Theme Overview: Agriculture and Water Quality in the Cornbelt: Overview of Issues and Approaches

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q25,

A Tale of Three Watersheds: Nonpoint Source Pollution and Conservation Practices across Iowa

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q25,

Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework: 1. Developing Multipractice Watershed Planning Scenarios and Assessing Nutrient Reduction Potential

Spatial data on soils, land use, and topography, combined with knowledge of conservation effectiveness, can be used to identify alternatives to reduce nutrient discharge from small (hydrologic unit code [HUC]12) watersheds. Databases comprising soil attributes, agricultural land use, and light detection and ranging–derived elevation models were developed for two glaciated midwestern HUC12 watersheds: Iowa’s Beaver Creek watershed has an older dissected landscape, and Lime Creek in Illinois is young and less dissected. Subsurface drainage is common in both watersheds. We identified locations for conservation practices, including in-field practices (grassed waterways), edge-of-field practices (nutrient-removal wetlands, saturated buffers), and drainage-water management, by applying terrain analyses, geographic criteria, and cross-classifications to field- and watershed-scale geographic data. Cover crops were randomly distributed to fields without geographic prioritization. A set of alternative planning scenarios was developed to represent a variety of extents of implementation among these practices. The scenarios were assessed for nutrient reduction potential using a spreadsheet approach to calculate the average nutrient-removal efficiency required among the practices included in each scenario to achieve a 40% NO3–N reduction. Results were evaluated in the context of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which reviewed nutrient-removal efficiencies of practices and established the 40% NO3–N reduction as Iowa’s target for Gulf of Mexico hypoxia mitigation by agriculture. In both test watersheds, planning scenarios that could potentially achieve the targeted NO3–N reduction but remov

Autologous Stem Cell Transplant is Feasible in Very Elderly Patients with Lymphoma and Limited Comorbidity

In patients with recurrent Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin\u27s lymphoma, autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) can offer potential for cure or long-term remission. Because of potential toxicity, elderly patients are usually not considered candidates, but data regarding tolerability and efficacy in this group are lacking. The transplant database at Weill Cornell Medical College was reviewed to identify patients with lymphoma undergoing ASCT at age 69 or greater. Clinical data and comorbidities were correlated with outcome. Twenty-one patients were identified. Sixteen of 19 evaluable patients (76%) achieved complete remission following ASCT, while 2 patients died before response assessment. Median progression-free survival following ASCT was 8 months and median overall survival was 18 months. Age was not predictive of overall survival, but patients 75 and older had inferior progression-free survival compared to younger patients. High-risk status by hematopoietic stem cell transplant comorbidity index (HCT-CI) was associated with short overall survival and high transplant-related mortality. ASCT is feasible and of potential benefit in selected elderly lymphoma patients. Consideration of comorbidities, rather than age alone, may allow selection of patients likely to tolerate and benefit from ASCT

Autologous Stem Cell Transplant is Feasible in Very Elderly Patients with Lymphoma and Limited Comorbidity

In patients with recurrent Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin\u27s lymphoma, autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) can offer potential for cure or long-term remission. Because of potential toxicity, elderly patients are usually not considered candidates, but data regarding tolerability and efficacy in this group are lacking. The transplant database at Weill Cornell Medical College was reviewed to identify patients with lymphoma undergoing ASCT at age 69 or greater. Clinical data and comorbidities were correlated with outcome. Twenty-one patients were identified. Sixteen of 19 evaluable patients (76%) achieved complete remission following ASCT, while 2 patients died before response assessment. Median progression-free survival following ASCT was 8 months and median overall survival was 18 months. Age was not predictive of overall survival, but patients 75 and older had inferior progression-free survival compared to younger patients. High-risk status by hematopoietic stem cell transplant comorbidity index (HCT-CI) was associated with short overall survival and high transplant-related mortality. ASCT is feasible and of potential benefit in selected elderly lymphoma patients. Consideration of comorbidities, rather than age alone, may allow selection of patients likely to tolerate and benefit from ASCT

Diaphragmatic Amyloidosis Causing Respiratory Failure: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Neuromuscular respiratory failure is a rare complication of systemic immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis. We describe a case of a 70-year-old Caucasian man with multiple myeloma who presented with worsening dyspnea. The patient was diagnosed with and treated for congestive heart failure but continued to suffer from hypercapnic respiratory insufficiency. He had restrictive physiology on pulmonary function tests and abnormal phrenic nerve conduction studies, consistent with neuromuscular respiratory failure. The diagnosis of systemic immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis was made based on the clinical context and a cardiac biopsy. Despite treatment attempts, the patient passed away in the intensive care unit from hypercapnic respiratory failure. Autopsy revealed dense diaphragmatic amyloid deposits without phrenic nerve infiltration or demyelination or lung parenchymal involvement. Only 5 cases of neuromuscular respiratory failure due to amyloid infiltration of the diaphragm have been described. All cases, including this, were characterized by rapid progression and high mortality. Therefore, diaphragmatic amyloidosis should be on the differential for progressive neuromuscular respiratory failure in patients with multiple myeloma or any other monoclonal gammopathy. Given its poor prognosis, early recognition of this condition is essential in order to address goals of care and encourage pursuit of palliative measures

