Heat and Moisture Conduction in Unsaturated Soils

Mathematical models are developed for the prediction of heat transfer from hot water pipes buried in the soil. Heat transfer in the absence of moisture transfer is described as a function of the difference between the temperature of the pipe and the temperature of the soil surface. The energy balance is used to determine the longitudinal temperature distribution of the water. The method is extended to describe a system of equally spaced, parallel buried pipes. Soil temperature profiles around the pipes are presented. The model is used to calculate the land area that can be heated by an underground piping system carrying cooling water from the condensers of a 1000 MW nuclear-electric plant. A new development of the phenomenological equations for coupled heat and moisture flow, based on the theory of Irreversible Thermodynamics, is presented. Solutions of the equations for boundary conditions representative of buried piping systems designed for simultaneous soil heating and irrigation are presented

Severe osteomyelitis caused by Myceliophthora thermophila after a pitchfork injury

BACKGROUND: Traumatic injuries occurring in agricultural settings are often associated with infections caused by unusual organisms. Such agents may be difficult to isolate, identify, and treat effectively. CASE REPORT: A 4-year-old boy developed an extensive infection of his knee and distal femur following a barnyard pitchfork injury. Ultimately the primary infecting agent was determined to be Myceliophthora thermophila, a thermophilic melanized hyphomycete, rarely associated with human infection, found in animal excreta. Because of resistance to standard antifungal agents including amphotericin B and caspofungin, therapy was instituted with a prolonged course of terbinafine and voriconazole. Voriconazole blood levels demonstrated that the patient required a drug dosage (13.4 mg/kg) several fold greater than that recommended for adults in order to attain therapeutic blood levels. CONCLUSION: Unusual pathogens should be sought following traumatic farm injuries. Pharmacokinetic studies may be of critical importance when utilizing antifungal therapy with agents for which little information exists regarding drug metabolism in children

ABA RPTE Conservation Easement Task Force Report: Recommendations Regarding Conservation Easements and Federal Tax Law

In October 2015, the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Trust and Estate Law (RPTE) section convened a Conservation Easement Task Force. The objective of the Task Force was to provide recommendations regarding federal tax law as it relates to conservation easements. This Report is the culmination of the Task Force’s work. Part I of the Report is an Executive Summary of the Task Force’s recommendations. Part II provides the background necessary to understand the Task Force’s recommendations. Part III briefly sets forth the Task Force’s comments on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 as it relates to charitable contributions in general and conservation easement donations in particular. In Part IV, the Task Force recommends that the Treasury publish safe harbor provisions that would be common to most conservation easements. Part V sets forth the Task Force’s recommendations regarding amendments and discretionary consents, the inconsistent use regulations, and furthering transparency in conservation easement administration. Part VI discusses issues surrounding valuation of conservation easements. Part VII contains a brief comment on syndicated conservation easement transactions. Part VIII is the Task Force response to certain proposals the Treasury Department made (most recently in 2016) to change conservation easement law.Appendix A sets forth the “perpetuity” requirements of § 170(h) and the Treasury Regulations.Appendix B offers specific language to facilitate the preparation of key safe harbor provisions

It Takes Two to Tango: When and Where Dual Nutrient (N & P) Reductions Are Needed to Protect Lakes and Downstream Ecosystems

Preventing harmful algal blooms (HABs) is needed to protect lakes and downstream ecosystems. Traditionally, reducing phosphorus (P) inputs was the prescribed solution for lakes, based on the assumption that P universally limits HAB formation. Reduction of P inputs has decreased HABs in many lakes, but was not successful in others. Thus, the "P-only" paradigm is overgeneralized. Whole-lake experiments indicate that HABs are often stimulated more by combined P and nitrogen (N) enrichment rather than N or P alone, indicating that the dynamics of both nutrients are important for HAB control. The changing paradigm from P-only to consideration of dual nutrient control is supported by studies indicating that (1) biological N fixation cannot always meet lake ecosystem N needs, and (2) that anthropogenic N and P loading has increased dramatically in recent decades. Sediment P accumulation supports long-term internal loading, while N may escape via denitrification, leading to perpetual N deficits. Hence, controlling both N and P inputs will help control HABs in some lakes and also reduce N export to downstream N-sensitive ecosystems. Managers should consider whether balanced control of N and P will most effectively reduce HABs along the freshwater-marine continuum

Combined and single effects of pesticide carbaryl and toxic Microcystis aeruginosa on the life history of Daphnia pulicaria

