Application of a glyphosate-based herbicide to Phragmites australis: Impact on groundwater and near-shore lake water at a beach on Georgian Bay

During the past decade, the invasive Phragmites australis (common reed) has established itself along beaches of the Great Lakes, causing detrimental impacts to both the natural ecological integrity of the shoreline and the recreational value of beaches. The herbicide Roundup®, containing the active ingredient glyphosate, was applied to Phragmites along a beach on the southern shore of Georgian Bay, Canada, to eradicate the Phragmites which was destroying the natural beach ecosystem. Groundwater and lake water were tested to determine if glyphosate enters the groundwater and lake at the beach and how long glyphosate will persist. Two days after application, the geometric mean concentration of glyphosate in the groundwater below the Phragmites was 0.060 μg/L with a maximum of 12.50 μg/L. Concentrations rapidly declined over the next two to three weeks to below minimum detection limits (< 0.020 μg/L). Glyphosate was also detected in the nearshore lake water with concentrations peaking at a geometric mean of 0.14 μg/L one week after application, and declining to 0.039 μg/L four weeks after application. Concentrations of glyphosate never exceeded the Canadian water quality guideline for the protection of aquatic life (65 μg/L) in either the groundwater or lake water. An approximate half-life for the dissipation of glyphosate by degradation and dilution/flushing as groundwater flows toward the lake, assuming a first order kinetic reaction, yielded a half-life of 3.5 during the 4 weeks after the herbicide was applied. The application of Roundup® resulted in an 90% reduction in the size of the stand of Phragmites.     

Application of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool for six watersheds of Lake Erie: Model parameterization and calibration

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), a physically-based watershed-scale model, holds promise as a means to predict tributary sediment and nutrient loads to the Laurentian Great Lakes. In the present study, model performance is compared across six watersheds draining into Lake Erie to determine the applicability of SWAT to watersheds of differing characteristics. After initial model parameterization, the Huron, Raisin, Maumee, Sandusky, Cuyahoga, and Grand SWAT models were calibrated (1998-2001) and confirmed, or validated (2002-2005), individually for stream water discharge, sediment loads, and nutrient loads (total P, soluble reactive P, total N, and nitrate) based on available datasets. SWAT effectively predicted hydrology and sediments across a range of watershed characteristics. SWAT estimation of nutrient loads was weaker although still satisfactory at least two-thirds of the time across all nutrient parameters and watersheds. SWAT model performance was most satisfactory in agricultural and forested watersheds, and was less so in urbanized settings. Model performance was influenced by the availability of observational data with high sampling frequency and long duration for calibration and confirmation evaluation. In some instances, it appeared that parameter adjustments that improved calibration of hydrology negatively affected subsequent sediment and nutrient calibration, suggesting trade-offs in calibrating for hydrologic vs. water quality model performance. Despite these considerations, SWAT accurately predicted average stream discharge, sediment loads, and nutrient loads for the Raisin, Maumee, Sandusky, and Grand watersheds such that future use of these SWAT models for various scenario testing is reasonable and warranted.     

A model to predict land susceptibility to wind erosion in western Queensland,Australia

This paper describes the development and validation of the Australian Land Erodibility Model (AUSLEM), designed to predict land susceptibility to wind erosion in western Queensland, Australia. The model operates at a 5 × 5 km spatial resolution on a daily time-step with inputs of grass and tree cover, soil moisture, soil texture and surficial stone cover. The system was implemented to predict land erodibility, i.e. susceptibility to wind erosion, for the period 1980–1990. Model performance was evaluated using cross-correlation analyses to compare trajectories of mean annual land erodibility at selected locations with trends in wind speed and observational records of dust events and a Dust Storm Index (DSI). The validation was conducted at four spatial length scales from 25 to 150 km using windows to represent potential dust source areas centered on and positioned around eight meteorological stations within the study area. The predicted land erodibility had strong correlations with dust-event frequencies at half of the stations. Poor correlations at the other stations were linked to the inability of the model to account for temporal changes in soil erodibility, and comparing trends in the land erodibility of regions with dust events whose source areas lie outside the regions of interest. The model agreement with dust-event frequency trends was found to vary across spatial scales and was highly dependent on land type characteristics around the stations and on the types of dust events used for validation.     

