Zinc Mining Contamination and Sedimentation Rates of Historical Overbank Deposits, Honey Creek Watershed, Southwest Missouri

Sediment-associated contaminants released by past mining activities in the Tri-State Lead and Zinc District in southwest Missouri pose a long-term risk to water quality. This study uses sedimentological and geochemical analyses to describe the relationships between mine contaminant dispersal and historical sedimentation patterns of the Honey Creek watershed ( 176 km2) which drains the Aurora Sub-district along the eastern boundary of the Tri-State District. This watershed has been subjected to an intense period of Pb-Zn mining that began in 1886, peaked in 1916, and ended by 1930. The objectives of this study are to: (1) determine the magnitude and distribution of metal contaminants in floodplain sediments; and (2) use contaminant profiles as tracers in overbank deposits to determine the patterns and rates of historical overbank sedimentation caused by land clearing beginning about 1870. Results indicate that zinc levels are as high as 575 times their background and lead levels 70 times their background in overbank deposits. These levels decrease exponentially with distance away from mine tailing sources. Depths of historical overbank deposition average 74 cm throughout the Honey Creek basin with a range of 8 cm to 125 cm. Immediately after episodes of land clearing overbank sedimentation rates averaged 0.82 cm/yr (1886-1916) with rates later decreasing to 0.60 cm/yr {1916-1998). Tributary sedimentation rates were highest during the initial phases of settlement ( \u3c1910) While the highest rates along the main stem occurred later on (\u3e1920). Little is known about the historical geomorphology of Ozarks floodplains since these floodplains generally lack buried soils that may provide an indication of pre-settlement surfaces. Therefore, the uses of mining-related metal tracers represent an important tool to study floodplain evolution and adjustments to human and climatic disturbances in the Ozarks Plateau

Range 7 Scanner Integration with PaR Robot Scanning System

An interface bracket and coordinate transformation matrices were designed to allow the Range 7 scanner to be mounted on the PaR Robot detector arm for scanning the heat shield or other object placed in the test cell. A process was designed for using Rapid Form XOR to stitch data from multiple scans together to provide an accurate 3D model of the object scanned. An accurate model was required for the design and verification of an existing heat shield. The large physical size and complex shape of the heat shield does not allow for direct measurement of certain features in relation to other features. Any imaging devices capable of imaging the entire heat shield in its entirety suffers a reduced resolution and cannot image sections that are blocked from view. Prior methods involved tools such as commercial measurement arms, taking images with cameras, then performing manual measurements. These prior methods were tedious and could not provide a 3D model of the object being scanned, and were typically limited to a few tens of measurement points at prominent locations. Integration of the scanner with the robot allows for large complex objects to be scanned at high resolution, and for 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) models to be generated for verification of items to the original design, and to generate models of previously undocumented items. The main components are the mounting bracket for the scanner to the robot and the coordinate transformation matrices used for stitching the scanner data into a 3D model. The steps involve mounting the interface bracket to the robot's detector arm, mounting the scanner to the bracket, and then scanning sections of the object and recording the location of the tool tip (in this case the center of the scanner's focal point). A novel feature is the ability to stitch images together by coordinates instead of requiring each scan data set to have overlapping identifiable features. This setup allows models of complex objects to be developed even if the object is large and featureless, or has sections that don't have visibility to other parts of the object for use as a reference. In addition, millions of points can be used for creation of an accurate model [i.e. within 0.03 in. (=0.8 mm) over a span of 250 in. (=635 mm)]

Sperm-mediated Effects of Predation Risk on Reproduction in Male Threespined Sticklebacks

Threespined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, exhibit male-only parental care, but will decrease paternal care if exposed to predators while given care or if their mate has had prior experiences with predators. The offspring will experience lasting effects based on the experience of their parents (behavior-mediated transgenerational plasticity). While other studies have concluded that male exposure to predators prior to fertilization (sperm-mediated transgenerational plasticity) impacts offspring, whether sperm-mediated effects exist in sticklebacks, and for how many generations the effects persist is unknown. Courtship trials with both predator exposed and predator unexposed females with six male treatment groups shows significant impact of maternal grandfather predation exposure, suggesting that daughters of predator-exposed fathers are passing down cues to their sons

Spatial updating, spatial transients, and regularities of a complex automaton with nonperiodic architecture

