Quantifying the bioaccessibility of chromium contaminated soil

There are numerous sites on Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy(DOE) lands along with other industrial facilities that are contaminated with toxic metals such as chromium and are awaiting possible clean up and closure. Ingestion of contaminated soil by children is the usual risk driver that motivates remediation for sites contaminated with toxic metals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of soil properties on the bioaccessibility of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) as a function of contaminant concentration and aging, and to develop a simple statistical model based on common soil properties to estimate the bioaccessibility of Cr(in) contaminated soil upon ingestion.The A- and upper B- horizons of two well characterized soils were treated with varying concentrations of Cr(IlI) and Cr(VI) and allowed to age. The bioaccessibility of the contaminated soils was measured using a physiologically based extraction test (PBET)designed to simulate the digestive process of the stomach. Sorption of Cr(III) and Cr(VI)varied significantly as a function of soil type and horizon as well as the oxidation state of the contaminant. Cr(lII) showed significantly greater solid phase concentrations thanCr(VI) for any given initial Cr concentration. These results are consistent with one of the expected mechanisms of sequestration of Cr(III) vs. Cr(VI) by the soils: the precipitation of Cr(III) - hydroxides, which can result in the accumulation of large mass fractions of contaminant on mineral surfaces. Overall, bioaccessibility of Cr decreased as the duration of exposure to the soil increased. This occurred for all soils and at all solid phase concentrations, with Cr(III) exhibiting the most pronounced aging effects. The Decrease in Cr bioaccessibility was rapid for the first 50 d and then slowed dramatically from 50 to 200 d.The statistical model for bioaccessibility of Cr(III) was developed using data from thirty-six uncontaminated soils from seven major soil orders which were spiked with Cr(III),aged and then tested using the PBET method. The bioaccessibility of Cr(III) varied widely as a function of soil type with most soils limiting bioaccessibility to \u3c 45% and \u3c30% after 1 and 100 days aging, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed that Cr(III)sequestration by the soils was strongly correlated with the clay, total inorganic carbon(TIC), pH, and Mn-oxide content of the soils. Soils that contained higher quantities of clay, inorganic carbon (i.e. carbonates), higher pH and low Mn-oxide contents generally sequestered more Cr(III). Further statistical analysis showed that the bioaccessibility ofCr(III) on soil was also correlated with the clay content, TIC content, and pH of the soil with bioaccessibility decreasing as the soil TIC content and pH increased and as the clay content decreased. The model was statistically rigorous, passing both a normality test and a constant variance test, with no indication of parameter collinearity. The model yielded an equation based on common soil properties that could be used to predict theCr(III) bioaccessibility in soils with a reasonable level of confidence. Thus, the model should be useful for assessing Cr(III) bioaccessibility at contaminated site so that the appropriate remediation criteria can be determined

Sensational Kin: Family, Normativity and Women\u27s Weekly Magazines

This essay analyses a range of British women’s weekly magazines commonly referred to as ‘Women’s Weeklies’. Examples of these texts include Pick-Me-Up, Take-a-Break, Real People, and Closer. Unlike more widely researched magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Glamour, the women’s weeklies draw their readership based on the supposed autobiographical nature of the narratives, which in turn generates the ‘authenticity’ attributed to personal narratives. In this essay I analyse the personal narratives of the weeklies within the wider public sphere, arguing that such personal narratives render women’s weeklies relevant in political debate. The essay demonstrates how the individual narratives of social history and autobiography have become generalized and are thus circulated as evidence of something shared in the larger social and political climate. The aim is not to explain what happens to specific aesthetically mediated subjects as equivalent to what happens to people, but rather to unpack the affective scenarios of women’s weeklies’ narratives in order to shed light upon the claims they make about the situation of contemporary life. Drawing on theorists such as Lauren Berlant and Lee Edelman, I argue that through their use of optimism and affect the articles perpetuate the fantasy of the domestic good-life while concurrently, and subconsciously, providing evidence of the violence that heteronormative fantasy enacts. I claim that these articles illustrate the changing form of the family while simultaneously failing to acknowledge it. I demonstrate how they rely on the shared, lived experience of their readers, and as such, use affect to normalize even the most sensational of narratives. Ultimately, I query their insistence on securing futurity and the good-life through reproduction and family, postulating how these texts may be re-appropriated to call for a social and political shift away from the family

