A Study of the Impact of Walker Lake on the North Branch of Middle Creek Using Metrics Generated by Diatom Biofilm Communities

Middle Creek is a tributary of the main stem of the Susquehanna River, and its watershed is confined mostly to Snyder County. The upper reaches of the stream are defined by two major branches, the North Branch and the West Branch, each of which is interrupted by a reservoir, Walker Lake and Faylor Lake, respectively. Walker Lake is an impoundment of a deep V-shaped valley and is 9-10 meters deep at the dam, which allows it to be stratified in the summer and winter. Summer stratification produces an anoxic hypolimnion, which is drawn off by the bottom outflow dam into the North Branch. During September of 2019 and 2020, the hypolimnion of Walker Lake became anoxic and its outflow below the dam had a strong odor of hydrogen sulfide with deposits of iron (III) oxide-hydroxide covering the cobbles and small boulders. The purpose of this preliminary investigation is to explore the impact of the bottom outflow below the dam and at sample sites downstream before and after fall turnover on the diatom biofilm communities and use them as proxies for the state of the stream. We examined five sites on the North Branch: above the lake (1.5 km above the lake), Walker Lake, below the dam at its outflow, a site 1.2 km downstream called Old Bridge, and a site 3 km from below the dam called Swift Run Confluence. Field measurements, using a YSI 556 multimeter, of pH, conductivity, and % oxygen saturation showed clear impacts when the lake was stratified but began to moderate following fall turnover. The loss of alkalinity and conductivity were particularly noticeable. The alkalinity decreased by 35% between the above site (2,350 µeq/L) and below the dam (1,514.4 µeq). Before turnover, at the below site, biofilm diatoms were scarcely found such that the phytoplankter, Asterionella formosa, which had been flushed from the lake, was the most abundant diatom species encountered from the stones collected at the site. Following turnover, however, the biofilm community reestablished itself and was dominated by Achnanthidium minutissumum in November 2019. Metrics based on diatom community analysis before and after turnover suggest the above lake site was impaired by agriculture (indices indicating high levels of sedimentation and nutrient runoff), but the reservoir did not function as a sediment or nutrient trap. Instead, the downstream sites showed higher impairment than the above lake site

Alabama Oil and Gas Update

The following cases are but two of many lawsuits filed by environmental groups challenging offshore oil and gas leasing, exploration, and development in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion and oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The first case, filed in Alabama district court, involves agency approvals of lease sales that began shortly before and continued during and after the Deepwater Horizon incident, prior to concluding the environmental reviews of the specific impacts of the Deepwater Horizon spill. The second case, filed in the Eleventh Circuit, challenges a later phase agency approval of an exploration plan under similar circumstances

Alabama

The authors summarize cases and developments coming out of Alabama

NH Beverage Alcohol Summit

In July of 2016, over seventy-five people attended the NH Beverage Alcohol Summit at the Mt. Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Commercial stakeholders initiated the summit, but attendees included stakeholders across the industry including members of the NH State Legislature, the NH Liquor Commission, the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development, the prevention and treatment community, NH beer distributors, retailers, and manufacturers of beer, wine, and liquor.The purpose was three-fold:1. To discuss priorities for the industry across a variety of viewpoints2. To identify actions for mutual benefit among industry players3. To set the stage for future decisions and growth for positive impact in the NH beverage industr

Treating Central Catheter–Associated Bacteremia Due to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Beyond Vancomycin

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a frequent cause of hospital-associated infections, including central catheter-associated bacteremia. Vancomycin has been the drug of choice for treating this type of bacteremia for decades in patients who have no contraindications to the antibiotic. However, resistance to vancomycin is an emerging problem. Newer antibiotics approved by the Food and Drug Administration have activity against methicillin-resistant S aureus Some of the antibiotics also have activity against strains of S aureus that are intermediately susceptible or resistant to vancomycin. This article uses a case study to highlight the clinical signs of vancomycin failure and describes the indications for and appropriate use of alternative antimicrobials such as ceftaroline, daptomycin, linezolid, tigecycline, and telavancin. (Critical Care Nurse 2016;36[4]:46-57)

