Long-term Shallow Groundwater Studies in the Coastal Plain: Opportunities and Challenges

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

Long-Term Ecohydrologic Monitoring: A Case Study from the Santee Experimental Forest, South Carolina

Long-term research on gauged watersheds within the USDA Forest Service’s Experimental Forest and Range (EFR) network has contributed substantially to our understanding of relationships among forests, water, and hydrologic processes and watershed management, yet there is only limited information from coastal forests. This article summarizes key findings from hydrology and water-quality studies based on long-term monitoring on first-, second-, and third-order watersheds on the Santee Experimental Forest, which are a part of the headwaters of the east branch of the Cooper River that drains into the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. The watersheds are representative forest ecosystems that are characteristic of the low-gradient Atlantic Coastal Plain. The long-term (35-year) water balance shows an average annual runoff of 22% of the precipitation and an estimated 75% for the evapotranspiration (ET), leaving the balance to groundwater. Non-growing season prescribed fire, an operational management practice, shows no effects on streamflow and nutrient export. The long-term records were fundamental to understanding the effects of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 on the water balance of the paired watersheds that were related to vegetation damage by Hugo and post-Hugo responses of vegetation. The long-term precipitation records showed that the frequency of large rainfall events has increased over the last two decades. Although there was an increase in air temperature, there was no effect of that increase on annual streamflow and water table depths. The long-term watershed records provide information needed to improve design, planning, and assessment methods and tools used for addressing the potential impacts of hydrologic responses on extreme events; risk and vulnerability assessments of land use; and climate and forest disturbance on hydrology, ecology, biogeochemistry, and water supply

Downward Longwave Radiation Retrieved from MODIS Imagery and Possible Application on Water Resource Management at Turkey Creek Watershed in South Carolina

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conferences - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

Comparison of Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) using Three Methods for a Grass Reference and a Natural Forest in Coastal Plain of South Carolina

2014 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Informing Strategic Water Planning to Address Natural Resource, Community and Economic Challenge

Impact of bedside lung ultrasound on physician clinical decision-making in an emergency department in Nepal

Background Lung ultrasound is an effective tool for the evaluation of undifferentiated dyspnea in the emergency department. Impact of lung ultrasound on clinical decisions for the evaluation of patients with dyspnea in resource-limited settings is not well-known. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of lung ultrasound on clinical decision-making for patients presenting with dyspnea to an emergency department in the resource-limited setting of Nepal. Methods A prospective, cross-sectional study of clinicians working in the Patan Hospital Emergency Department was performed. Clinicians performed lung ultrasounds on patients presenting with dyspnea and submitted ultrasounds with their pre-test diagnosis, lung ultrasound interpretation, post-test diagnosis, and any change in management. Results Twenty-two clinicians participated in the study, completing 280 lung ultrasounds. Diagnosis changed in 124 (44.3%) of patients with dyspnea. Clinicians reported a change in management based on the lung ultrasound in 150 cases (53.6%). Of the changes in management, the majority involved treatment (83.3%) followed by disposition (13.3%) and new consults (2.7%). Conclusions In an emergency department in Nepal, bedside lung ultrasound had a significant impact on physician clinical decision-making, especially on patient diagnosis and treatment

COMPARISON OF DRAINMOD BASED WATERSHED SCALE MODELS

Watershed scale hydrology and water quality models (DRAINMOD-DUFLOW, DRAINMOD-W, DRAINMOD-GIS and WATGIS) that describe the nitrogen loadings at the outlet of poorly drained watersheds were examined with respect to their accuracy and uncertainty in model predictions. Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) was applied to determine the impact of uncertainty in estimating field exports and decay coefficients on the uncertainty of the simulated nitrogen loads at the outlet of a 2950 ha coastal plain watershed in eastern North Carolina. Mean daily flow predictions were all within 1 % of the observed flows. Except for the WATGIS model, mean daily nitrate-nitrogen load predictions were within 2 % of the observed load. Statistical test indicated no difference between the predictions of the different models. Uncertainty analysis indicated that uncertainty in quantifying the field exports has greater impact on the uncertainty of outlet loads than does the uncertainty associated with decay coefficient. The uncertainty of predicted outputs from the DRAINMOD-GIS and WATGIS models are similar

