Net Inflow: An Important Target on the Path to Aquifer Sustainability.

Aquifers supporting irrigated agriculture are a resource of global importance. Many of these systems, however, are experiencing significant pumping-induced stress that threatens their continued viability as a water source for irrigation. Reductions in pumping are often the only option to extend the lifespans of these aquifers and the agricultural production they support. The impact of reductions depends on a quantity known as "net inflow" or "capture." We use data from a network of wells in the western Kansas portions of the High Plains aquifer in the central United States to demonstrate the importance of net inflow, how it can be estimated in the field, how it might vary in response to pumping reductions, and why use of "net inflow" may be preferred over "capture" in certain contexts. Net inflow has remained approximately constant over much of western Kansas for at least the last 15 to 25 years, thereby allowing it to serve as a target for sustainability efforts. The percent pumping reduction required to reach net inflow (i.e., stabilize water levels for the near term [years to a few decades]) can vary greatly over this region, which has important implications for groundwater management. However, the reduction does appear practically achievable (less than 30%) in many areas. The field-determined net inflow can play an important role in calibration of regional groundwater models; failure to reproduce its magnitude and temporal variations should prompt further calibration. Although net inflow is a universally applicable concept, the reliability of field estimates is greatest in seasonally pumped aquifers.

Water Well Hydrographs: An Underutilized Resource for Characterizing Subsurface Conditions.

Many of the world's major aquifers are under severe stress as a result of intensive pumping to support irrigated agriculture and provide drinking water supplies for millions. The question of what the future holds for these aquifers is one of global importance. Without better information about subsurface conditions, it will be difficult to reliably assess an aquifer's response to management actions and climatic stresses. One important but underutilized source of information is the data from monitoring well networks that provide near-continuous records of water levels through time. Most organizations running these networks are, by necessity, primarily focused on network maintenance. The result is that relatively little attention is given to interpretation of the acquired hydrographs. However, embedded in those hydrographs is valuable information about subsurface conditions and aquifer responses to natural and anthropogenic stresses. We demonstrate the range of insights that can be gleaned from such hydrographs using data from the High Plains aquifer index well network of the Kansas Geological Survey. We show how information about an aquifer's hydraulic state and lateral extent, the nature of recharge, the hydraulic connection to the aquifer and nearby pumping wells, and the expected response to conservation-based pumping reductions can be extracted from these hydrographs. The value of this information is dependent on accurate water-level measurements; errors in those measurements can make it difficult to fully exploit the insights that water-well hydrographs can provide. We therefore conclude by presenting measures that can help reduce the potential for such errors.

Bootstrap calibration and uncertainty estimation of downhole NMR hydraulic conductivity estimates in an unconsolidated aquifer.

Characterization of hydraulic conductivity (K) in aquifers is critical for evaluation, management, and remediation of groundwater resources. While estimates of K have been traditionally obtained using hydraulic tests over discrete intervals in wells, geophysical measurements are emerging as an alternative way to estimate this parameter. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging, a technology once largely applied to characterization of deep consolidated rock petroleum reservoirs, is beginning to see use in near-surface unconsolidated aquifers. Using a well-known rock physics relationship-the Schlumberger Doll Research (SDR) equation--K and porosity can be estimated from NMR water content and relaxation time. Calibration of SDR parameters is necessary for this transformation because NMR relaxation properties are, in part, a function of magnetic mineralization and pore space geometry, which are locally variable quantities. Here, we present a statistically based method for calibrating SDR parameters that establishes a range for the estimated parameters and simultaneously estimates the uncertainty of the resulting K values. We used co-located logging NMR and direct K measurements in an unconsolidated fluvial aquifer in Lawrence, Kansas, USA to demonstrate that K can be estimated using logging NMR to a similar level of uncertainty as with traditional direct hydraulic measurements in unconsolidated sediments under field conditions. Results of this study provide a benchmark for future calibrations of NMR to obtain K in unconsolidated sediments and suggest a method for evaluating uncertainty in both K and SDR parameter values.

Slug tests in wells screened across the water table: some additional considerations.

