Comparison of Best Management Practice Adoption Between Virginia\u27s Chesapeake Bay Basin and Southern Rivers Watersheds

Producers in two regions of Virginia (Chesapeake Bay basin and Southern Rivers region) were surveyed to compare farming practices and agricultural best management practice (BMP) adoption. Objectives were to assess farming operations and determine the extent of cost-share and non-cost-share BMP implementation and gain insight into the impact of selected socioeconomic factors on the BMP adoption. Although farming characteristics and producer attitudes toward pollution and water quality were similar, BMP implementation differed between the two regions. Differences in BMP implementation may be due to a more focused, longer-term NPS pollution control educational effort in the Bay basin

Advanced Thermal Control & Systems Design Enable Long Duration, Continuous Lunar Surface Operation of Robotic Science Landers and Payloads

No abstract availabl

Dysfunctional stem and progenitor cells impair fracture healing with age

Successful fracture healing requires the simultaneous regeneration of both the bone and vasculature; mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are directed to replace the bone tissue, while endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) form the new vasculature that supplies blood to the fracture site. In the elderly, the healing process is slowed, partly due to decreased regenerative function of these stem and progenitor cells. MSCs from older individuals are impaired with regard to cell number, proliferative capacity, ability to migrate, and osteochondrogenic differentiation potential. The proliferation, migration and function of EPCs are also compromised with advanced age. Although the reasons for cellular dysfunction with age are complex and multidimensional, reduced expression of growth factors, accumulation of oxidative damage from reactive oxygen species, and altered signaling of the Sirtuin-1 pathway are contributing factors to aging at the cellular level of both MSCs and EPCs. Because of these geriatric-specific issues, effective treatment for fracture repair may require new therapeutic techniques to restore cellular function. Some suggested directions for potential treatments include cellular therapies, pharmacological agents, treatments targeting age-related molecular mechanisms, and physical therapeutics. Advanced age is the primary risk factor for a fracture, due to the low bone mass and inferior bone quality associated with aging; a better understanding of the dysfunctional behavior of the aging cell will provide a foundation for new treatments to decrease healing time and reduce the development of complications during the extended recovery from fracture healing in the elderly

Herbicide Movement and Dissipation at Four Midwestern Sites

This study was conducted to evaluate atrazine (2‐chloro‐4‐ethylamino‐6‐isopropyl‐1, 3, 5‐triazine) and alachlor (2‐chIoro‐N‐(methoxymethyl)acetamide) dissipation and movement to shallow aquifers across the Northern Sand Plains region of the United States. Sites were located at Minnesota on a Zimmerman fine sand, North Dakota on Hecla sandy loam, South Dakota on a Brandt silty clay loam, and Wisconsin on a Sparta sand. Herbicide concentrations were determined in soil samples taken to 90 cm four times during the growing season and water samples taken from the top one m of aquifer at least once every three months. Herbicides were detected to a depth of 30 cm in Sparta sand and 90 cm in all other soils. Some aquifer samples from each site contained atrazine with the highest concentration in the aquifer beneath the Sparta sand (1.28 μg L‐1). Alachlor was detected only once in the aquifer at the SD site. The time to 50% atrazine dissipation (DT50) in the top 15 cm of soil averaged about 21 d in Sparta and Zimmerman sands and more than 45 d for Brandt and Hecla soils. Atrazine DT50 was correlated positively with % clay and organic carbon (OC), and negatively with % fine sand. Alachlor DT50 ranged from 12 to 32 d for Zimmerman and Brandt soils, respectively, and was correlated negatively with % clay and OC and positively with % sand

Strategy Plan A Methodology to Predict the Uniformity of Double-Shell Tank Waste Slurries Based on Mixing Pump Operation

This document presents an analysis of the mechanisms influencing mixing within double-shell slurry tanks. A research program to characterize mixing of slurries within tanks has been proposed. The research program presents a combined experimental and computational approach to produce correlations describing the tank slurry concentration profile (and therefore uniformity) as a function of mixer pump operating conditions. The TEMPEST computer code was used to simulate both a full-scale (prototype) and scaled (model) double-shell waste tank to predict flow patterns resulting from a stationary jet centered in the tank. The simulation results were used to evaluate flow patterns in the tank and to determine whether flow patterns are similar between the full-scale prototype and an existing 1/12-scale model tank. The flow patterns were sufficiently similar to recommend conducting scoping experiments at 1/12-scale. Also, TEMPEST modeled velocity profiles of the near-floor jet were compared to experimental measurements of the near-floor jet with good agreement. Reported values of physical properties of double-shell tank slurries were analyzed to evaluate the range of properties appropriate for conducting scaled experiments. One-twelfth scale scoping experiments are recommended to confirm the prioritization of the dimensionless groups (gravitational settling, Froude, and Reynolds numbers) that affect slurry suspension in the tank. Two of the proposed 1/12-scale test conditions were modeled using the TEMPEST computer code to observe the anticipated flow fields. This information will be used to guide selection of sampling probe locations. Additional computer modeling is being conducted to model a particulate laden, rotating jet centered in the tank. The results of this modeling effort will be compared to the scaled experimental data to quantify the agreement between the code and the 1/12-scale experiment. The scoping experiment results will guide selection of parameters to be varied in the follow-on experiments. Data from the follow-on experiments will be used to develop correlations to describe slurry concentration profile as a function of mixing pump operating conditions. This data will also be used to further evaluate the computer model applications. If the agreement between the experimental data and the code predictions is good, the computer code will be recommended for use to predict slurry uniformity in the tanks under various operating conditions. If the agreement between the code predictions and experimental results is not good, the experimental data correlations will be used to predict slurry uniformity in the tanks within the range of correlation applicability

Advances in surface EMG signal simulation with analytical and numerical descriptions of the volume conductor

Surface electromyographic (EMG) signal modeling is important for signal interpretation, testing of processing algorithms, detection system design, and didactic purposes. Various surface EMG signal models have been proposed in the literature. In this study we focus on 1) the proposal of a method for modeling surface EMG signals by either analytical or numerical descriptions of the volume conductor for space-invariant systems, and 2) the development of advanced models of the volume conductor by numerical approaches, accurately describing not only the volume conductor geometry, as mainly done in the past, but also the conductivity tensor of the muscle tissue. For volume conductors that are space-invariant in the direction of source propagation, the surface potentials generated by any source can be computed by one-dimensional convolutions, once the volume conductor transfer function is derived (analytically or numerically). Conversely, more complex volume conductors require a complete numerical approach. In a numerical approach, the conductivity tensor of the muscle tissue should be matched with the fiber orientation. In some cases (e.g., multi-pinnate muscles) accurate description of the conductivity tensor may be very complex. A method for relating the conductivity tensor of the muscle tissue, to be used in a numerical approach, to the curve describing the muscle fibers is presented and applied to representatively investigate a bi-pinnate muscle with rectilinear and curvilinear fibers. The study thus propose an approach for surface EMG signal simulation in space invariant systems as well as new models of the volume conductor using numerical methods