Revisiting the Revolution: Reintegrating the Wealth Transmission System

Thirty years ago, John Langbein published “The Nonprobate Revolution and the Future of Succession.” The article celebrated testators’ newfound ability to avoid the expense and delay of the probate court system by holding assets in a variety of non-probate devices, such as retirement and bank accounts with beneficiary designations and revocable trusts. Langbein highlighted problems the revolution might generate and predicted how they might be resolved. Since then, significant problems have indeed developed. First, wills law doctrines designed to effectuate intent of testators have not been universally extended to non-probate transfers. Second, the fragmentation of the wealth transmission process has created coordination problems that did not exist when almost all of a decedent’s assets passed through the decedent’s probate estate. This has increased opportunities for attorney error. Even when attorneys get it right, rogue clients can easily undermine a carefully constructed estate plan, and the law does not always allow courts to correct these errors. Third, the non-probate system increases the potential for wrongful takers to dissipate assets before rightful beneficiaries have an opportunity to make claims to those assets. As we explain, neither lawyers, financial institutions nor the legal system have successfully resolved these issues. We advance several proposals that might ameliorate the costs of the non-probate system, such as conferring broader power on estate executors to coordinate non-probate assets, and a voluntary registration system that would reduce the risk of inadvertent conflicts among wealth transmission documents

Methodology Matters: Designing a Pilot Study Guided by Indigenous Epistemologies

Indigenous individuals and communities have historically and continuously had negative experiences with Western health care and biomedical research. To rebuild trust and mitigate power structures between researchers and Indigenous Peoples, researchers can adopt Indigenous epistemologies in methodologies, such as non-hierarchical approaches to relationship. This paper shares models developed to bridge Indigenous epistemologies with Western qualitative and quantitative research methods and demonstrates how these epistemologies can be used to guide the development of pilot study

Gaining understanding of South African traditional helers' management of lymphedema following breast cancer treatment : building a foundation for a synergistic model of best practices [abstract]

As of 1999, breast cancer (BC) was the leading cause of cancer diagnosis in South African women, affecting 1 in 12 Caucasian and 1 in 18 ethnically diverse South African women. In order to improve BC survivorship, the Universities of Missouri and the Western Cape in South Africa are collaborating with the goals of increasing understanding of BC survivors' and traditional healers' (THs') ways of managing lymphedema secondary to breast cancer treatment (BCLE). The purpose of this research is to more fully understand THs' identification and management of BCLE. Secondarily, we want to propose a best practices model reflecting the synergistic combination of Western and traditional medicine for BCLE treatment and prevention. Qualitative methods were utilized. Interviews with three THs in South Africa were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were audio-taped, transcribed, and reviewed for recurring themes. Themes were extracted by the first author using editing style analysis, and reviewed by the entire team for validation, representativeness, and sufficiency. Themes included folk medicine training, multidisciplinary collaboration, perceptions of cancer, disease characteristics, and disease management. Findings suggest the early stages of a dynamic and complementary relationship exist between THs and practitioners of Western medicine. Facilitating collaboration between THs and practitioners of Western medicine concerning the management of BCLE and other treatment-related symptoms is recommended for further study. Finally, this new understanding will be used to design evidence-based intervention(s) which synergistically combine the best practices of Western and traditional medicine for survivors living with and at risk of developing lymphedema

A-Z List Migration: Employing Collaborative Project Management at the University of Guelph McLaughlin Library

From 2003 – 2016, the University of Guelph McLaughlin Library maintained a custom ColdFusion database of databases. Motivated by a myriad of issues, a project working group set the goal of decommissioning the ColdFusion A-Z list and migrating to SpringShare LibGuides platform A-Z list feature. This article focuses on our A-Z list migration, highlighting the collaborative approach we took to curating our list of journal databases and operationalizing and distributing this shared task across several teams within our library. This article describes our project and approach, lessons learned, recommendations and best practices, as well as future directions

Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center Organic Farm: A Curriculum Evaluation

A field project submitted to the faculty of University of Minnesota in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Education, 2015. Committee names: Kevin Zak (Chair), Julie Ernst, Beth Ruark. This item has been modified from the original to remove the signature page that was present.Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center (WRELC), located in Finland, MN, recently developed a new curriculum for their on-site organic farm. Using a one group pre-test/post-test design, this evaluative study investigated the effectiveness of the WRELC Organic Farm curriculum at enhancing participants’ knowledge of the food system. Mean knowledge scores collected from a quantitative survey significantly increased from pre- to post-test among all five knowledge domains measured. Additionally, there were few effects of demographic variables measured, indicating that this curriculum was generally effective for most participants. A qualitative interview with the instructor of the classes lent support to quantitative findings. Results from this study point toward an overall success of this curriculum at enhancing participants’ knowledge of the food system. Recommendations for WRELC were provided, and areas for future research were noted.University of Minnesota, Duluth. College of Education and Human Service Professions. Master of Environmental Education Program