …


Sustainable Solutions, Fall/Winter 2020, Issue 41 Nov 2019

Sustainable Solutions, Fall/Winter 2020, Issue 41

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Environmentally Responsible Land Use, Spring/Summer 2010, Issue 22 Sep 2019

Environmentally Responsible Land Use, Spring/Summer 2010, Issue 22

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Sustainable Communities, Fall/Winter 2010, Issue 21 Sep 2019

Sustainable Communities, Fall/Winter 2010, Issue 21

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Sustainable Building, Spring/Summer 2009, Issue 20 Sep 2019

Sustainable Building, Spring/Summer 2009, Issue 20

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Environmental History, Fall/Winter 2009, Issue 19 Sep 2019

Environmental History, Fall/Winter 2009, Issue 19

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Student Research, Spring/Summer 2008, Issue 18 Sep 2019

Student Research, Spring/Summer 2008, Issue 18

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Evolving Pollution Prevention, Fall/Winter 2008, Issue 17 Sep 2019

Evolving Pollution Prevention, Fall/Winter 2008, Issue 17

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Climate Change, Spring/Summer 2007, Issue 16 Sep 2019

Climate Change, Spring/Summer 2007, Issue 16

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Our Energy Future, Fall/Winter 2007, Issue 15 Sep 2019

Our Energy Future, Fall/Winter 2007, Issue 15

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Land Conservation, Spring/Summer 2006, Issue 14 Sep 2019

Land Conservation, Spring/Summer 2006, Issue 14

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Pollution And Heart Disease, Fall/Winter 2006, Issue 13 Sep 2019

Pollution And Heart Disease, Fall/Winter 2006, Issue 13

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Green Cities, Spring/Summer 2005, Issue 12 Sep 2019

Green Cities, Spring/Summer 2005, Issue 12

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Global Sustainability, Fall/Winter 2005, Issue 11 Sep 2019

Global Sustainability, Fall/Winter 2005, Issue 11

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Environmental Justice, Spring/Summer 2004, Issue 10 Sep 2019

Environmental Justice, Spring/Summer 2004, Issue 10

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Kentucky's Environmental Future, Fall/Winter 2004, Issue 9 Sep 2019

Kentucky's Environmental Future, Fall/Winter 2004, Issue 9

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Urban Ecology, Spring/Summer 2003, Issue 8 Sep 2019

Urban Ecology, Spring/Summer 2003, Issue 8

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Urban Regeneration, Fall/Winter 2003, Issue 7 Sep 2019

Urban Regeneration, Fall/Winter 2003, Issue 7

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.


Urban Air Quality, Spring/Summer 2002, Issue 6 Sep 2019

Urban Air Quality, Spring/Summer 2002, Issue 6

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.