Evaluating and Prioritizing Stream Restoration in Mined Appalachian Watersheds.

The state of West Virginia requires stream mitigation to offset anthropogenic impacts to streams; consequently there is a high concentration of mitigation projects in the mountaintop mining/valley fill region. Projects are typically outside mine boundaries and sites are selected at the discretion of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. This dissertation evaluated current in-stream, natural channel design (NCD) structures and prioritized future project locations. First, we assessed the Little Coal River, which is one of the largest physical restoration projects in the state. The Little Coal drains 994 km2 with extensive historic and contemporary coal mining. The objectives of our study were to quantify the effects of in-stream structure construction on stream channel morphology, fish habitat quality, sediment composition, bank stability, fish, and macroinvertebrate assemblages and to determine the extent to which benefits persisted over our study period (5 years). Our results indicate that the beneficial effects of structures include: improved fish habitat quality, increased bed complexity, and increased substrate diversity. Post-construction fish habitat quality and streambed complexity, although dynamic, appear to be relatively stable over time. We observed significant localized macroinvertebrate response to restoration that was mediated by shifts from sand dominated substrates to cobble and gravel. However, overall improvements to invertebrate assemblages at the river reach scale were not observed, because restoration did not affect substrate composition at the larger scale. In contrast, we did observe reach-scale effects of restoration on fish assemblages. However, the overall response was difficult to interpret as being ecologically beneficial or not. Total fish biomass, total abundance, and sucker abundance increased in response to NCD structure construction. Fish species richness and integrity measures remained unchanged, and gamefish abundance decreased on the Little Coal River. Second, we expanded our region and assessed the biological and physical responses to 14 restoration projects in an intensively mined region. Our results suggest that typical restoration practices consistently improve physical habitat quality regardless of drainage area. Restored reaches generally have higher habitat condition scores than adjacent reference reaches and tend to be higher than the average reach in the region. In contrast, macroinvertebrate assemblages demonstrated no measurable positive response to physical habitat restoration, regardless of drainage area, water quality, or the condition of neighboring streams. Fish assemblage response to restoration was strongly context dependent. Restoration projects on smaller streams (i.e. \u3c 50 km2 drainage area) with lower electrical conductivity (\u3c 1000 μs/cm) tended to result in a more positive response by fishes than projects on small, highly conductive streams. However, the most consistent response by fishes to restoration was an increased abundance and biomass of tolerant taxa

Ecological Benefits of Mitigation on a Large River Mainstem in an Intensively Mined Appalachian Watershed

Large scale surface mining in the central Appalachians causes significant alteration of headwater catchments, and these impacts may be offset through implementation of stream restoration projects. As an example, several habitat enhancement structures (cross-vanes and j-hooks) were constructed along a 13.7 km section of the Little Coal River as mitigation for mining impacts in the region. The objectives of our study were to: 1-quantify changes in channel morphology, habitat quality, sediment composition, bank stability, biological communities and organic matter processing in response to habitat enhancing structures; 2-relate changes in structural and functional attributes of the Little Coal River mainstem to losses resulting from mining impacts to headwater catchments; and 3-develop a long term restoration monitoring plan for the Little Coal River. The study area included three 1.5 -- 2 km segments along the Little Coal River mainstem. The upstream segment contained 15 habitat enhancement structures that were constructed between 2005-2006. The downstream segment contained no structures at the beginning of the study (Spring 2009). Twenty structures were then constructed in the downstream segment during late Fall 2009 and Spring 2010. The middle segment contained no structures and served as our reference. Sampling for physical, chemical, and biological attributes occurred seasonally from Spring 2009 -- Fall 2010. Our results indicate that the beneficial effects of structures included: increased fish habitat quality and bed complexity, increased substrate diversity, and increased macroinvertebrate biomass and diversity associated with substrate changes. Most measures of fish assemblages did not respond to restoration actions. Poor water quality in the form of elevated sulfates and total dissolved solids (TDS) may be a critical factor limiting ecological benefits of habitat restoration in the Little Coal River. Furthermore, traditional measures of headwater function, such as organic matter decomposition and retention, were not significantly affected by structural enhancement actions. Consequently, effective management of aquatic resources in the central Appalachians must couple habitat restoration projects on larger river mainstems with protection of headwater catchment functions and effective management of water quality at a watershed scale

The Use of Predator Proof Fencing as a Management Tool in the Hawaiian Islands: A Case Study of Ka`ena Point Natural Area Reserve

Reports were scanned in black and white at a resolution of 600 dots per inch and were converted to text using Adobe Paper Capture Plug-in.The Ka`ena Point Ecosystem Restoration Project was the result of a partnership between the Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Divisions of Forestry and Wildlife and State Parks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Hawai`i Chapter of The Wildlife Society. Ka`ena Point Natural Area Reserve (NAR) hosts one of the largest seabird colonies in the main Hawaiian islands, three species of endangered plants, and is a pupping ground for the endangered Hawaiian monk seals. Prior to fence construction, nesting seabirds and native plants were under constant threat from predatory animals; up to 15% of seabird chicks were killed each year prior to fledging and many endangered plants were unable to reproduce as a result of seed predation. The project involved the construction of predator-proof fencing (2m tall) to prevent feral predators such as dogs, cats, mongoose, rats and mice from entering into 20ha of coastal habitat within Ka`ena Point, followed by removal of these species