The combined influence of a pesticide (carbaryl) and a cyanotoxin (microcystin LR) on the life history of Daphnia pulicaria was investigated. At the beginning of the experiments animals were pulse exposed to carbaryl for 24 h and microcystins were delivered bound in Microcystis’ cells at different, sub-lethal concentrations (chronic exposure). In order to determine the actual carbaryl concentrations in the water LC–MS/MS was used. For analyses of the cyanotoxin concentration in Daphnia’s body enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used. Individual daphnids were cultured in a flow-through system under constant light (16 h of light: 8 h of dark), temperature (20°C), and food conditions (Scenedesmus obliquus, 1 mg of C l−1). The results showed that in the treatments with carbaryl egg numbers per female did not differ significantly from controls, but the mortality of newborns increased significantly. Increasing microcystin concentrations significantly delayed maturation, reduced size at first reproduction, number of eggs, and newborns. The interaction between carbaryl and Microcystis was highly significant. Animals matured later and at a smaller size than in controls. The number of eggs per female was reduced as well. Moreover, combined stressors caused frequent premature delivery of offspring with body deformations such as dented carapax or an undeveloped heart. This effect is concluded to be synergistic and could not be predicted from the effects of the single stressors.

Incarceration history and risk of HIV and hepatitis C virus acquisition among people who inject drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background People who inject drugs (PWID) experience a high prevalence of incarceration and might be at high risk of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection during or after incarceration. We aimed to assess whether incarceration history elevates HIV or HCV acquisition risk among PWID. Methods In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO databases for studies in any language published from Jan 1, 2000 until June 13, 2017 assessing HIV or HCV incidence among PWID. We included studies that measured HIV or HCV incidence among community-recruited PWID. We included only studies reporting original results and excluded studies that evaluated incident infections by self-report. We contacted authors of cohort studies that met the inclusion or exclusion criteria, but that did not report on the outcomes of interest, to request data. We extracted and pooled data from the included studies using random-effects meta-analyses to quantify the associations between recent (past 3, 6, or 12 months or since last follow-up) or past incarceration and HIV or HCV acquisition (primary infection or reinfection) risk among PWID. We assessed the risk of bias of included studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Between-study heterogeneity was evaluated using the I2 statistic and the P-value for heterogeneity. Findings We included published results from 20 studies and unpublished results from 21 studies. These studies originated from Australasia, western and eastern Europe, North and Latin America, and east and southeast Asia. Recent incarceration was associated with an 81% (relative risk [RR] 1·81, 95% CI 1·40–2·34) increase in HIV acquisition risk, with moderate heterogeneity between studies (I2=63·5%; p=0·001), and a 62% (RR 1·62, 95% CI 1·28–2·05) increase in HCV acquisition risk, also with moderate heterogeneity between studies (I2=57·3%; p=0·002). Past incarceration was associated with a 25% increase in HIV (RR 1·25, 95% CI 0·94–1·65) and a 21% increase in HCV (1·21, 1·02–1·43) acquisition risk. Interpretation Incarceration is associated with substantial short-term increases in HIV and HCV acquisition risk among PWID and could be a significant driver of HCV and HIV transmission among PWID. These findings support the need for developing novel interventions to minimise the risk of HCV and HIV acquisition, including addressing structural risks associated with drug laws and excessive incarceration of PWID

Toxic metal enrichment and boating intensity: sediment records of antifoulant copper in shallow lakes of eastern England

Tributyltin (TBT), an aqueous biocide derived from antifouling paint pollution, is known to have impacted coastal marine ecosystems, and has been reported in the sediment of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, a network of rivers and shallow lakes in eastern England. In the marine environment, the 1987 TBT ban has resulted in expanded use of alternative biocides, raising the question of whether these products too have impacted the Broads ecosystem and freshwaters in general. Here we examine the lake sediment record in the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads for contamination by copper (Cu) (as an active biocide agent) and zinc (Zn) (as a component of booster biocides), to assess their occurrence and potential for causing environmental harm in freshwater ecosystems. We find that, after the introduction of leisure boating, there is a statistically significant difference in Cu enrichment between heavily and lightly boated sites, while no such difference exists prior to this time. At the heavily boated sites the onset of Cu enrichment coincides with a period of rapid increase in leisure boating. Such enrichment is maintained to the present day, with some evidence of continued increase. We conclude that Cu-based antifouling has measurably contaminated lakes exposed to boating, at concentrations high enough to cause ecological harm. Similar findings can be expected at other boated freshwater ecosystems elsewhere in the world

