Quality of Runoff from Four Northwest Arkansas Pasture Fields Treated with Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer

Long-term land application of animal manures, even at agronomic rates, can promote accumulation of soil phosphorus (P) which can, in turn, contribute to increased P loadings to downstream waters. The objective of this study was to assess the soil and runoff effects of replacing animal manure as a soil amendment with inorganic fertilizer (ammonium nitrate, NH4NO3) on fields that had been treated previously with animal manures. Runoff from two pairs of small fields (0.57 to 1.46 ha) was sampled from September 1991 to April 1994. All fields had been treated previously with animal manures; after runoff monitoring began, one field of each pair received only NH4NO3, while the other of each pair continued to receive animal manure. Both soil and runoff P concentrations exhibited statistically significant decreasing trends over the monitoring period. The results demonstrate the potential for positively influencing runoff quality in a relatively short duration by replacing animal manures with ammonium nitrate for fields already having sufficient soil P

Patient-maintained sedation for oral surgery using a target-controlled infusion of propofol - a pilot study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and efficacy of a new patient-maintained propofol system for conscious sedation in dentistry. DESIGN: Prospective clinical trial SETTING: Department of Sedation, Glasgow Dental Hospital and School, 2001 SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Patients scheduled for oral surgery with conscious sedation. Exclusions included ASA IV -V, inability to use the handset, opioid use and severe respiratory disease. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were given intravenous propofol to a level of 1.0 microg/ml (reducing from 1.5 microg/ml) using a target controlled infusion system, they then controlled their sedation level by double-clicking a handset which on each activation increased the propofol concentration by 0.2 microg/ml. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Oxygen saturation, patient satisfaction, and surgeon satisfaction. RESULTS: Twenty patients were recruited, 16 female and four male. Nineteen patients completed sedation and treatment successfully. Mean lowest oxygen saturation was 94%. No patients were over-sedated. All patients successfully used the system to maintain a level of sedation adequate for their comfort. Patient and surgeon satisfaction were consistently high. CONCLUSIONS: Initial experience with this novel system has confirmed safety, patient satisfaction and surgeon satisfaction

Indicator Bacteria Concentrations of Two Northwest Arkansas Streams in Relation to Flow and Season

Concentrations of indicator bacteria such as fecal coliform (FC) and fecal streptococcus (FS) are often used to assess the suitability of waters for their intended use(s) and to allocate resources for water quality improvement measures. There is evidence, however, that concentrations of FC and FS can be influenced by variables such as season and flow rate during sampling, which could lead to biased results. The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of season and flow rate on concentrations of FC and FS. Fecal indicator bacteria concentrations were measured for approximately three years at five sites on two Northwest Arkansas streams. Flow data were collected at two of the five sites. Land use in the basins draining the streams was primarily pasture (57-90%) and forest (6-40%). Significant seasonal influences on FC and FS concentrations were detected for all sampling sites, with the highest concentrations occurring in summer. On the two sites with flow data, flow rate generally had a significant effect on FC and FS concentrations during all seasons, with FC and FS concentrations increasing with flow rate. Ratios of FC and FS, which have been used in the past to differentiate between animal and human sources of fecal pollution, did not appear to reliably indicate the major sources of fecal indicator bacteria. The findings of this study suggest a potential for fixed sampling intervals to contribute to biased results. The issue of biased results might be avoided by sampling during times of year and flow conditions that support the intended use(s) of the waters

Application of Simplified Phosphorus Transport Models to Pasture Fields in Northwest Arkansas

