Integration of Predicted Atmospheric Contaminant Plumes into ArcView GIS

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) plays a key role in emergency response scenarios in which there may be a release of atmospheric chemical or radiological contamination at the DOE's Savannah River Site (SRS). Meteorologists at SRNL use a variety of tools to predict the path of the plume and levels of contamination along the path. These predictions are used to guide field teams that take sample measurements for verification. Integration of these predicted plumes as well as field measurements into existing Geographic Information System (GIS) interactive maps provides key additional information for decision makers during an emergency. In addition, having this information in GIS format facilitates sharing the information with other agencies that use GIS. In order to be useful during an emergency, an application for converting predictions or measurements into GIS format must be automated and simple to use. Thus, a key design goal in developing such applications is ease of use. Simple menu selections and intuitive forms with graphical user interfaces are used to accomplish this goal. Applications have been written to convert two different predictive code results into ArcView GIS. Meteorologists at SRNL use the Puff/Plume code, which is tied to real-time wind data, to predict the direction and spread of the atmospheric plume for early assessment. The calculated circular puffs are converted into an ArcView polygon shapefile with attributes for predicted time, dose, and radius of the puff. The meteorologists use the more sophisticated Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model (LPDM) to predict particle dispersion and deposition. The calculational grid is brought into ArcView as a point shapefile and then interpolated to ARC GRID format using Spatial Analyst. This GRID can then be contoured into a line shapefile, which is easily shared with other agencies. The deposition grid is also automatically contoured for values that correspond to FDA Derived Intervention Levels for beef, produce, and dairy products. Decision makers at SRS routinely use these predicted plumes to direct field teams. In the case of a strong release, this information can be used to decide whether to evacuate a particular area. Having this information in GIS format may aid the decision maker because other infrastructure information can be overlaid with geographic reference

Centennial-scale variability of the Southern Hemisphere westerly wind belt in the eastern Pacific over the past two millennia

We present the first high-resolution (sub-annual) dust particle data set from West Antarctica, developed from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide deep ice core (79.468° S, 112.086° W), and use it to reconstruct changes in atmospheric circulation over the past 2400 years. We find a background dust flux of ~4 mg m−2 year−1 and a mode particle size of 5–8 μm diameter. Through comparing the WAIS Divide record with other Antarctic ice core particle records, we observe that coastal and lower-elevation sites have higher dust fluxes and coarser particle size distributions (PSDs) than sites on the East Antarctic plateau, suggesting input from local dust sources at these lower-elevation sites. In order to explore the use of the WAIS Divide dust PSD as a proxy for past atmospheric circulation, we make quantitative comparisons between both mid-latitude zonal wind speed and West Antarctic meridional wind speed and the dust size record, finding significant positive interannual relationships. We find that the dust PSD is related to mid-latitude zonal wind speed via cyclonic activity in the Amundsen Sea region. Using our PSD record, and through comparison with spatially distributed climate reconstructions from the Southern Hemisphere (SH) middle and high latitudes, we infer that the SH westerlies occupied a more southerly position from circa 1050 to 1400 CE (Common Era), coinciding with the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA). Subsequently, at ca. 1430 CE, the wind belt shifted equatorward, where it remained until the mid-to-late twentieth century. We find covariability between reconstructions of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the mid-latitude westerly winds in the eastern Pacific, suggesting that centennial-scale circulation changes in this region are strongly influenced by the tropical Pacific. Further, we observe increased coarse particle deposition over the past 50 years, consistent with observations that the SH westerlies have been shifting southward and intensifying in recent decades

Evaluating Flexible Transport Solutions

Flexible transport services (FTS) have been of increasing interest in developed countries as a bridge between the use of personal car travel and fixed route transit services. This paper reports on findings from a recent study in Queensland Australia, which identified lessons from an international review and implications for Australia. Potential strategic directions, including a vision, mission, key result areas, strategies, and identified means of measuring performance are described. Evaluation criteria for assessing flexible transport proposals were developed, and approaches to identifying and assessing needs and demands outlined. The use of emerging technologies is also a key element of successful flexible transport services