Activation of the Androgen Receptor by Intratumoral Bioconversion of Androstanediol to Dihydrotestosterone in Prostate Cancer

The androgen receptor (AR) mediates the growth of benign and malignant prostate in response to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). In patients undergoing androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer, AR drives prostate cancer growth despite low circulating levels of testicular androgen and normal levels of adrenal androgen. In this report we demonstrate the extent of AR transactivation in the presence of 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol (androstanediol) in prostate-derived cell lines parallels the bioconversion of androstanediol to DHT. AR transactivation in the presence of androstanediol in prostate cancer cell lines correlated mainly with mRNA and protein levels of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 6 (17β-HSD6), one of several enzymes required for the interconversion of androstanediol to DHT and the inactive metabolite, androsterone. Levels of retinol dehydrogenase 5, and dehydrogenase/reductase short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase family member 9, which also convert androstanediol to DHT, were lower than 17β-HSD6 in prostate-derived cell lines, and higher in the castration-recurrent human prostate cancer xenograft. Measurements of tissue androstanediol using mass spectrometry demonstrated androstanediol metabolism to DHT and androsterone. Administration of androstanediol dipropionate to castration-recurrent CWR22R tumor bearing athymic castrated male mice produced a 28-fold increase in intratumoral DHT levels. AR transactivation in prostate cancer cells in the presence of androstanediol resulted from the cell-specific conversion of androstanediol to DHT, and androstanediol increased LAPC-4 cell growth. The ability to convert androstanediol to DHT provides a mechanism for optimal utilization of androgen precursors and catabolites for DHT synthesis

Science in the Supply Chain: Collaboration Opportunities for Advancing Sustainable Agriculture in the United States

Consumers and corporations are increasingly interested in understanding the sustainability of agricultural supply chains and reducing the environmental impacts of food, fiber, feed, and fuel production. This emerging need to quantify environmental impacts from agricultural production creates an opportunity for collaboration with the scientific community. Without such collaboration, sustainability efforts risk failure by adopting unrealistic goals or misguided approaches. This commentary explores the role of science in Field to Market, a nonprofit organization developing a sustainability program for US commodity crops, and highlights opportunities to address emerging science challenges. We evaluate changes over the past 35 years in key environmental impacts of crop production used to inform land managers as well as companies that are committed to improvements. Achieving improvements will only be possible if three key gaps are addressed regarding available simulation models and data, scale of implementation and uncertainty, and effectiveness of conservation practices. Filling these gaps presents an opportunity for dialogue between scientists, farmers, and private-sector stakeholders to advance scientific knowledge and promote the common objective of sustainable agriculture

Changes in lateral floodplain connectivity accompanying stream channel evolution: Implications for sediment and nutrient budgets

Floodplain storage commonly represents one of the largest sediment fluxes within sediment budgets. In watersheds responding to large scale disturbance, floodplain-channel lateral connectivity may change over time with progression of channel evolution and associated changes in channel geometry. In this study we investigated the effects of channel geometry change on floodplain inundation frequency and flux of suspended sediment (SS) and total phosphorus (TP) to floodplain storage within the 52.2 km2 Walnut Creek watershed (Iowa, USA) through a combination of 25 in-field channel cross section transects, hydraulic modeling (HEC-RAS), and stream gauging station-derived water quality and quantity data. Cross sectional area of the 25 in-field channel cross sections increased by a mean of 17% over the 16 year study period (1998–2014), and field data indicate a general trend of degradation and widening to be present along Walnut Creek\u27s main stem. Estimated stream discharge required to generate lateral overbank flow increased 15%, and floodplain inundation volume decreased by 37% over study duration. Estimated annual fluxes of SS and TP to floodplain storage decreased by 61 and 62% over study duration, respectively. The estimated reductions in flux to floodplain storage have potential to increase watershed export of SS and TP by 9 and 18%, respectively. Increased contributions to SS and TP export may continue as channel evolution progresses and floodplain storage opportunities continue to decline. In addition to loss of storage, higher discharges confined to the channel may have greater stream power, resulting in further enhancement of SS and TP export through accelerated bed and bank erosion. These increased contributions to watershed loads may mask SS and TP reductions achieved through edge of field practices, thus making it critical that stage and progression of channel evolution be taken into consideration when addressing sediment and phosphorus loading at the watershed scale