An Imputation Method for Simulating 3D Well Screen Locations from Limited Regional Well Log Data.

In groundwater modeling studies, accurate spatial and intensity identification of water sources and sinks is of critical importance. Precise construction data about wells (water sinks) are particularly difficult to obtain. The collection of well log data is expensive and laborious, and government records of historic well log data are often imprecise and incomplete with respect to the precise location or pumping rate.

Fractionation of wood due to industrial chipping: effects and potential for Kraft pulping of European spruce.

The research conducted on kraft cooking of for different chip sizes is often not representative for the industrial process since the chip size fractions were made of high-quality wood without impurities. We evaluated the effects and the potential of cooking non ideal spruce chip fractions after industrial chipping and screening. The chips were classified according to SCAN 40:01, and the respective fractions were cooked under the identical conditions to mimic the effect of a joint cooking in the industrial digester.

Potential effects on groundwater quality associated with infiltrating stormwater through dry wells for aquifer recharge.

Dry wells (gravity-fed infiltration wells) have frequently been used to recharge aquifers with stormwater, especially in urban areas, as well as manage flood risk and reduce surface water body contamination from stormwater pollutants. However, only limited assessment of their potential adverse impacts on groundwater quality exists. Dry well recharge can bypass significant portions of the filtering-capacity of the vadose zone.

Reduced dispersibility of flushable wet wipes after wet storage.

Scientific publications and newsfeeds recently focused on flushable wet wipes and their role in sewage system blockages. It is stated that although products are marked as flushable, they do not disintegrate after being disposed of via the toilet. In this work it is shown that wetlaid hydroentangled wet wipes lose their initially good dispersive properties during their storage in wet condition.

Effect of Groundwater Age and Recharge Source on Nitrate Concentrations in Domestic Wells in the San Joaquin Valley.

Nitrate is one of the most abundant contaminants in groundwater globally, in the United States, and in California (CA). We studied well construction information, water chemistry, stable isotopes, and noble gases to understand how groundwater travel time and recharge source and mechanism control nitrate concentrations in domestic wells in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV), CA, a large semiarid, irrigated agricultural region. Using nonparametric statistics, we find a decreasing trend in nitrates with groundwater travel time and well depth.

The role of palliative care in acute trauma: When is it appropriate?

Introduction: We hypothesized that trauma providers are reticent to consider palliative measures in acute trauma care.

Methods: An electronic survey based on four patient scenarios with identical vital signs and serious blunt injuries, but differing ages and frailty scores was sent to WTA and EAST members.

Results: 509 (24%) providers completed the survey.

Ethical Challenges Arising in the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Overview from the Association of Bioethics Program Directors (ABPD) Task Force.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised a host of ethical challenges, but key among these has been the possibility that health care systems might need to ration scarce critical care resources. Rationing policies for pandemics differ by institution, health system, and applicable law. Most seem to agree that a patient's ability to benefit from treatment and to survive are first-order considerations.

UV light and temperature induced fluridone degradation in water and sediment and potential transport into aquifer.

Fluridone is widely used in ambient water bodies to control the spread of invasive aquatic plants. While the ability of fluridone to control aquatic weeds such as water hyacinth is well reported, an improved understanding of fluridone persistence in water and sediment is still needed to determine potential residues of fluridone in the water column and bed sediment of ambient water bodies. In this study, experiments were conducted over a three-month period to examine the degradation of fluridone in saturated sediment and water under various levels of UV-light (0-1000 μW/cm), and temperature (4-40 °C).

Why Tolerate Conscientious Objections in Medicine.

Most arguments about conscientious objections in medicine fail to capture the full scope and complexity of the concept before drawing conclusions about their permissibility in practice. Arguments favoring and disfavoring the accommodation of conscientious objections in practice tend to focus too narrowly on prima facie morally contentious treatments and religious claims of conscience, while further failing to address the possibility of moral perspectives changing over time. In this paper, I argue that standard reasons against permitting conscientious objections in practice-that their permission may result in harm to patients, the idea that medical providers willingly enter into the medical field, and that conscientious objections stand contrary to medical professionalism-do not apply in all cases and that the medical field and health systems in which many physicians now practice should continue to tolerate conscientious objections in practice.

Source area management practices as remediation tool to address groundwater nitrate pollution in drinking supply wells.

Nitrate in drinking water may cause serious health problems for consumers. Agricultural activities are known to be the main source of groundwater nitrate contaminating rural domestic and urban public water supply wells in farming regions. Management practices have been proposed to reduce the amount of nitrate in groundwater, including improved nutrient management practices and "pump and fertilize" with nitrate-affected irrigation wells.

A hybrid machine learning model to predict and visualize nitrate concentration throughout the Central Valley aquifer, California, USA.

Intense demand for water in the Central Valley of California and related increases in groundwater nitrate concentration threaten the sustainability of the groundwater resource. To assess contamination risk in the region, we developed a hybrid, non-linear, machine learning model within a statistical learning framework to predict nitrate contamination of groundwater to depths of approximately 500m below ground surface. A database of 145 predictor variables representing well characteristics, historical and current field and landscape-scale nitrogen mass balances, historical and current land use, oxidation/reduction conditions, groundwater flow, climate, soil characteristics, depth to groundwater, and groundwater age were assigned to over 6000 private supply and public supply wells measured previously for nitrate and located throughout the study area.

Assessing biosynthetic potential of agricultural groundwater through metagenomic sequencing: A diverse anammox community dominates nitrate-rich groundwater.

Background: Climate change produces extremes in both temperature and precipitation causing increased drought severity and increased reliance on groundwater resources. Agricultural practices, which rely on groundwater, are sensitive to but also sources of contaminants, including nitrate. How agricultural contamination drives groundwater geochemistry through microbial metabolism is poorly understood.

Effects of solid-liquid separation and storage on monensin attenuation in dairy waste management systems.

Environmental release of veterinary pharmaceuticals has been of regulatory concern for more than a decade. Monensin is a feed additive antibiotic that is prevalent throughout the dairy industry and is excreted in dairy waste. This study investigates the potential of dairy waste management practices to alter the amount of monensin available for release into the environment.

Evaluation of Monensin Transport to Shallow Groundwater after Irrigation with Dairy Lagoon Water.

Animal waste products from concentrated animal feeding operations are a significant source of antibiotics to the environment. Monensin, an ionophore antibiotic commonly used to increase feed efficiency in livestock, is known to have varied toxicological effects on nontarget species. The current study builds on prior studies evaluating the impact of dairy management on groundwater quality by examining the transport of monensin in an agricultural field with coarse-textured soils during irrigation with lagoon wastewater.