Water quality requirements for sustaining aquifer storage and recovery operations in a low permeability fractured rock aquifer.

A changing climate and increasing urbanisation has driven interest in the use of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) schemes as an environmental management tool to supplement conventional water resources. This study focuses on ASR with stormwater in a low permeability fractured rock aquifer and the selection of water treatment methods to prevent well clogging. In this study two different injection and recovery phases were trialed.

Isotopic character of nitrous oxide emitted from streams.

Global models have indicated agriculturally impacted rivers and streams may be important sources of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N(2)O). However, there is significant uncertainty in N(2)O budgets. Isotopic characterization can be used to help constrain N(2)O budgets.

Antibiotic prophylaxis and the prevention of surgical site infection.

Purpose Of Review: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common complications of surgery in both adults and children. The purpose of the present review is to highlight the progress in the understanding of SSIs and the current role of antimicrobial prophylaxis (AMP).

Recent Findings: An SSI is diagnosed by a constellation of clinical findings occurring within 30 days of surgery.

Laboratory assessment of factors affecting soil clogging of soil aquifer treatment systems.

In this study the effect of soil type, level of pre-treatment, ponding depth, temperature and sunlight on clogging of soil aquifer treatment (SAT) systems was evaluated over an eight week duration in constant temperature and glasshouse environments. Of the two soil types tested, the more permeable sand media clogged more than the loam, but still retained an order of magnitude higher absolute permeability. A 6- to 8-fold difference in hydraulic loading rates was observed between the four source water types tested (one potable water and three recycled waters), with improved water quality resulting in significantly higher infiltration.

Risk factors and outcomes of surgical site infection in children.

Background: Indices for prediction of surgical site infection (SSI) are well documented in the adult population; however, these factors have not been validated in children.

Study Design: A retrospective case-control study was performed by examining the medical records of children (0 to 18 years) who developed an SSI within 30 days of selected class I and class II procedures at our institution from 1996 to 2008. Two controls were selected from among patients undergoing identical procedures within 12 months of each case.

Illicit drugs and the media: models of media effects for use in drug policy research.

Issues: Illicit drugs are never far from the media gaze and although identified almost a decade ago as 'a new battleground' for the alcohol and other drug (AOD) field there has been limited research examining the role of the news media and its effects on audiences and policy.

Approach: This paper draws together media theories from communication literature to examine media functions. We illustrate how each function is relevant for media and drugs research by drawing upon the existing literature examining Australian media coverage during the late 1990s of escalating heroin-related problems and proposed solutions.

Application of a risk management framework to a drinking water supply augmented by stormwater recharge.

The Blue Lake is an important water resource for the city of Mount Gambier and the surrounding region, primarily as the drinking water supply source, but also as a tourist attraction. Mount Gambier's stormwater is discharged directly via drainage wells into the unconfined, karstic Gambier Limestone aquifer, which in turn provides the majority of recharge to Blue Lake. Discharge of urban runoff to the aquifer commenced in the 1800s as a means of stormwater management, but is now recognised as contributing to the drinking water supply in Blue Lake.

Promoting professional nursing practice: linking a professional practice model to performance expectations.

Professional practice models (PPMs) provide the conceptual framework for establishing professional nursing practice. Integrating a PPM requires complex organizational change. One strategy for integrating a PPM is to directly link the PPM with performance expectations to ensure that underlying beliefs are integrated into everyday practice.

Risk assessment of aquifer storage transfer and recovery with urban stormwater for producing water of a potable quality.

The objective of the Parafield Aquifer Storage Transfer and Recovery research project in South Australia is to determine whether stormwater from an urban catchment that is treated in a constructed wetland and stored in an initially brackish aquifer before recovery can meet potable water standards. The water produced by the stormwater harvesting system, which included a constructed wetland, was found to be near potable quality. Parameters exceeding the drinking water guidelines before recharge included small numbers of fecal indicator bacteria and elevated iron concentrations and associated color.

Use of retrievable filters in alternative common iliac vein location in high-risk surgical patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the use of retrievable filters placed in bilateral common iliac veins in high-risk surgical patients.

Materials And Methods: During the 4-year study period, 10 patients received bilateral common iliac vein placement of retrievable filters for pulmonary embolism (PE) prophylaxis. These patients were at risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) but had no evidence of VTE at the time of filter placement.

MAKINGtheLINK: a school-based health promotion programme to increase help-seeking for cannabis and mental health issues among adolescents.

Aim: There is increasing concern regarding the use of cannabis among adolescents, especially given recent evidence highlighting its link with later mental disorders. Encouraging young people with mental health or drug issues to seek professional help is an important early intervention strategy; however, adolescents are typically reluctant to do so and instead turn to their peers for help. Peers may not have the skills or knowledge required to assist their friends to access professional help.

Pediatric American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program: feasibility of a novel, prospective assessment of surgical outcomes.

Purpose: The American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) provides validated assessment of surgical outcomes. This study reports initiation of an ACS NSQIP Pediatric at 4 children's hospitals.

Methods: From October 2008 to June 2009, 121 data variables were prospectively collected for 3315 patients, including 30-day outcomes and tailoring the ACS NSQIP methodology to children's surgical specialties.

Moral accounts and membership categorization in primary care medical interviews.