A qualitative examination of severe disciplinary incidents in men’s soccer

The purpose of this study was to examine the number of severe disciplinary incidents involving referees in senior men’s soccer, as well as contributing factors. Such incidents include, but are not limited to, abusive remarks, threats, and deliberate violent conduct. Competition in senior men’s soccer takes place between teams within a tiered structure where players are at least 18 years old. Data collection entailed documentary analysis of disciplinary reports (n = 98) provided by a provincial soccer association. After recording annual frequency, offender’s team, level of competition, and length of suspension, descriptive statistics were calculated. Disciplinary reports showed an increase in frequency of incidents from 4 in 2010 to 27 in 2015. These disciplinary incidents occurred across 80 different teams, with 61.1% of them emerging from lower tiers (ie., tier 3 or lower). Suspensions ranged from 0 to 134 games (M = 18.5, SD = 22.6). These results highlight the distribution pattern and increase in severe disciplinary incidents in men’s soccer. The next phase of the study involves conducting interviews to obtain player perceptions of disciplinary incidents involving referees. Approximately 10 players will be recruited across a range of tiers in a provincial soccer league, and share their experiences based on their direct involvement or as a witness to severe disciplinary incidents. Interviews will explore the antecedents of these disciplinary incidents, which may identify strategies to improve players’ and officials’ well-being through the influence of contextual factors. *Indicates faculty mentor

Therapeutic Hypothermia Protocol in a Community Emergency Department

Objectives: Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) has been shown to improve survival and neurological outcome in patients resuscitated after out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) from ventricular fibrillation/ventricular tachycardia (VF/VT). We evaluated the effects of using a TH protocol in a large community hospital emergency department (ED) for all patients with neurological impairment after resuscitated OHCA regardless of presenting rhythm. We hypothesized improved mortality and neurological outcomes without increased complication rates.Methods: Our TH protocol entails cooling to 33 C for 24 hours with an endovascular catheter. We studied patients treated with this protocol from November 2006 to November 2008. All non-pregnant, unresponsive adult patients resuscitated from any initial rhythm were included. Exclusion criteria were initial hypotension or temperature less than 30 C, trauma, primary intracranial event, and coagulopathy. Control patients treated during the 12 months before the institution of our TH protocol met the same inclusion and exclusion criteria. We recorded survival to hospital discharge, neurological status at discharge, and rates of bleeding, sepsis, pneumonia, renal failure, and dysrhythmias in the first 72 hours of treatment.Results: Mortality rates were 71.1% (95% CI, 56-86%) for 38 patients treated with TH and 72.3% (95% CI 59-86%) for 47 controls. In the TH group, 8% of patients (95% CI, 0-17%) had a good neurological outcome on discharge, compared to 0 (95% CI 0-8%) in the control group. In 17 patients with VF/VT treated with TH, mortality was 47% (95% CI 21-74%) and 18% (95% CI 0-38%) had good neurological outcome; in 9 control patients with VF/VT, mortality was 67% (95% CI 28-100%), and 0% (95% CI 0-30%) had good neurological outcome. The groups were well-matched with respect to sex and age. Complication rates were similar or favored the TH group.Conclusions: Instituting a TH protocol for OHCA patients with any presenting rhythm appears safe in a community hospital ED. A trend towards improved neurological outcome in TH patients was seen, but did not reach significance. Patients with VF appeared to derive more benefit from TH than patients with other rhythms. [West J Emerg Med. 2010; 11(4):367-372.

Some Trends and Applications of Operational Research/Management Science to Operations Management

[EN] The editor suggested us to write about our point of view on the current use of Operations Research techniques applied to the Operations Management and about its future evolution. With some of unconsciousness we accept it, but it is obvious that our vision, even though we try to do our best, will be partial and biased. Hence the title chosen shows signs of prudence. More caution have been applied to the development where, after a glance at the past and reflection on the abundance of new denominations without content, we consider five aspects that, nowadays, acquire increasing importance and that will strongly influence in future developments. Among the five aspects two correspond to trends in the field of operations research techniques, one is a philosophy in the field of operations management, another to an area of the company and the last one to an industrial sector in which operations management, supported by operations research methods, is taking a predominant role.Companys, R.; Ribas, I. (2015). Some Trends and Applications of Operational Research/Management Science to Operations Management. International Journal of Production Management and Engineering. 3(1):1-12. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/ijpme.2015.3459.SWORD11231Ackoff, R. L. (1967). Management Misinformation Systems. Management Science, 14(4), B-147-B-156. doi:10.1287/mnsc.14.4.b147Ackoff, R. L., Sasieni, M. W. (1968). Fundamentals of Operations Research. WileyBowman, E., Fetter, R. (1957). Analysis for Production and Operations Management. Irwin.Buffa, E. S. (1961). Modern Production Management. WileyHolt, C. C., Modigliani, F., Muth, J. F., Simon, H. A. (1960). Planning Production, Inventories and Workforce, Prentice-HallMagee, F. (1968). Industrial Logistics. McGraw-Hill.Orwell, G. (1949). Nineteen Eighty-Four. Secker and Warburg, LondonPetrovic, S., McCarthy, B. (2014). Operational Research versus Operations Management. Inside O. R., 525: 26-27Shannon, C.E., Weaver, W. (1971). The Mathematical Theory of Communication. University of Illinois PressSiegel, E. (2013). Predictive Analytics. Wile