Application of SWAT Hydrologic Model for TMDL Development on Chapel Branch Creek Watershed, SC

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Regio

Modeling the Effect of Land Use Change on Hydrology of a Forested Watershed in Coastal South Carolina

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Regio

Nutritional status and its association with quality of life among people living with HIV attending public anti-retroviral therapy sites of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

This article was published in AIDS Research and Therapy [© 2015 BioMed Central Ltd.] and the definite version is available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4417539/Background: Little evidence exists on the connections between nutrition, diet intake, and quality of life (QoL) among people living with HIV (PLHIV). The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of under-nutrition among PLHIV in Nepal, and identify risk factors and assess correlations with PLHIVs' QoL and nutritional status. Methods: This quantitative cross-sectional study used Body Mass Index (BMI) as an indicator for nutritional status, and additional information on opportunistic infections (OIs), CD4 count, and World Health Organization (WHO) clinical staging was collected from medical records. Participants were asked to complete surveys on food security and QoL. Descriptive analysis was used to estimate the prevalence of under nutrition. To assess associations between nutrition status and independent variables, bivariate and multivariate analysis was completed. Spearman's rank correlation test was used to assess the association between nutritional status and QoL. Results: One in five PLHIVs was found to be under nourished (BMI <18.5 kg/m2). Illiteracy, residence in care homes, CD4 cells count <350 cells/mm3, OIs, and illness at WHO clinical stages III and IV were found to be significant predictors of under nutrition. BMI was significantly correlated with three domains of QoL (psychological, social and environmental). Conclusion: Nutrition interventions should form an integral part of HIV care programs. Understanding the presence of OI, decline in CD4 count, and advancing WHO clinical stages as risk factors can be helpful in preventing under nutrition from developing. Longitudinal research is necessary to further explicate associations between nutritional status and QoL.Publishe

Case Study Hydrologic Effects of Size and Location of Fields Converted from Drained Pine Forest to Agricultural Cropland

Abstract: Hydrological effects of land-use change are of great concern to ecohydrologists and watershed managers, especially in the Atlantic coastal plain of the southeastern United States. The concern is attributable to rapid population growth and the resulting pressure to develop forested lands. Many researchers have studied these effects in various scales, with varying results. An extended watershed-scale forest hydrologic model, calibrated with 1996–2000 data, was used to evaluate long-term hydrologic effects of conversion to agriculture (corn–wheat–soybean cropland) of a 29.5-km2 intensively managed pine-forested watershed in Washington County in eastern North Carolina. Fifty years of weather data (1951–2000) from a nearby weather station were used for simulating hydrology to evaluate effects on outflows, evapotranspiration, and water table depth compared with the baseline scenario. Other simulation scenarios were created for each of five different percentages (10, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) of land-use conversion occurring at upstream and downstream locations in the pine-forest watershed. Simulations revealed that increased mean annual outflow was significant (α 0.05) only for 100 % conversion from forest (261 mm) to agricultural crop (326 mm), primarily attributed to a reduction in evapotranspiration. Although high flow rates&gt;5 mm day−1 increased from 2.3 to 2.6 % (downstream) and 2.6 to 4.2 % (upstream) for 25 to 50 % conversion, the frequency was higher for the upstream location than the downstream. These results were attributed to a substantial decrease in soil hydraulic conductivity of one of the dominant soils in the upstream location, which is expected after land-use conversion to agriculture. As a result, predicted subsurface drainage decreased, and surface runoff increased as soil hydraulic conductivity decreased for the soil upstream. These results indicate tha