Mirror Lake Monitoring: Water Level Observations and Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions

Groundwater-surface water interactions have great importance for clean and sustainable water use. To understand these interactions in an artificially constructed lake on the campus of Ohio State University, water level observations were made in Mirror Lake and ten piezometers surrounding the lake every month for a year. Measurements show that the lake recharges the surrounding aquifer throughout the year. The annual draining of the lake during the Ohio State-Michigan game leads to a lowering of water levels in surrounding piezometers. An area of low groundwater head also persists throughout the year between Mirror Lake and Neil Avenue that may indicate groundwater discharge to a storm drain that runs under Neil Avenue. Continued long-term measurements will be useful for understanding lake and groundwater budgets and can help support decisions about lake management, landscape design, and water use on campus.NSF Award EAR 1752995The Ohio State UniversityNo embargoAcademic Major: Earth Science

The National Niemann-Pick Type C1 Disease Database: correlation of lipid profiles, mutations, and biochemical phenotypes

Niemann-Pick type C1 disease (NPC1) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder characterized by neonatal jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, and progressive neurodegeneration. The present study provides the lipid profiles, mutations, and corresponding associations with the biochemical phenotype obtained from NPC1 patients who participated in the National NPC1 Disease Database. Lipid profiles were obtained from 34 patients (39%) in the survey and demonstrated significantly reduced plasma LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and increased plasma triglycerides in the majority of patients. Reduced plasma HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) was the most consistent lipoprotein abnormality found in male and female NPC1 patients across age groups and occurred independent of changes in plasma triglycerides. A subset of 19 patients for whom the biochemical severity of known NPC1 mutations could be correlated with their lipid profile showed a strong inverse correlation between plasma HDL-C and severity of the biochemical phenotype. Gene mutations were available for 52 patients (59%) in the survey, including 52 different mutations and five novel mutations (Y628C, P887L, I923V, A1151T, and 3741_3744delACTC). Together, these findings provide novel information regarding the plasma lipoprotein changes and mutations in NPC1 disease, and suggest plasma HDL-C represents a potential biomarker of NPC1 disease severity