Off flavours in large waterbodies: physics, chemistry and biology in synchrony.

The Laurentian Great Lakes of North America are a drinking water source for millions of Canadian and US consumers. These waterbodies have undergone extensive change over the past century as a result of widespread degradation and remediation. Many of the Lakes are prone to taste and odour (T&O), and although these outbreaks have been poorly monitored, evidence suggests that they are increasing in frequency. Tracing and controlling T&O in such large systems presents a challenging task, due to their physical size and complexity. This paper presents an overview of recent investigative and management approaches to T&O in Lake Ontario and its outflow, the St. Lawrence River. We have identified three distinct patterns of T&O in these source-waters, caused by geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol and differing in their planktonic and benthic sources, and temporal and spatial dynamics. Each pattern has required a different approach by scientists and management, in partnership with the water industry. We have shown these T&O outbreaks are caused and moderated by physical, chemical and biological mechanisms over a spectrum of spatial and temporal scales. Canadian municipalities affected by these outbreaks have been key to the investigation of the links between T&O and ecosystem processes with the aim to develop more proactive water treatment and long-term management.     

Self-service — but is it good to talk?

Drives to increase the volume of customers who use self-service channels are a common strategic goal. The promise of significant cost reduction is a tempting carrot. Couple this with the vision of customers benefiting from quick, effective and usable contact channels, avoiding human error (except perhaps their own!) or potential frustration at being passed around to an ‘appropriate’ contact centre advisor is a very worthy vision … but is it as simple as this? In this discussion paper the authors speculate that self-service, while potentially being a revenue-saving opportunity, could also erode customer satisfaction and loyalty. Self-service doubtless appeals to some customers, but is it what all customers want? Do organisations understand enough about customer experience to enable them to build successful self-service channels, i.e. those that are useful, usable and used by customers? Do businesses really want to lose the opportunity to actually talk to customers and gain insight and knowledge about them? What impact will increased levels of self-service have on more traditional channels, such as customer contact centres? This paper also discusses evidence that self-service can actually serve to increase communication between organisations and customers across multiple channels. For many organisations, the Internet has actually resulted in more calls to the contact centre, not less. The seductive promise of self-service to cut costs through reducing call volumes may be an empty one.     

Location of steel reinforcement in concrete using ground penetrating radar and neural networks

Ground-penetrating radar is becoming increasingly popular for use as a non-destructive assessment method for investigating reinforced concrete structures. The amount of data collected however can be very large and take a significant level of subjective experience to interpret. This study focuses upon the use of a neural network approach to automate and facilitate the post-processing of ground penetrating radar results. The radar data is reduced to a simplified data set by using an edge detection routine. Signal reflections from reinforcing bars displaying a hyperbolic image format are detected using a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) network with a single hidden layer containing 8 nodes to recognise a simplified hyperbolic shape. Training and testing of the network was carried out making use of an emulsion analogue tank, simulating the properties of concrete, and using real concrete specimens. The results showed that the use of a MLP neural network approach could be quite effective in automating the identification and location of embedded steel reinforcing bars from a radar investigation. Accurate estimation of depth, or cover, requires a reliable knowledge of the dielectric properties of the concrete, and recent work using a specially-developed wideband horn antenna for direct determination of in situ properties is also outlined.     

Spectral Radiance Estimates of Leaf Area and Leaf Phytomass of Small Grains and Native Vegetation

Similarities and/or dissimilarities in radiance characteristics were studied among barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), oats (Avena fatua L.), spring and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and shortgrass prairie vegetation. The site was a Williams loam soil (fine-loamy mixed, Typic Argiborolls) near Sidney, Montana. Radiances were measured with a truck-mounted radiometer. The radiometer was equipped with four wavelength bands: 0.45 to 0.52, 0.52 to 0.60, 0.63 to 0.69, and 0.76 to 0.90 , ?m. Airborne scanner measurements were made at an altitude of 600 m four times during the season under clear sky conditions. The airborne scanner was equipped with the same four bands as the truck-mounted radiometer plus the following: 1.00 to 1.30, 1.55 to 1.75, 2.08 to 2.35, and 10.4 to 12.5 ?m. Comparisons using individual wave bands, the near IR/red ((0.76 to 0.90 ?m)/(0.63 to 0.69 ?m)) ratio and the normalized difference vegetation index (ND=(IR-red)/(IR+red)) showed that only only during limited times during the growing season were some of the small grains distinguishable from one another and from native rangeland vegetation. There was a common relation for all small grains between leaf area index and green leaf phytomass and between leaf area index or green leaf phytomass and the IR/red ratio.     