The majority of slug tests done at sites of shallow groundwater contamination are performed in wells screened across the water table and are affected by mechanisms beyond those considered in the standard slug-test models. These additional mechanisms give rise to a number of practical issues that are yet to be fully resolved; four of these are addressed here. The wells in which slug tests are performed were rarely installed for that purpose, so the well design can result in problematic (small signal to noise ratio) test data. The suitability of a particular well design should thus always be assessed prior to field testing. In slug tests of short duration, it can be difficult to identify which portion of the test represents filter-pack drainage and which represents formation response; application of a mass balance can help confirm that test phases have been correctly identified. A key parameter required for all slug test models is the casing radius. However, in this setting, the effective casing radius (borehole radius corrected for filter-pack porosity), not the nominal well radius, is required; this effective radius is best estimated directly from test data. Finally, although conventional slug-test models do not consider filter-pack drainage, these models will yield reasonable hydraulic conductivity estimates when applied to the formation-response phase of a test from an appropriately developed well.

Interpretation of water level changes in the high plains aquifer in Western Kansas.

Water level changes in wells provide a direct measure of the impact of groundwater development at a scale of relevance for management activities. Important information about aquifer dynamics and an aquifer's future is thus often embedded in hydrographs from continuously monitored wells. Interpretation of those hydrographs using methods developed for pumping-test analyses can provide insights that are difficult to obtain via other means. These insights are demonstrated at two sites in the High Plains aquifer in western Kansas. One site has thin unconfined and confined intervals separated by a thick aquitard. Pumping-induced responses in the unconfined interval indicate a closed (surrounded by units of relatively low permeability) system that is vulnerable to rapid depletion with continued development. Responses in the confined interval indicate that withdrawals are largely supported by leakage. Given the potential for rapid depletion of the unconfined interval, the probable source of that leakage, it is likely that large-scale irrigation withdrawals will not be sustainable in the confined interval beyond a decade. A second site has a relatively thick unconfined aquifer with responses that again indicate a closed system. However, unlike the first site, previously unrecognized vertical inflow can be discerned in data from the recovery periods. In years of relatively low withdrawals, this inflow can produce year-on-year increases in water levels, an unexpected occurrence in western Kansas. The prevalence of bounded-aquifer responses at both sites has important ramifications for modeling studies; transmissivity values from pumping tests, for example, must be used cautiously in regional models of such systems.

New insights from well responses to fluctuations in barometric pressure.

Hydrologists have long recognized that changes in barometric pressure can produce changes in water levels in wells. The barometric response function (BRF) has proven to be an effective means to characterize this relationship; we show here how it can also be utilized to glean valuable insights into semi-confined aquifer systems. The form of the BRF indicates the degree of aquifer confinement, while a comparison of BRFs between wells sheds light on hydrostratigraphic continuity. A new approach for estimating hydraulic properties of aquitards from BRFs has been developed and verified. The BRF is not an invariant characteristic of a well; in unconfined or semi-confined aquifers, it can change with conditions in the vadose zone. Field data from a long-term research site demonstrate the hydrostratigraphic insights that can be gained from monitoring water levels and barometric pressure. Such insights should be of value for a wide range of practical applications.

Best Practice Guidelines for Pre-Launch Characterization and Calibration of Instruments for Passive Optical Remote Sensing.

The pre-launch characterization and calibration of remote sensing instruments should be planned and carried out in conjunction with their design and development to meet the mission requirements. The onboard calibrators such as blackbodies and the sensors such as spectral radiometers should be characterized and calibrated using SI traceable standards. In the case of earth remote sensing, this allows inter-comparison and intercalibration of different sensors in space to create global time series of climate records of high accuracy where some inevitable data gaps can be easily bridged. The recommended best practice guidelines for this pre-launch effort is presented based on experience gained at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) programs over the past two decades. The currently available radiometric standards and calibration facilities at NIST serving the remote sensing community are described. Examples of best practice calibrations and intercomparisons to build SI (international System of Units) traceable uncertainty budget in the instrumentation used for preflight satellite sensor calibration and validation are presented.

Sources of Differences in On-Orbital Total Solar Irradiance Measurements and Description of a Proposed Laboratory Intercomparison.

There is a 5 W/m(2) (about 0.35 %) difference between current on-orbit Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) measurements. On 18-20 July 2005, a workshop was held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland that focused on understanding possible reasons for this difference, through an examination of the instrument designs, calibration approaches, and appropriate measurement equations. The instruments studied in that workshop included the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor III (ACRIM III) on the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor SATellite (ACRIMSAT), the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) on the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE), the Variability of solar IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations (VIRGO) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), and the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) on the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS). Presentations for each instrument included descriptions of its design, its measurement equation and uncertainty budget, and the methods used to assess on-orbit degradation. The workshop also included a session on satellite- and ground-based instrument comparisons and a session on laboratory-based comparisons and the application of new laboratory comparison techniques. The workshop has led to investigations of the effects of diffraction and of aperture area measurements on the differences between instruments. In addition, a laboratory-based instrument comparison is proposed that uses optical power measurements (with lasers that underfill the apertures of the TSI instruments), irradiance measurements (with lasers that overfill the apertures of the TSI instrument), and a cryogenic electrical substitution radiometer as a standard for comparing the instruments. A summary of the workshop and an overview of the proposed research efforts are presented here.