Although the link between health and morality has been well established, few studies have examined how issues of morality emerge and are addressed in primary care medical encounters. This paper addresses the need to examine morality as it is (re) constructed in everyday health care interactions. A Membership Categorization Analysis of 96 medical interviews reveals how patients orient to particular membership categories and distance themselves from others as a means of accounting (Buttny 1993; Scott and Lyman 1968) for morally questionable health behaviours.

Receptor-mediated enhancement of beta adrenergic drug activity by ascorbate in vitro and in vivo.

Rationale: Previous in vitro research demonstrated that ascorbate enhances potency and duration of activity of agonists binding to alpha 1 adrenergic and histamine receptors.

Objectives: Extending this work to beta 2 adrenergic systems in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: Ultraviolet spectroscopy was used to study ascorbate binding to adrenergic receptor preparations and peptides.

Managed aquifer recharge: rediscovering nature as a leading edge technology.

Use of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) has rapidly increased in Australia, USA, and Europe in recent years as an efficient means of recycling stormwater or treated sewage effluent for non-potable and indirect potable reuse in urban and rural areas. Yet aquifers have been relied on knowingly for water storage and unwittingly for water treatment for millennia. Hence if 'leading edge' is defined as 'the foremost part of a trend; a vanguard', it would be misleading to claim managed aquifer recharge as a leading edge technology.

Characterising aquifer treatment for pathogens in managed aquifer recharge.

In this study the value of subsurface treatment of urban stormwater during Aquifer Storage Transfer Recovery (ASTR) is characterised using quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) methodology. The ASTR project utilizes a multi-barrier treatment train to treat urban stormwater but to date the role of the aquifer has not been quantified. In this study it was estimated that the aquifer barrier provided 1.

American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Pediatric: a phase 1 report.

Background: There has been a long-standing desire to implement a multi-institutional, multispecialty program to address surgical quality improvement for children. This report documents results of the initial phase of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Pediatric.

Study Design: From October 2008 to December 2009, patients from 4 pediatric referral centers were sampled using American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program methodology tailored to children.

Factors affecting the performance and risks to human health of on-site wastewater treatment systems.

Aerobic wastewater treatment systems (aerobic systems) are the preferred choice in a region overlying a karstic aquifer used for drinking water supplies, as they are thought to provide better protection to groundwater and human health than standard septic systems. However, aerobic systems in operation do not always perform to design standard; while this is often blamed on lack of maintenance, few studies have investigated the link directly. This study investigates the performance of domestic on-site wastewater treatment systems in South Australia, and compares effluent quality to maintenance records.

Pathogen inactivation during passage of stormwater through a constructed reedbed and aquifer transfer, storage and recovery.

A study was undertaken to determine the potential inactivation rates of selected enteric microorganisms in captured urban stormwater within a constructed reedbed and in tertiary carbonated aquifer during an Aquifer Storage, Transfer and Recovery (ASTR) scheme. The study was undertaken in-situ in the constructed reedbed and aquifer using diffusion chambers. The results showed that all tested bacteria had one log(10) reduction time of less than 6 and 2.

Performance evaluation of the ADVIA Centaur(®) HIV Ag/Ab Combo assay.

Early diagnosis of HIV infection and appropriate care reduces morbidity and mortality. As a result, recent guidelines recommend that HIV screening be routinely included in patient care. Routine screening will likely result in more patients being tested prior to seroconversion; fourth-generation assays can facilitate diagnosis in these patients.

Quantification of herbicide removal in a constructed wetland using passive samplers and composite water quality monitoring.

Constructed wetlands used as treatment for urban stormwater have the potential to improve water quality. This study aimed to estimate the removal of selected herbicides in stormwater by a constructed wetland using composite water quality monitoring and passive samplers. For the four week duration of the study the wetland was effective in reducing the concentrations of diuron, simazine and atrazine.

Spatio-temporal variation in the characteristics of dissolved organic matter in the streams of boreal forests: impacts on modelled copper speciation.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important constituent of natural waters that controls numerous biogeochemical processes such as the toxicity and mobility of metals. In order to predict how metals behave in the presence of DOM, it is necessary to understand its acidic properties. In this study, we report the variations in the acid character of aquatic organic acids using 30 years of sampling data collected from three boreal streams.

Endorectal pull-through for Hirschsprung's disease-a multicenter, long-term comparison of results: transanal vs transabdominal approach.

Purpose: Previous studies have reported decreased continence in patients undergoing transanal endorectal pull-through (TERP) for Hirschsprung's disease compared to the older transabdominal approach (TAA). To address this, we examined long-term stooling outcomes in a large, multicenter cohort of patients undergoing either TERP or TAA.

Methods: Data were collected from 5 large pediatric institutions.

Lifestyle impacts on the aging-associated expression of biomarkers of DNA damage and telomere dysfunction in human blood.

Cellular aging is characterized by telomere shortening, which can lead to uncapping of chromosome ends (telomere dysfunction) and activation of DNA damage responses. There is some evidence that DNA damage accumulates during human aging and that lifestyle factors contribute to the accumulation of DNA damage. Recent studies have identified a set of serum markers that are induced by telomere dysfunction and DNA damage, and these markers showed an increased expression in blood during human aging.