435 research outputs found

    Waughop Lake Management Plan Grant G1400475

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    The Lakewood City Council took a step forward in the cleanup of Waughop Lake Monday night when it approved a lake management plan aimed at restoring the water quality of the 30-acre lake

    Lake Kapowsin Data Report

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    University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) staff (Dr. Jim Gawel and undergraduate Christopher Wu) were hired to collect additional water quality data for Lake Kapowsin over a five-month period from June-October 2016. Lake Kapowsin was recently designated Washington’s first freshwater aquatic reserve, and Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff requested additional summertime water quality data for use in informing lake and watershed management decisions. UWT’s findings are summarized in this final data report

    Wapato Lake Water Quality Monitoring Data Report

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    In early 2017, University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) was contracted to provide monitoring before, during and after an alum treatment being conducted on May 9, 2017, in Wapato Lake, Tacoma, WA. Specifically, researcher Jim Gawel, Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Engineering, and undergraduate student Kimberly Oliva-Membreno were contracted to carry out the following tasks: Task 1. Short-Term Impact Monitoring occurs 1 day before treatment, 2 days after treatment, and 2 weeks after treatment. Monitoring at one station includes water quality profiles for field parameters, Secchi depth, and collecting samples from near the surface and bottom for lab analysis of alkalinity, SRP, TP, chlorophyll, dissolved and total aluminum. - (if needed) Lake surface water alkalinity field testing at 2 depths Task 2. Twice Daily Monitoring occurs in the morning and evening of each treatment day and includes only water quality profiles and alkalinity field test. Task 3. Random Monitoring every hour on each treatment day (between twice daily) and includes a pH profile at the site treated one hour previously, and alkalinity from surface and bottom if pH \u3c 6. Task 4. Produce data summary report to Herrera by December 31, 2017

    Effects of Eutrophication and Runoff on Arsenic Cycling in an Urban Lake

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    Urban lakes are important recreational and natural resources that add to the quality of life for city residents. Unfortunately, urban watersheds often contribute contaminants to these lakes, including organic chemicals, metals, nutrients, and pathogens. Nitrogen and phosphorus are very high in urban and suburban runoff, mostly as a result of animal waste and fertilizers, although leaky sewage systems may also contribute. These nutrients promote plant and algal growth in urban lakes, ultimately resulting in hyper-eutrophic conditions. Eutrophication, in turn, may affect the cycling and mobility of contaminants, such as arsenic and other toxic metals. Spy Pond, located in Arlington, Massachusetts, was recently discovered to be heavily contaminated with arsenic of unknown origin. Surface sediment concentrations above 2,500 ppm have been measured. Subsequent investigations have also revealed that total arsenic levels in the overlying hypolimnetic waters reach over 150 ppb. However, the two interconnected basins that constitute Spy Pond have been found to differ by an order of magnitude in the concentrations of arsenic found in hypolimnetic waters. The goal of this study is to determine the mechanisms responsible for the differences in arsenic mobility in the two basins of Spy Pond, and how this may impact the potential for minimizing human and ecological arsenic exposure. Based on differences in the concentrations of chemical constituents (e.g. iron, sulfur, conductivity, etc.) measured in each basin, we hypothesize that the greater arsenic concentrations found in the bottom waters of the South Basin of Spy Pond are caused by the combined effects of eutrophication, differences in the Fe/S ratio of the two basins, and the physical and chemical impacts of salts in highway runoff

    Monitoring metal stress in Puget Sound using metallothionein production in mussels in the nearshore

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    Toxic metals are common contaminants in sediments near industrial ports and in stormwater from urban areas throughout the Salish Sea. Although pollutant concentrations have been mapped in the sediments, waters and biota of Puget Sound for decades, equating these contaminant levels to biological impacts has been attempted infrequently. Moreover, many of these attempts at studying metal toxicity have not been applied to the ecologically and economically important nearshore area. As part of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) 2012-2013 MusselWatch Pilot Expansion Project, an effort to develop a nearshore biomonitoring protocol for Puget Sound, mussels of the same age and reared in the same location were transplanted to over 100 locations throughout Puget Sound in November 2012. Mussels were secured in quadruplicate batches in nylon netting suspended in 16x16x16 inch cages and anchored in the low intertidal by volunteers. The mussels were allowed to equilibrate with their surroundings for two months and retrieved in January 2013. All mussels were measured and weighed by WDFW staff and supervised volunteers, shucked and homogenized, and then frozen to await analysis. A portion of each homogenized sample was delivered to the University of Washington Tacoma for analysis of metallothioneins, cysteine-rich proteins used in the metal detoxification mechanism of mussels and other bivalves. Metallothioneins were derivatized with monobromobimane, separated by reverse phase high-pressure liquid chromatography, and analyzed with a fluorescence detector. Our results and correlations with parameters measured by other WDFW collaborators, including metal concentrations and growth characteristics, will be presented. With limited funding available for toxics remediation it is imperative to develop monitoring tools that measure biological impacts specific to metal stress, and to apply those tools to understanding ecological health in the nearshore

    Sex differences in morphology across an expanding range edge in the flightless ground beetle, Carabus hortensis

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    1. Species’ ranges are dynamic, changing through range shifts, contractions, and expansions. Individuals at the edge of a species’ shifting range often possess morphological traits that increase movement capacity, that are not observed in individuals farther back within the species’ range. Although morphological traits that increase in proportion toward the range edge may differ between the sexes, such sex differences are rarely studied. 2. Here, we test the hypotheses that body size and condition increase with proximity to an expanding range edge in the flightless ground beetle, Carabus hortensis, and that these trait changes differ between the sexes. 3. Male, but not female, body size increased with proximity to the range edge. Body size was positively correlated with male front and mid tibia length and to female hind tibia length, indicating that body size is indicative of movement capacity in both sexes. Body condition (relative to body size) decreased with increasing population density in males but not females. Population density was lowest at the range edge. 4. Our results indicate that sex is an important factor influencing patterns in trait distribution across species’ ranges, and future studies should investigate changes in morphological traits across expanding range margins separately for males and females. We discuss the implications for sex differences in resource allocation and reproductive rates for trait differentiation across species’ shifting ranges

    Identification and Characterization of AES-135, a Hydroxamic Acid-Based HDAC Inhibitor That Prolongs Survival in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Pancreatic Cancer

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    Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive, incurable cancer with a 20% 1 year survival rate. While standard-of-care therapy can prolong life in a small fraction of cases, PDAC is inherently resistant to current treatments, and novel therapies are urgently required. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are effective in killing pancreatic cancer cells in in vitro PDAC studies, and although there are a few clinical studies investigating combination therapy including HDAC inhibitors, no HDAC drug or combination therapy with an HDAC drug has been approved for the treatment of PDAC. We developed an inhibitor of HDACs, AES-135, that exhibits nanomolar inhibitory activity against HDAC3, HDAC6, and HDAC11 in biochemical assays. In a three-dimensional coculture model, AES-135 kills low-passage patient-derived tumor spheroids selectively over surrounding cancer-associated fibroblasts and has excellent pharmacokinetic properties in vivo. In an orthotopic murine model of pancreatic cancer, AES-135 prolongs survival significantly, therefore representing a candidate for further preclinical testing
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