Pierre Herckes

Temporal surveillance of Coccidioides in Aerosols in Mesa, Arizona Valley fever is a lung infection caused by the inhalation of infectious spores from the fungus Coccidioides spp. Coccidioides is a genus of soil dwelling fungi endemic to the arid regions of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. Few Valley fever studies have focused on detecting Coccidioides spores in airborne respirable particles, which is the primary infection vector. This study looks at the presence of Coccidioides in air at a highly soil positive site in Mesa, Arizona. Aerosol samples were collected for 24 h every 6 days, following the Environmental Protection Agency sampling schedule. Meteorological data were collected from a nearby weather station. Coccidioides were detected in ∼68% of the aerosol samples. Bulk PM10 did not have a statistically significant relationship with presence of Coccidioides; however, there was a significant relationship between the amount of crustal material in the aerosols and presence of Coccidioides. Previous studies link the presence of Coccidioides in air with bulk PM10 concentrations; however, we found that bulk PM10 concentrations give an incomplete story. Additionally, there were statistically significant relationships with the presence of Coccidioides and meteorological parameters, including relative humidity, temperature, and wind speed. This study emphasizes the importance of dust entrainment in the transmission of Coccidioides.

First paper by Amelia is out on our Valley Fever research. This one shows a clear link between the crustal component of PM10 and positivity for cocci in the air.
Temporal surveillance of Coccidioides in Aerosols in Mesa, Arizona pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

I thought it was because you had an air pollution study going on, like we did in Phoenix with the same outcome. Surest way to not have air pollution events is to set up to study them... 😉

Over summer we kept working on GLOR a larger ozone study and an overview paper of the study just got published in AWMA's EM magazine airandwmapa.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/AWMA_W...

Phosphorus speciation using ion chromatography coupled with ICP-MS elucidates transformations of phosphorus compounds on reactive surfaces Phosphorus (P) is an important and often limiting element in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Insufficient understanding of the characteristics and…

new collaborative paper is out Phosphorus speciation using ion chromatography coupled with ICP-MS... www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

lots of water, limited time outside and ideally not forget gloves to touch any metal..... also one day move and turn on AC... only after that setting up inside when cool.....

Field site moving day in Arizona.... picture does not convey temperature 🥵🤣

but pet peeve #1 now in summer: all the people that (re)submitted anything they had on their desk, just before summer vacation, then do not review (as on vacation which is fine!) but first day back in 1-2mo: "dear editor why have we no decision yet on my manuscript). same thing on Xmas

I agree. Many of the hyperprolific authors do not review, no time. Others do not review as they feel they have language issues or feel not qualified, yet they publish and submit on the topic and are cited in the paper under consideration.

this increasing, the individual do even tell you after personal reminders that they will do, just to ghost you after >6weeks. Now you have to restart looking for a new reviewer. There is a surprising number of people who do this! accepting to review just to see what others are up to apparently.

5 mo is not nothing! but as editor I often find myself (especially now in summer) inviting 20+ reviewers (50 is not unheard of) to get 2 reviews. However the biggest delays and a bigger problem is people committing to reviews but do not follow through.

As some websites/Orcid now track reviewer activity, some people already do this apparently for the number count incentive. I see as editor an increase in people submitting LLM reviews or just blatant copy and paste without specifics, minutes after accepting to review.

I do not think paying will help. Already now some publishers offer incentives like APC waivers and this does not lead to significantly more reviewers accepting bur rather to people accepting for the "Reward" and then doing copy and paste reviews, or 3 line reviews.

the short: some tox studies do show potential health risks (intestinal inflammation or genotoxicity). EU has banned it as food additive bc of precautionary principle, not 100% clear that it is safe. In the US still allowed. Lots of debate on it though.

Did you sharpen them all?

Amelia presented our work on aerosols and Valley Fever at the 69th annual Coccidioidomycosis Study Group

Congratulations Dr. Cao!
Thuong successfully defended her Ph.D. today!

💯

good luck!

A News release of on our recent work on tire wear emissions. "Research trio tests environmental risks of tire emissions" fullcircle.asu.edu/research/res...

www.univ-amu.fr/en/public/ac...

I had fun talking about microplastics on Horizon Arizona @arizonapbs.bsky.social
azpbs.org/horizon/2025...

Great opportunity for a collaborative PhD project!

Photocatalytic abatement of ambient NOx by TiO2 coated solar panels Nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide (combined, known as NOx) and their contribution to ozone and photochemical smog generation are persistent issues in urban environments. Many technologies have been de...

"Photocatalytic abatement of ambient NOx by TiO2 coated solar panels" a new paper from Jesse from our research group shows that proof of concept works, even outdoors and over time. The impact however is limited because of mass transfer limitations. - RSC Sustainability pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

yikes but it made it to a respectable age...

It also makes it harder for them to ban books.

Happy Holidays!

So you stopped checking your email for the day?

It's the increasing illusion that you rationally understand why the species separate or not..

Microplastics in the Desert: A Growing Concern in Phoenix Soils A recent study reveals widespread and increasing microplastic contamination in the soils of Phoenix and the Sonoran Desert, highlighting significant environmental concerns and the need for further res...

A spectroscopy journal did a story on our work on #microplastics in local soils and how they are increasing.

Microplastics in the Desert: A Growing Concern in Phoenix Soils www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/micropl...

yes but then again this is what people anyways do this season, quickly submit a paper before the holidays, then stop reviewing/responding to editors. which is fine!!.. but then first day back after holidays in January: email to editor: why is my paper not reviewed yet? why do you take so long?🙄