Reactive and non-reactive transport modelling in partially water saturated argillaceous porous media around the ventilation experiment, Mont Terri

At Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory (URL) Switzerland, a specific experiment has been performed in a tunnel, in order to investigate the hydro-mechano-chemical (HMC) perturbations induced in the argillaceous formation by forced ventilation. This experiment has been selected in the international project DECOVALEX to be used for process model development and validation. The numerical simulation of the geochemical response to the ventilation experiment (VE) is the object of the present paper, focusing on the transport of chloride as a conservative species and sulphate as a reactive species. Utilising the validated hydro-mechanical (HM) results from earlier steps of the DECOVALEX task, reactive and non-reactive transport models, incorporating the current understanding of the geochemistry at the site, were successfully constructed for the whole experimental period. The associated parametric and process uncertainty analyses clearly demonstrate that the basic HM understanding must be sound. However, to demonstrate this degree of robustness, the explicit inclusion of process representations of water desaturation, liquid vaporisation, species exclusion porosity, and redox processes, is required.     

"Milk makes me sick but my body needs it": conflict and contradiction in the establishment of authoritative knowledge

This article takes lactose intolerance as a topic for exploring clashes of power, authority, and knowledge in clinical interactions and interpretations of laywomen. In clinics providing maternal and child care, staff and clients jointly produced authoritative knowledge, most often a version of biomedicine. The Euroamerican staff tended to give advice that was biologically appropriate for them but not for many of their patients, a process reflecting what we refer to as biocentrism. Resulting information given to pregnant and lactating women and diagnoses of children's growth patterns were inappropriate in some cases, with potentially serious legal and health implications. Clinic staff often unwittingly ignored the efforts of their clients to begin a discussion of discrepancies between their bodily knowledge and clinic advice. Some women created their own syntheses, which supported the ascendancy of biomedical knowledge but were not in the interests of their own health.     

Screening calcaneal ultrasound and risk factors for osteoporosis among lesbians and heterosexual women

We compared calcaneal ultrasound measurements (speed of sound [SOS], broadband ultrasound attenuation [BUA], and stiffness index [SI]) of lesbian and heterosexual women to examine the medical and lifestyle risk factors for osteoporosis in each group. This was an exploratory, community-based, cross-sectional study. Subjects were mailed food frequency, health, and physical activity questionnaires. Weight, height, and calcaneal ultrasound measurements were taken at one office visit. In communities in southern and eastern Maine, 71 lesbians and 77 heterosexual women between the ages of 30 and 50 with regular menses and in good general health were the subjects. Statistical analysis used t-tests and chi-square tests to evaluate differences between study groups. Linear regression models were used to evaluate risk factors for low calcaneal ultrasound measurements. There were no differences between the lesbian and heterosexual women in age, body mass index (BMI), exercise, calcium intake, alcohol use, or calcaneal ultrasound measurements. There was a positive association between BUA and both BMI and alcohol consumption (p < 0.01). Antidepressant use significantly reduced SOS and SI (p < 0.05). There were no differences in calcaneal ultrasound measurements between lesbian and heterosexual women. BMI was strongly and positively associated with BUA. Antidepressant use in both populations was associated with a significant reduction in calcaneal bone mass. Studies are needed to define the relationship of depression and its treatment to bone mineral density and the future risk of osteoporosis.     

A naturally occurring mutation in Fc gamma RIIA: a Q to K127 change confers unique IgG binding properties to the R131 allelic form of the receptor

Fc gamma RIIa is widely expressed on hematopoietic cells. There are two known allelic polymorphic forms of Fc gamma RIIa, Fc gamma RIIa-R131 and Fc gamma RIIa-H131, which differ in the amino acid at position 131 in the second lg-like domain. In contrast to Fc gamma RIIa-R131, Fc gamma RIIa-H131 binds hlgG2 but not mIgG1, and this differential binding has clinical implications for host defense, autoimmune disease, immunohematologic disease, and response to therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. We identified a novel Fc gamma RIIA genotype in a healthy individual homozygous for Fc gamma RIIA R/R131 in whom a C to A substitution at codon 127 changes glutamine (Q) to lysine (K) in one of the two Fc gamma RIIA genes. This individual's homozygosity for Fc gamma RIIA-R/R131 leads to the prediction that the receptors on her cells would not bind hIgG2. Monocyte and neutrophil phagocytosis of hIgG2-opsonized erythrocytes was significantly higher (P < .05) for cells from this K/Q127, R/R131 individual than for Q/Q127, R/R131 donors. Platelet aggregation stimulated by an mIgG1 anti-CD9 antibody in this individual was significantly different (P < .05) from Q/Q127, H/R131 and Q/Q127, H/H131 donors and similar to Q/Q127, R/R131. Our data show that the K127/R131 receptors have a unique phenotype, binding both hIgG2 and mIgG1. Further functionally significant mutations in human Fc gamma receptors and possible novel mechanisms for inherited differences in disease susceptibility should be sought with unbiased screening methods.     

An Interpersonal Communication Inventory

Patterns, characteristics and styles of interpersonal communication in 316 adult men and women were investigated by use of an Interpersonal Communication Inventoy. Development of the Inventory was based upon previous research in related areas of marital communication, parent-child communication, group therapy and intragroup communication. Item analysis yielded 50 items which discriminated between good and poor communicators. Factors of good and poor communication are identified and discussed. Uses of the Inteversonul Communication Inventory in counseling, teaching and research are proposed.