Redox proteomics identification of 4‐hydroxynonenal‐modified brain proteins in Alzheimer's disease: Role of lipid peroxidation in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis

Numerous studies have shown that neuronal lipids are highly susceptible to oxidative stress including in those brain areas directly involved in the neurodegenerative process of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Lipid peroxidation directly damages membranes and also generates a number of secondary biologically active products (toxic aldehydes)that are capable of easily attacking lipids, proteins, and DNA. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated regionally increased brain lipid peroxidation in patients with AD; however, extensive studies on specific targets of lipid peroxidation‐induced damage are still missing. The present study represents a further step in understanding the relationship between oxidative modification of protein and neuronal death associated with AD. We used a proteomics approach to determine specific targets of lipid peroxidation in AD brain, both in hippocampus and inferior parietal lobule, by coupling immunochemical detection of 4‐hydroxynonenal‐bound proteins with 2‐D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and MS analysis. We identified 4‐hydroxynonenal‐bound proteins in the hippocampus and inferior parietal lobule brain regions of subjects with AD. The identified proteins play different biological functions including energy metabolism, antioxidant system, and structural proteins, thus impairing multiple molecular pathways. Our results provide further evidence for the role of lipid peroxidation in the pathogenesis of AD.     

The effect of time of day on injury patterns amongst adolescents in Australia

Labour force participation of adolescents in Australia is growing at an unprecedented rate. This increased participation is coupled with a growing realisation of the vulnerability of adolescents in the labour market in terms of occupational injury. Despite recent evidence that time of day may be an important determinant of adolescent injuries, the impact of non-standard and night work on adolescent injury rates has received scant attention to date. The current study addresses this shortcoming by examining injury patterns of 3201 working adolescents in Queensland. Results revealed that female adolescents are 2.5 times more likely to sustain an injury on day shift and 4.71 times more likely to sustain an injury on night shift than their adult counterparts when total work hours are taken into consideration. Similar results were found for male adolescents with an injury to work hours ratio of 2.19 on day shift and 3.05 on night shift. These findings point to the value of considering the temporal pattern of adolescent work in future research aimed at minimising injuries at work and improving the work experience of tomorrow's workforce.     

Analysing inconsistent first-order knowledgebases

It is well-known that knowledgebases may contain inconsistencies. We provide a framework of measures, based on a first-order four-valued logic, to quantify the inconsistency of a knowledgebase. This allows for the comparison of the inconsistency of diverse knowledgebases that have been represented as sets of first-order logic formulae. We motivate the approach by considering some examples of knowledgebases for representing and reasoning with ontological knowledge and with temporal knowledge. Analysing ontological knowledge (including the statements about which concepts are subconcepts of other concepts, and which concepts are disjoint) can be problematical when there is a lack of knowledge about the instances that may populate the concepts, and analysing temporal knowledge (such as temporal integrity constraints) can be problematical when considering infinite linear time lines isomorphic to the natural numbers or the real numbers or more complex structures such as branching time lines. We address these difficulties by providing algebraic measures of inconsistency in first-order knowledgebases.     

Subjects presented at ASHP Midyear Clinical Meetings, 1967-90

The subject matter and trends of presentations made at ASHP Midyear Clinical Meetings (MCMs) were studied. A computerized database of information from MCM and Annual Meeting (AM) program and abstract books was created. The data were analyzed to determine the distribution of MCM presentations by subject and by author for the period 1967 to 1990, determine if there were differences in subjects covered between MCMs and AMs, explore the proposition that there has been duplication of material in MCM presentations, and evaluate the frequency with which MCM presentations have been published in ASHP journals. The total number of presentations made at MCMs from 1967 through 1990 was 8180, while the total for the AMs was 1547 for the two periods (1962-71 and 1985-90) studied. The most common keywords in titles were "pharmacy," "drug," "patient," "hospital," and "service." All International Pharmaceutical Abstracts subject categories and two other categories were represented; presentations in the institutional pharmacy practice category were the most frequent, while pharmacognosy-related presentations were least frequent. The overwhelming number of authors made only one presentation and were listed as the first author. The subjects of presentations were similar between AMs and MCMs. A tendency toward duplication of material was found. Of the 8180 MCM presentations, at least 1005 were published in an ASHP journal. Between 1967 and 1990, presentations at MCMs covered a wide range of subjects but were sometimes duplicative or not on the cutting edge.     

Electronic speckle interferometry, phase-mapping, and nondestructive testing techniques applied to real-time, thermal loading

A digital phase-mapping method has been developed for application in real-time electronic speckle interferometry studies. Its principles and application to a continuously deforming object are described. An efficient digital image-processing algorithm has been developed that permits quantitative interpretation of the resulting phase maps.