We study the dynamics of patterns exhibited by rule 52, a totalistic cellular automaton displaying intricate behaviors and wide regions of active/inactive synchronization patches. Systematic computer simulations involving 230 initial configurations reveal that all complexity in this automaton originates from random juxtaposition of a very small number of interfaces delimiting active/inactive patches. Such interfaces are studied with a sidewise spatial updating algorithm. This novel tool allows us to prove that the interfaces found empirically are the only interfaces possible for these periods, independently of the size of the automata. The spatial updating algorithm provides an alternative way to determine the dynamics of automata of arbitrary size, a way of taking into account the complexity of the connections in the lattice

Seven steps to successful change: How a large academic medical center prepared patients for organizational change

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) launched a new electronic health record (EHR) in a “big bang” implementation that saw the new software go live across multiple hospitals, clinics and geographic locations in a single morning. The organization rightly focused most of its energy on preparing its nearly 25,000 employees for the impacts of the transition, but it also considered the effects that would be felt by its patients and families. Survey data indicate that patient satisfaction scores demonstrably dip before, during and after an EHR implementation, and take approximately a year to recover. A team at DMC employed a seven-step approach to preparing patients for the impacts of the transition, which led to a return to pre-implementation patient satisfaction scores in about half the time of its peer institutions. The article explores these seven steps in detail and offers recommendations for how healthcare organizations facing large-scale change can use a similar structured approach to mitigate negative impacts to patients. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Culture & Leadership lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework) Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this len

Catastro de poblaciones de insectos en siembras de Capsicum chinense L. en Georgetown, San Vicente, usando trampas CC modificadas.

The insect populations in hot pepper, Capsicum chinense L. (Solanaceae), were surveyed in Georgetown, St. Vincent, during the 2004 wet and 2005 dry seasons. Modified white, blue, and yellow CC traps were used to capture insects in the plantings. Overall, 69 insect families were captured, 41 of which were captured during both the wet and dry seasons. During the wet season, the greatest numbers of individuals captured were from the Cecidomyiidae, Chironomidae, Chloropidae, Chrysomelidae, Cicadellidae, and Drosophilidae families. During the dry season, the greatest numbers of individuals captured were from Chrysomelidae and Cicadellidae families. The addition of dichlorvos as a killing agent and propylene glycol as an insect preservative to the CC traps increased the number and diversity of insects caught. Additionally, propylene glycol helped to preserve the specimens for taxonomic and genetic determinations. CC traps with yellow bases attracted more insect families than traps with white or blue bases. However, CC traps with blue bases caught more Lonchaeidae during both the wet and dry seasons, and more Tachinidae during the dry season. CC traps with white or yellow trap bases were equally attractive to insects in the families Aleyrodidae, Drosophilidae, Lauxaniidae, and Otitidae.Las poblaciones de insectos en el ají picante, Capsicum chinense L., se monitorearon en Georgetown, San Vicente, durante la época de lluvia de 2004 y la de sequía de 2005. Se usaron las trampas CC modificadas, blancas, azules y amarillas, para capturar insectos en las siembras. Se capturaron 69 familias de insectos; 41 de éstas se capturaron durante ambas épocas, la de lluvia y la de sequía. Durante la época de lluvia, el mayor número de individuos capturados pertenecía a las familias Cecidomyiidae, Chironomidae, Chloropidae, Chrysomelidae, Cicadellidae y Drosophilidae. Durante la época de sequía, el mayor número de individuos capturados pertenecía a las familias Cicadellidae y Chrysomelidae. El número y la diversidad de los insectos capturados aumentaron al añadir dichlorvos como un agente exterminador y glicol de propileno como agente preservativo a las trampas CC. Además, el glicol de propileno ayudó a preservar los especímenes para las determinaciones taxonómicas y genéticas. Las trampas CC con bases amarillas atrajeron más familias de insectos que las trampas con bases blancas o azules. Sin embargo, las trampas CC con bases azules capturaron más Lonchaeidae durante ambas épocas, de lluvia y sequía, y más Tachinidae durante la época de sequía. Las trampas CC con bases blancas o amarillas resultaron igualmente atractivas a los insectos en las familias Aleyrodidae, Drosophilidae, Lauxaniidae y Otitidae

Multistability, phase diagrams, and intransitivity in the Lorenz-84 low-order atmospheric circulation model

We report phase diagrams detailing the intransitivity observed in the climate scenarios supported by a prototype atmospheric general circulation model, namely, the Lorenz-84 low-order model. So far, this model was known to have a pair of coexisting climates described originally by Lorenz. Bifurcation analysis allows the identification of a remarkably wide parameter region where up to four climates coexist simultaneously. In this region the dynamical behavior depends crucially on subtle and minute tuning of the model parameters. This strong parameter sensitivity makes the Lorenz-84 model a promising candidate of testing ground to validate techniques of assessing the sensitivity of low-order models to perturbations of parameters