Morphological Plant Modeling: Unleashing Geometric and Topological Potential within the Plant Sciences

The geometries and topologies of leaves, flowers, roots, shoots, and their arrangements have fascinated plant biologists and mathematicians alike. As such, plant morphology is inherently mathematical in that it describes plant form and architecture with geometrical and topological techniques. Gaining an understanding of how to modify plant morphology, through molecular biology and breeding, aided by a mathematical perspective, is critical to improving agriculture, and the monitoring of ecosystems is vital to modeling a future with fewer natural resources. In this white paper, we begin with an overview in quantifying the form of plants and mathematical models of patterning in plants. We then explore the fundamental challenges that remain unanswered concerning plant morphology, from the barriers preventing the prediction of phenotype from genotype to modeling the movement of leaves in air streams. We end with a discussion concerning the education of plant morphology synthesizing biological and mathematical approaches and ways to facilitate research advances through outreach, cross-disciplinary training, and open science. Unleashing the potential of geometric and topological approaches in the plant sciences promises to transform our understanding of both plants and mathematics

A Case Study at Mud Lake : The Influence of Phosphorus Loading Through Lacustrine Groundwater Discharge on Eutrophication Events in a Stratified Flow-Through Lake in Western Wisconsin

Color poster with text, images, photographs, and graphs.Phosphorus (P)-laden runoff has been associated with lake eutrophication throughout the upper Midwest United States. Although P has been considered immobile in groundwater systems, an ongoing investigation at UW-Eau Claire suggests P is highly mobile and present in large quantities in the groundwater system. The potential impact of P in groundwater contributing to lake eutrophication has implications on land-use practice and healthy lake management. This study seeks to quantify P loading through groundwater discharge in Mud Lake in Barron County, WI.University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Office of Research and Sponsored Program

An Assessment of Nutrient Loading through Lacustrine Groundwater Discharge in Mud Lake, Wisconsin

Color poster with text, maps, charts, photographs, and graphs.Mud Lake experiences severe lake eutrophication throughout the summer months. Although anthropogenic nutrient sources have been identified as a contributing factor, an ongoing investigation at UW-Eau Claire has demonstrated that the regional bedrock geology may also be a source of phosphorus (P) to the hydrologic system. Furthermore, despite historic assumptions that P is immobile in groundwater systems, the study provides evidence that P is highly mobile in the subsurface. The objective of this study is to understand the mobility of P in groundwater and its impact on Mud Lake. This entails the collection of groundwater, surface water, and sediment samples at nine different sites around the perimeter of Mud Lake. At each location, hydraulic head measurements were collected inside and outside of each monitoring well to determine vertical gradients. Measured water quality parameters include temperature, pH, nitrate, specific conductivity, oxidation-reduction potential, and dissolved oxygen. After field collection, water samples underwent filtration with .45-micron filters and were preserved with nitric acid. A .20-micron filtering process was also conducted on groundwater samples to test for colloidal (0.20-0.45 micron) P transport. Preliminary results report an average P flux of 43.6 kg/day with groundwater P concentrations up to 790 ppb.UW System Water Research Fellowship; State of Wisconsin Groundwater Monitoring and Research Grant (UW System); University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Office of Research and Sponsored Program