Appraisal of literature reviews on end-of-life care for minority ethnic groups in the UK and a critical comparison with policy recommendations from the UK end-of-life care strategy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence of low end-of-life (EoL) care service use by minority ethnic groups in the UK has given rise to a body of research and a number of reviews of the literature. This article aims to review and evaluate literature reviews on minority ethnic groups and EoL care in the UK and assess their suitability as an evidence base for policy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Systematic review. Searches were carried out in thirteen electronic databases, eight journals, reference lists, and grey literature. Reviews were included if they concerned minority ethnic groups and EoL care in the UK. Reviews were graded for quality and key themes identified.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirteen reviews (2001-2009) met inclusion criteria. Seven took a systematic approach, of which four scored highly for methodological quality (a mean score of six, median seven). The majority of systematic reviews were therefore of a reasonable methodological quality. Most reviews were restricted by ethnic group, aspect of EoL care, or were broader reviews which reported relevant findings. Six key themes were identified.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A number of reviews were systematic and scored highly for methodological quality. These reviews provide a good reflection of the primary evidence and could be used to inform policy. The complexity and inter-relatedness of factors leading to low service use was recognised and reflected in reviews' recommendations for service improvement. Recommendations made in the UK End-of-Life Care Strategy were limited in comparison, and the Strategy's evidence base concerning minority ethnic groups was found to be narrow. Future policy should be embedded strongly in the evidence base to reflect the current literature and minimise bias.</p

DEACTIVATION AND DECOMMISSIONING PLANNING AND ANALYSIS WITH GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

From the mid-1950's through the 1980's, the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site produced nuclear materials for the weapons stockpile, for medical and industrial applications, and for space exploration. Although SRS has a continuing defense-related mission, the overall site mission is now oriented toward environmental restoration and management of legacy chemical and nuclear waste. With the change in mission, SRS no longer has a need for much of the infrastructure developed to support the weapons program. This excess infrastructure, which includes over 1000 facilities, will be decommissioned and demolished over the forthcoming years. Dispositioning facilities for decommissioning and deactivation requires significant resources to determine hazards, structure type, and a rough-order-of-magnitude estimate for the decommissioning and demolition cost. Geographic information systems (GIS) technology was used to help manage the process of dispositioning infrastructure and for reporting the future status of impacted facilities

3-D Hydrodynamic Modeling in a Geospatial Framework

3-D hydrodynamic models are used by the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to simulate the transport of thermal and radionuclide discharges in coastal estuary systems. Development of such models requires accurate bathymetry, coastline, and boundary condition data in conjunction with the ability to rapidly discretize model domains and interpolate the required geospatial data onto the domain. To facilitate rapid and accurate hydrodynamic model development, SRNL has developed a pre- and post-processor application in a geospatial framework to automate the creation of models using existing data. This automated capability allows development of very detailed models to maximize exploitation of available surface water radionuclide sample data and thermal imagery

HT2009-88032 PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS FOR MECHANICAL DRAFT COOLING TOWER

ABSTRACT Industrial processes use mechanical draft cooling towers (MDCT&apos;s) to dissipate waste heat by transferring heat from water to air via evaporative cooling, which causes air humidification. The Savannah River Site (SRS) has cross-flow and counter-current MDCT&apos;s consisting of four independent compartments called cells. Each cell has its own fan to help maximize heat transfer between ambient air and circulated water. The primary objective of the work is to simulate the cooling tower performance for the counter-current cooling tower and to conduct a parametric study under different fan speeds and ambient air conditions. The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) developed a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and performed the benchmarking analysis against the integral measurement results to accomplish the objective. The model uses three-dimensional steady-state momentum, continuity equations, air-vapor species balance equation, and two-equation turbulence as the basic governing equations. It was assumed that vapor phase is always transported by the continuous air phase with no slip velocity. In this case, water droplet component was considered as discrete phase for the interfacial heat and mass transfer via Lagrangian approach. Thus, the air-vapor mixture model with discrete water droplet phase is used for the analysis. A series of parametric calculations was performed to investigate the impact of wind speeds and ambient conditions on the thermal performance of the cooling tower when fans were operating and when they were turned off. The model was also benchmarked against the literature data and the SRS integral test results for key parameters such as air temperature and humidity at the tower exit and water temperature for given ambient conditions. Detailed results will be published here

Exploring access to end of life care for ethnic minorities with end stage kidney disease through recruitment in action research