Automated Synthesis of Quantum Subcircuits

The quantum computer has become contemporary reality, with the first two-qubit machine of mere decades ago transforming into cloud-accessible devices with tens, hundreds, or--in a few cases--even thousands of qubits. While such hardware is noisy and still relatively small, the increasing number of operable qubits raises another challenge: how to develop the now-sizeable quantum circuits executable on these machines. Preparing circuits manually for specifications of any meaningful size is at best tedious and at worst impossible, creating a need for automation. This article describes an automated quantum-software toolkit for synthesis, compilation, and optimization, which transforms classically-specified, irreversible functions to both technology-independent and technology-dependent quantum circuits. We also describe and analyze the toolkit's application to three situations--quantum read-only memories, quantum random number generators, and quantum oracles--and illustrate the toolkit's start-to-finish features from the input of classical functions to the output of quantum circuits ready-to-run on commercial hardware. Furthermore, we illustrate how the toolkit enables research beyond circuit synthesis, including comparison of synthesis and optimization methods and deeper understanding of even well-studied quantum algorithms. As quantum hardware continues to develop, such quantum circuit toolkits will play a critical role in realizing its potential.Comment: 49 pages, 25 figures, 20 table

Perspective on Coarse-Graining, Cognitive Load, and Materials Simulation

The predictive capabilities of computational materials science today derive from overlapping advances in simulation tools, modeling techniques, and best practices. We outline this ecosystem of molecular simulations by explaining how important contributions in each of these areas have fed into each other. The combined output of these tools, techniques, and practices is the ability for researchers to advance understanding by efficiently combining simple models with powerful software. As specific examples, we show how the prediction of organic photovoltaic morphologies have improved by orders of magnitude over the last decade, and how the processing of reacting epoxy thermosets can now be investigated with million-particle models. We discuss these two materials systems and the training of materials simulators through the lens of cognitive load theory. For students, the broad view of ecosystem components should facilitate understanding how the key parts relate to each other first, followed by targeted exploration. In this way, the paper is organized in loose analogy to a coarse-grained model: The main components provide basic framing and accelerated sampling from which deeper research is better contextualized. For mentors, this paper is organized to provide a snapshot in time of the current simulation ecosystem and an on-ramp for simulation experts into the literature on pedagogical practice

Chronic Hepatitis B Finite Treatment: similar and different concerns with new drug classes

Chronic hepatitis B, a major cause of liver disease and cancer, affects over 250 million people worldwide. Currently there is no cure, only suppressive therapies. Efforts to develop finite curative HBV therapies are underway, consisting of combinations of multiple novel agents +/- nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors. The HBV Forum convened a webinar in July 2021, and subsequent working group discussions to address how and when to stop finite therapy for demonstration of sustained off-treatment efficacy and safety responses. Participants included leading experts in academia, clinical practice, pharmaceutical companies, patient representatives and regulatory agencies. This Viewpoint outlines areas of consensus within our multi-stakeholder group for stopping finite therapies in chronic Hepatitis B investigational studies, including trial design, patient selection, outcomes, biomarkers, pre-defined stopping criteria, pre-defined retreatment criteria, duration of investigational therapies, and follow up after stopping therapy. Future research of unmet needs are discussed

Catching Element Formation In The Act

Gamma-ray astronomy explores the most energetic photons in nature to address some of the most pressing puzzles in contemporary astrophysics. It encompasses a wide range of objects and phenomena: stars, supernovae, novae, neutron stars, stellar-mass black holes, nucleosynthesis, the interstellar medium, cosmic rays and relativistic-particle acceleration, and the evolution of galaxies. MeV gamma-rays provide a unique probe of nuclear processes in astronomy, directly measuring radioactive decay, nuclear de-excitation, and positron annihilation. The substantial information carried by gamma-ray photons allows us to see deeper into these objects, the bulk of the power is often emitted at gamma-ray energies, and radioactivity provides a natural physical clock that adds unique information. New science will be driven by time-domain population studies at gamma-ray energies. This science is enabled by next-generation gamma-ray instruments with one to two orders of magnitude better sensitivity, larger sky coverage, and faster cadence than all previous gamma-ray instruments. This transformative capability permits: (a) the accurate identification of the gamma-ray emitting objects and correlations with observations taken at other wavelengths and with other messengers; (b) construction of new gamma-ray maps of the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies where extended regions are distinguished from point sources; and (c) considerable serendipitous science of scarce events -- nearby neutron star mergers, for example. Advances in technology push the performance of new gamma-ray instruments to address a wide set of astrophysical questions.Comment: 14 pages including 3 figure

Comparison of Francisella tularensis genomes reveals evolutionary events associated with the emergence of human pathogenic strains

.Sequencing of the non-pathogenic Francisella tularensis sub-species novicida U112, and comparison with two pathogenic sub-species, provides insights into the evolution of pathogenicity in these species