Nonpoint source arsenic contamination of soil and groundwater from legacy pesticides.

Arsenic (As) contamination in wells is common throughout the northeastern United States. It is well documented that lead-arsenate (PbHAsO ) pesticides were widely used on fruit tree orchards from the 1890s to 1950s. This study evaluates the potential for As contamination of groundwater from former orchards in Connecticut, where there were over 47,000 orchards in 1935.

Use of bacteria community analysis to distinguish groundwater recharge sources to shallow wells.

In this study, bacteria community analysis was performed to supplement a preexisting evaluation of nitrate contamination in drinking water wells at a coastal site in Old Lyme, CT. Given well usage and coastal hydrogeologic conditions, the source(s) of nitrate contamination in domestic wells could not be discerned between local septic systems or a nearby farm where organic fertilizers were used. Groundwater bacteria communities are known to be sensitive to a variety of environmental conditions.

Regional-scale drivers of forest structure and function in northwestern Amazonia.

Field studies in Amazonia have found a relationship at continental scales between soil fertility and broad trends in forest structure and function. Little is known at regional scales, however, about how discrete patterns in forest structure or functional attributes map onto underlying edaphic or geological patterns. We collected airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data and VSWIR (Visible to Shortwave Infrared) imaging spectroscopy measurements over 600 km2 of northwestern Amazonian lowland forests.

Does rectal examination have any value in the clinical diagnosis of cauda equina syndrome?

Purpose: This study aims to quantify the value of digital rectal examination (DRE) in the clinical diagnosis of cauda equina syndrome.

Methods: A retrospective case note review was performed on all patients referred to a University Teaching Hospital over a one-year period with documented suspicion of cauda equina syndrome. All Patients underwent MRI scanning to either confirm or rule out the diagnosis.

Geological control of floristic composition in Amazonian forests.

AIM: Conservation and land-use planning require accurate maps of patterns in species composition and an understanding of the factors that control them. Substantial doubt exists, however, about the existence and determinants of large-area floristic divisions in Amazonia. Here we ask whether Amazonian forests are partitioned into broad-scale floristic units on the basis of geological formations and their edaphic properties.