BACKGROUND: Variation in provision of palliative care in kidney services and practitioner concerns to provide equitable access led to the development of this study which focussed on the perspectives of South Asian patients and their care providers. As people with a South Asian background experience a higher risk of Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) and end stage kidney failure (ESKF) compared to the majority population but wait longer for a transplant, there is a need for end of life care to be accessible for this group of patients. Furthermore because non English speakers and people at end of life are often excluded from research there is a dearth of research evidence with which to inform service improvement. This paper aims to explore issues relating to the process of recruitment of patients for a research project which contribute to our understanding of access to end of life care for ethnic minority patients in the kidney setting. METHODS: The study employed an action research methodology with interviews and focus groups to capture and reflect on the process of engaging with South Asian patients about end of life care. Researchers and kidney care clinicians on four NHS sites in the UK recruited South Asian patients with ESKF who were requiring end of life care to take part in individual interviews; and other clinicians who provided care to South Asian kidney patients at end of life to take part in focus groups exploring end of life care issues. In action research planning, action and evaluation are interlinked and data were analysed with emergent themes fed back to care providers through the research cycle. Reflections on the process of patient recruitment generated focus group discussions about access which were analysed thematically and reported here. RESULTS: Sixteen patients were recruited to interview and 45 different care providers took part in 14 focus groups across the sites. The process of recruiting patients to interview and subsequent focus group data highlighted some of the key issues concerning access to end of life care. These were: the identification of patients approaching end of life; and their awareness of end of life care; language barriers and informal carers' roles in mediating communication; and contrasting cultures in end of life kidney care. CONCLUSIONS: Reflection on the process of recruitment in this action research study provided insight into the complex scenario of end of life in kidney care. Some of the emerging issues such as the difficulty identifying patients are likely to be common across all patient groups, whilst others concerning language barriers and third party communication are more specific to ethnic minorities. A focus on South Asian ethnicity contributes to better understanding of patient perspectives and generic concepts as well as access to end of life kidney care for this group of patients in the UK. Action research was a useful methodology for achieving this and for informing future research to include informal carers and other ethnic groups.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Managing uncertain recovery for patients nearing the end of life in hospital: a mixed-methods feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial of the AMBER care bundle

Abstract: Background: The AMBER (Assessment, Management, Best Practice, Engagement, Recovery Uncertain) care bundle is a complex intervention used in UK hospitals to support patients with uncertain recovery. However, it has yet to be evaluated in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to identify potential benefits or harms. The aim of this trial was to investigate the feasibility of a cluster RCT of the AMBER care bundle. Methods: This is a prospective mixed-methods feasibility cluster RCT. Quantitative data collected from patients (or proxies if patients lack capacity) were used (i) to examine recruitment, retention and follow-up rates; (ii) to test data collection tools for the trial and determine their optimum timing; (iii) to test methods to identify the use of financial resources; and (iv) to explore the acceptability of study procedures for health professionals and patients. Descriptive statistical analyses and thematic analysis used the framework approach. Results: In total, 894 patients were screened, of whom 220 were eligible and 19 of those eligible (8.6%) declined to participate. Recruitment to the control arm was challenging. Of the 728 patients screened for that arm, 647 (88.9%) were excluded. Overall, 65 patients were recruited (81.3% of the recruitment target of 80). Overall, many were elderly (≥80 years, 46.2%, n = 30, mean = 77.8 years, standard deviation [SD] = 12.3 years). Over half (53.8%) had a non-cancer diagnosis, with a mean of 2.3 co-morbidities; 24.6% patients (n = 16) died during their hospital stay and 35.4% (n = 23) within 100 days of discharge. In both trial arms, baseline IPOS subscale scores identified moderate patient anxiety (control: mean 13.3, SD 4.8; intervention: mean 13.3, SD 5.1), and howRwe identified a good care experience (control: mean 13.1, SD 2.5; intervention: mean 11.5, SD 2.1). Collecting quantitative service use and quality of life data was feasible. No patient participants regarded study involvement negatively. Focus groups with health professionals identified concerns regarding (i) the subjectivity of the intervention’s eligibility criteria, (ii) the need to prognosticate to identify potential patients and (iii) consent procedures and the length of the questionnaire. Conclusions: A full trial of the AMBER care bundle is technically feasible but impractical due to fundamental issues in operationalising the intervention’s eligibility criteria, which prevents optimal recruitment. Since this complex intervention continues to be used in clinical care and advocated in policy, alternative research approaches must be considered and tested. Trial registration: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) Register, ISRCTN36040085