Inhibition of aminoglycoside 6\u3csup\u3e′\u3c/sup\u3e-n-acetyltransferase type ib (Aac(6\u3csup\u3e′\u3c/sup\u3e )-ib): Structure–activity relationship of substituted pyrrolidine pentamine derivatives as inhibitors

The aminoglycoside 6′-N-acetyltransferase type Ib (AAC(6′ )-Ib) is a common cause of resistance to amikacin and other aminoglycosides in Gram-negatives. Utilization of mixture-based combinatorial libraries and application of the positional scanning strategy identified an inhibitor of AAC(6′ )-Ib. This inhibitor’s chemical structure consists of a pyrrolidine pentamine scaffold substituted at four locations (R1, R3, R4, and R5). The substituents are two S-phenyl groups (R1 and R4), an S-hydroxymethyl group (R3), and a 3-phenylbutyl group (R5). Another location, R2, does not have a substitution, but it is named because its stereochemistry was modified in some compounds utilized in this study. Structure–activity relationship (SAR) analysis using derivatives with different functionalities, modified stereochemistry, and truncations was carried out by assessing the effect of the addition of each compound at 8 µM to 16 µg/mL amikacin-containing media and performing checkerboard assays varying the concentrations of the inhibitor analogs and the antibiotic. The results show that: (1) the aromatic functionalities at R1 and R4 are essential, but the stereochemistry is essential only at R4; (2) the stereochemical conformation at R2 is critical; (3) the hydroxyl moiety at R3 as well as stereoconformation are required for full inhibitory activity; (4) the phenyl functionality at R5 is not essential and can be replaced by aliphatic groups; (5) the location of the phenyl group on the butyl carbon chain at R5 is not essential; (6) the length of the aliphatic chain at R5 is not critical; and (7) all truncations of the scaffold resulted in inactive compounds. Molecular docking revealed that all compounds preferentially bind to the kanamycin C binding cavity, and binding affinity correlates with the experimental data for most of the compounds evaluated. The SAR results in this study will serve as the basis for the design of new analogs in an effort to improve their ability to induce phenotypic conversion to susceptibility in amikacin-resistant pathogens

Hidden spin-current conservation in 2d Fermi liquids

We report the existence of regimes of the two dimensional Fermi liquid that show unusual conservation of the spin current and may be tuned by varying some parameter like the density of fermions. We show that for reasonable models of the effective interaction the spin current may be conserved in general in 2d, not only for a particular regime. Low temperature spin waves propagate distinctively in these regimes and entirely new ``spin-acoustic'' modes are predicted for scattering-dominated temperature ranges. These new high-temperature propagating spin waves provide a clear signature for the experimental search of such regimes.Comment: 4 pages, no figures, revised version, accepted for pub. in the PR

Discovery and Functional Annotation of SIX6 Variants in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common subtype and is a complex trait with multigenic inheritance. Genome-wide association studies have previously identified a significant association between POAG and the SIX6 locus (rs10483727, odds ratio (OR) = 1.32, p = 3.87×10−11). SIX6 plays a role in ocular development and has been associated with the morphology of the optic nerve. We sequenced the SIX6 coding and regulatory regions in 262 POAG cases and 256 controls and identified six nonsynonymous coding variants, including five rare and one common variant, Asn141His (rs33912345), which was associated significantly with POAG (OR = 1.27, p = 4.2×10−10) in the NEIGHBOR/GLAUGEN datasets. These variants were tested in an in vivo Danio rerio (zebrafish) complementation assay to evaluate ocular metrics such as eye size and optic nerve structure. Five variants, found primarily in POAG cases, were hypomorphic or null, while the sixth variant, found only in controls, was benign. One variant in the SIX6 enhancer increased expression of SIX6 and disrupted its regulation. Finally, to our knowledge for the first time, we have identified a clinical feature in POAG patients that appears to be dependent upon SIX6 genotype: patients who are homozygous for the SIX6 risk allele (His141) have a statistically thinner retinal nerve fiber layer than patients homozygous for the SIX6 non-risk allele (Asn141). Our results, in combination with previous SIX6 work, lead us to hypothesize that SIX6 risk variants disrupt the development of the neural retina, leading to a reduced number of retinal ganglion cells, thereby increasing the risk of glaucoma-associated vision loss