Hygiene in catering establishments where food is produced in front of consumer

Celem badań była ocena przestrzegania zasad higieny w zakładach gastronomicznych wytwarzających żywność w obecności konsumenta, w wybranych krajach. Jako metodę badań zastosowano audyty procesów wykonywane przez przeszkolonych audytorów na podstawie formularza pytań. Formularz audytu zawierał 4 grupy pytań dotyczących higieny: personelu, pomieszczeń produkcyjnych, procesu produkcji i dystrybucji żywności. Wykonano 30 audytów w różnych zakładach gastronomicznych zlokalizowanych w 5 krajach. Były to: Polska (Warszawa), Austria (Salzburg), Niemcy (Hesja i Bawaria), Republika Chińska (Tajwan), USA (Nowy Jork). Na podstawie przeprowadzonych audytów stwierdzono liczne niezgodności we wszystkich ocenianych zakładach gastronomicznych, niezależnie od różnic kulturowych i przepisów obowiązujących w danym kraju. Dotyczyły one zarówno obszaru higieny personelu (rąk, głowy), jak i higieny pomieszczeń produkcyjnych i produkcji żywności. Były to: nieprawidłowy układ funkcjonalny pomieszczeń oraz brak rozdzielności pomiędzy czystymi i brudnymi strefami pracy. Wykazano wiele błędów w zakresie higieny personelu, takich jak: dotykanie twarzy, nosa, uszu, włosów podczas produkcji i serwowania żywności. Najwięcej niezgodności stwierdzono w lokalach gastronomicznych na Tajwanie, a najmniej – w Niemczech. W polskich zakładach zaobserwowano nieznacznie więcej niezgodności niż w Bawarii i znacznie mniej niż w USA. Brak przestrzegania zasad higieny w zakładach gastronomicznych wytwarzających żywność w obecności klienta jest zjawiskiem powszechnym na świecie i występuje mimo różnic kulturowych oraz uwarunkowań prawnych.The objective of the research study was to assess the compliance with hygiene rules in catering establishments, which produce food in front of their consumers, in some selected countries. The audit research method applied consisted in that the trained auditors audited the processes on the basis of a questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised 4 groups of questions referring to the hygiene of: employees, production premises, production process, and food distribution. 30 audits were performed in various catering establishments situated in 5 countries. Those countries included: Poland (Warsaw), Austria (Salzburg), Germany (Hessen and Bavaria), The Republic of China (Taiwan), and USA (New York). Based on the results of the audits performed, numerous incompatibilities were found in all the catering establishments audited regardless of the cultural differences and rules in force in a given country. The incompatibilities reported involved the hygiene of employees (hands, head), the production premises hygiene, and the food production hygiene. These were: incorrect functional layout of premises and no separation between the soiled and clean working areas. Many errors were reported as regards the hygiene of staff, such as touching face, nose, and hair while making and serving food. The most incompatibilities were accounted for the catering establishments in Taiwan and the least for German establishments. In the Polish catering establishments, a little bit more incompatibilities were found than in Bavaria and significantly less than in the U.S. The non-compliance with the hygiene rules in the catering establishments that produce food in front of the customer is a common phenomenon throughout the world, and it occurs notwithstanding the cultural differences or legal requirements

Compositional variations in shield-stage volcanism in Fogo, Cape Verde islands

The intraplate oceanic island of Fogo (Cape Verde islands) is in the shield-stage of its evolution. It experienced a major lateral collapse ca. 70 ka ago, after which a sequence of lavas about 2 km thick infilled the collapse scar, with eruptions continuing to the present day. Nearly 100 lavas from before and after the collapse have been sampled and analysed for bulk rock compositions. These lavas have been divided into five Formations (2 pre- collapse and 3 post-collapse), using stratigraphic principles. There is little difference in the major and trace element compositions of pre- and post-collapse lavas, and the main process that gives rise to their diversity is fractional crystallization of observed mineral phases. Pre-collapse lavas show a narrower range of bulk compositions than the post-collapse lavas, but this may be because the sampling strategy avoided these more altered and poorly exposed lavas. A group of high-P2O5 lavas, erupted both before and after the collapse, may have been extensively contaminated by local seamount-stage intrusive carbonatites. A subset of 30 samples was analysed for Sr, Nd and Pb isotope ratios. They show a plume component which has interacted with two contaminants: (1) an increase in 87Sr/86Sr and decrease in 143Nd/144Nd with decreasing MgO, which indicates varying amounts of assimilation of an enriched lithospheric component coupled to fractionation (AFC), and (2) contamination of the more fractionated magmas, without further fractionation, involving the suspected carbonatite contaminant which originates from a more isotopically depleted source. Overall trends of increasing 87Sr/86Sr, and slight decreases in 143Nd/144Nd and all radiogenic Pb isotope ratios, with decreasing age of eruption, indicate a general increase in the assimilated lithospheric component throughout shield-stage activity. However, there is no clear evidence of any change in isotope compositions across the period of the collapse. All Formations show similar wide and overlapping ranges of isotope compositions, regardless of the timescales represented by each Formation. This implies that much short-term variation in the magma sources was superimposed on the overall trend of increasing lithospheric assimilation