Runoff transport of phosphorus (P) is often predicted from simple equations with parameters determined from data applicable primarily to row-cropped and fallow cover conditions. The applicability, accuracy, and precision of such P transport prediction equations under pasture situations are less well defined. The objectives of this study were to determine parameters of simplified runoff P transport equations for pasture fields and to assess the accuracy and precision of the equations. Runoff, sediment yield, soluble P transport, and particulate P transport data were collected from four pasture fields in northwestern Arkansas. Runoff event enrichment ratios and extraction coefficients were computed, and confidence limits on respective predicted particulate and soluble P transport were determined. An inverse linear relationship between the natural logarithms of enrichment ratio and sediment yield was found significant for all fields, but the slopes were lower than values reported earlier for general use. Runoff event extraction coefficients were considerably higher than those typically used and were highest for runoff occurring shortly following animal manure application. The 95% confidence limits on predicted soluble and particulate P transport varied in some cases by more than an order of magnitude, indicating that significant imprecision was associated with those predictions. The data suggested that the simplified model of soluble P transport might be a reasonable description of the processes for the fields, but that modification to the particulate P transport prediction method might be necessary to improve the prediction accuracy for low event sediment yields (\u3c 10 kg/ha)

Effect of BMP Implementation on Storm Flow Quality of Two Northwestern Arkansas Streams

The effectiveness of management practices in improving quality of runoff from agricultural land areas has been reported based primarily on results from plot- and field-scale studies. There is limited information available on watershed scales, particularly when the dominant agricultural land use is pasture. The objective of this study was to determine whether a program of Best Management Practice (BMP) implementation in the Lincoln Lake watershed of northwestern Arkansas was effective in reducing storm stream flow concentrations and mass transport of nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), ortho-phosphorus (PO4-P), total phosphorus (TP), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total suspended solids (TSS). Storm flow quality of the two main tributaries to Lincoln Lake was monitored from September 1991 to April 1994. Significant decreases (from 23 to 75% per year) in both concentrations and mass transport of NO3-N, NH3-N, TKN, and COD occurred concurrently with BMP implementation. The decreases in nitrogen and COD concentrations and mass transport are attributed to BMP implementation, and the BMP most responsible for these decreases is most likely nutrient management

Prenatal Vitamin D Supplementation and Child Respiratory Health: A Randomised Controlled Trial

PMCID: PMC3691177This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory tract infections: systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data

This study was supported by a grant from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Health Technology Assessment programme (reference No 13/03/25, to ARM

Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare cellulitis occurring with septic arthritis after joint injection: a case report

BACKGROUND: Cellulitis caused by Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare has rarely been described. Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare is a rare cause of septic arthritis after intra-articular injection, though the causative role of injection is difficult to ascertain in such cases. CASE PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old with rheumatoid arthritis treated with prednisone and azathioprine developed bilateral painful degenerative shoulder arthritis. After corticosteroid injections into both acromioclavicular joints, he developed bilateral cellulitis centered over the injection sites. Skin biopsy showed non-caseating granulomas, and culture grew Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare. Joint aspiration also revealed Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infection. CONCLUSION: Although rare, skin and joint infections caused by Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare should be considered in any immunocompromised host, particularly after intra-articular injection. Stains for acid-fast bacilli may be negative in pathologic samples even in the presence of infection; cultures of tissue specimens should always be obtained

Ovine pedomics : the first study of the ovine foot 16S rRNA-based microbiome

We report the first study of the bacterial microbiome of ovine interdigital skin based on 16S rRNA by pyrosequencing and conventional cloning with Sanger-sequencing. Three flocks were selected, one a flock with no signs of footrot or interdigital dermatitis, a second flock with interdigital dermatitis alone and a third flock with both interdigital dermatitis and footrot. The sheep were classified as having either healthy interdigital skin (H), interdigital dermatitis (ID) or virulent footrot (VFR). The ovine interdigital skin bacterial community varied significantly by flock and clinical condition. The diversity and richness of operational taxonomic units was greater in tissue from sheep with ID than H or VFR affected sheep. Actinobacteria, Bacteriodetes, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the most abundant phyla comprising 25 genera. Peptostreptococcus, Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus were associated with H, ID and VFR respectively. Sequences of Dichelobacter nodosus, the causal agent of ovine footrot, were not amplified due to mismatches in the 16S rRNA universal forward primer (27F). A specific real time PCR assay was used to demonstrate the presence of D. nodosus which was detected in all samples including the flock with no signs of ID or VFR. Sheep with ID had significantly higher numbers of D. nodosus (104-109 cells/g tissue) than those with H or VFR feet