Drawdown and stream depletion produced by pumping in the vicinity of a partially penetrating stream.

Commonly used analytical approaches for estimation of pumping-induced drawdown and stream depletion are based on a series of idealistic assumptions about the stream-aquifer system. A new solution has been developed for estimation of drawdown and stream depletion under conditions that are more representative of those in natural systems (finite width stream of shallow penetration adjoining an aquifer of limited lateral extent). This solution shows that the conventional assumption of a fully penetrating stream will lead to a significant overestimation of stream depletion (> 100%) in many practical applications. The degree of overestimation will depend on the value of the stream leakance parameter and the distance from the pumping well to the stream. Although leakance will increase with stream width, a very wide stream will not necessarily be well represented by a model of a fully penetrating stream. The impact of lateral boundaries depends upon the distance from the pumping well to the stream and the stream leakance parameter. In most cases, aquifer width must be on the order of hundreds of stream widths before the assumption of a laterally infinite aquifer is appropriate for stream-depletion calculations. An important assumption underlying this solution is that stream-channel penetration is negligible relative to aquifer thickness. However, an approximate extension to the case of nonnegligible penetration provides reasonable results for the range of relative penetrations found in most natural systems (up to 85%). Since this solution allows consideration of a much wider range of conditions than existing analytical approaches, it could prove to be a valuable new tool for water management design and water rights adjudication purposes.

Response of engineered cartilage tissue to biochemical agents as studied by proton magnetic resonance microscopy.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results correlate with the biochemical composition of cartilage matrix and can therefore be used to evaluate natural tissue development and the effects of biologic interventions. METHODS: Chondrocytes harvested from day-16 chick embryo sterna were inoculated into an MRI-compatible hollow-fiber bioreactor. The tissue that formed over a period of 2-4 weeks was studied biochemically, histologically, and with MRI. Besides natural development, the response of the tissue to administration of retinoic acid, interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), and daily dosing with ascorbic acid was studied. RESULTS: Tissue wet and dry weight, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content, and collagen content all increased with development time, while tissue hydration decreased. The administration of retinoic acid resulted in a significant reduction in tissue wet weight, proteoglycan content, and cell number and an increase in hydration as compared with controls. Daily dosing with ascorbic acid increased tissue collagen content significantly compared with controls, while the administration of IL-1beta resulted in increased proteoglycan content. The water proton longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates correlated well with GAG and collagen concentrations of the matrix as well as with tissue hydration. In contrast, the magnetization transfer value for the tissue correlated only with total collagen. Finally, the self-diffusion coefficient of water correlated with tissue hydration. CONCLUSION: Parameters derived from MR images obtained noninvasively can be used to quantitatively assess the composition of cartilage tissue generated in a bioreactor. We conclude that MRI is a promising modality for the assessment of certain biochemical properties of cartilage in a wide variety of settings.

Diffraction properties of highly birefringent liquid-crystal composite gratings.

We have fabricated electrically switchable holographic gratings, using Polaroid Corporation's DMP-128 photopolymer filled with the nematic liquid crystal E7. It is shown that a coupled-wave theory that includes the effects of the birefringence of the liquid crystal must be used to explain the diffraction properties of these anisotropic volume gratings. Furthermore, a detailed comparison of theory and experiment provides information about the alignment of the liquid crystal within the polymer host.

Murine TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand) expression induced by T cell activation is blocked by rapamycin, cyclosporin A, and inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, protein kinase C, and protein tyrosine kinases: evidence for TRAIL induction via the T cell receptor signaling pathway.

TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand), like other members of the TNF family of proteins, is able to induce apoptosis in sensitive target cells. Recently, cell-surface TRAIL has been shown to be expressed by activated human and mouse T lymphocytes, raising the possibility that TRAIL might be involved in T cell-mediated cytotoxicity and/or immune regulation. In the present study we show by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis that activated, but not resting, mouse T cells express abundant TRAIL mRNA. TRAIL transcripts were detectable within 4 h of T cell activation. A panel of pharmacologic inhibitors was used to investigate the signal transduction pathways involved in TRAIL gene induction following T lymphocyte activation. TRAIL gene expression was sensitive to the src-like protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor herbimycin A, as well as the more general PTK inhibitor genistein, suggesting the involvement of a src family PTK. The PKC inhibitors staurosporine and calphostin C, and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) inhibitors wortmannin and LY294002, also prevented TRAIL mRNA transcription by activated T cells, indicating a role for PKC and PI3-K. In addition, TRAIL induction was inhibited by cyclosporin A, implicating the Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin. TRAIL expression was also blocked by rapamycin, which inhibits p70 S6 kinase involved in CD28 and interleukin (IL)-2 receptor signaling. However, TRAIL mRNA expression was not induced by IL-2, suggesting that TRAIL gene induction is not coupled to the IL-2 receptor. Data obtained by RT-PCR were confirmed at the protein level by immunoblotting with TRAIL-specific antibody. We conclude that TRAIL gene induction is initiated through a T cell receptor-associated signaling pathway similar to that responsible for the expression of cytokine genes such as IL-2.

Hodgkin's disease: correlation of clinical characteristics with probabilities for negative lymphangiogram vs. negative laparotomy findings in patients with Stage I supradiaphragmatic presentations vs. those in patients with Stage II.

PURPOSE: At a time both when late complications and second malignancies have become a growing concern and when staging laparotomy has been largely abandoned and comparative studies for staging Hodgkin's disease by state of the art computed tomography (CT) vs. lymphangiography have revealed minimal differences in results for these procedures, our purpose for undertaking this study was twofold. Our initial reason was to determine and compare probabilities for negative abdominal findings for patients with Stage I presentations with those for patients with Stage II as determined by lymphangiography and subsequently by laparotomy for those patients who had negative lymphangiograms. Our second reason, being an extension of the first, was to create a resource that can be used in conjunction with other information for arriving at appropriate treatment decisions including giving either more or particularly less than standard institutional therapy and especially with respect to the abdomen. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Data on 714 patients with prelymphangiogram Stage I-II upper torso presentations of Hodgkin's disease were entered prospectively in our database between 1968 and 1987. Twenty-eight with lymphocyte predominant disease, who had both negative lymphangiogram and negative laparotomy findings and 17 with questionable diagnoses of lymphocyte-depleted or unclassified disease were excluded from subsequent analyses of 669 patients with nodular sclerosis (NS) and mixed cellularity (MC) diagnoses. RESULTS: Stage I: in final logistic models, negative lymphangiogram findings were associated strongly with a combination of no constitutional symptoms and nodular sclerosis histology, whereas negative laparotomy findings correlated strongly with a combination of no constitutional symptoms and female sex. Predicted probabilities depended on the ratios of favorable to unfavorable characteristics. Stage II: in final logistic models, negative lymphangiogram findings were associated strongly with a combination of no constitutional symptoms, nodular sclerosis histology, age <40 years, and <4 involved sites, whereas negative laparotomy findings correlated strongly with a combination of <4 involved sites and mediastinal disease. Predicted probabilities again depended on the ratios of favorable to unfavorable characteristics. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that probabilities for negative abdominal findings for patients with supradiaphragmatic presentations of NS and MC Hodgkin's disease depended on: 1) whether the disease presented as Stage I or as Stage II; 2) whether staging was limited to a lymphangiogram or whether it included a laparotomy; and 3) or whether the clinical features associated with the presenting stage and methods of staging were favorable or unfavorable.

Cartilage formation in a hollow fiber bioreactor studied by proton magnetic resonance microscopy.

The ideal in vitro system for investigating the regulation of cartilage formation and maintenance would allow for three-dimensional tissue growth, a wide range of biochemical interventions, and non-destructive evaluation. We have developed a hollow fiber bioreactor (HFBR) system which meets these criteria. After injection with embryonic chick sternal chondrocytes, neocartilage is elaborated around the hollow fibers, reaching a thickness of up to a millimeter after four weeks of growth. This process was monitored over time with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) microimaging and correlative biochemical and histologic analyses. Tissue volume and cellularity increased greatly during development. This was accompanied by changes in magnetic resonance properties consistent with increased macromolecular content. Further, tissue heterogeneity, observed as regional variations in cell size in histologic sections, was also observed in quantitative NMR images.

Radiometric Measurement Comparison Using the Ocean Color Temperature Scanner (OCTS) Visible and Near Infrared Integrating Sphere.

As a part of the pre-flight calibration and validation activities for the Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner (OCTS) and the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) ocean color satellite instruments, a radiometric measurement comparison was held in February 1995 at the NEC Corporation in Yokohama, Japan. Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC), the University of Arizona Optical Sciences Center (UA), and the National Research Laboratory of Metrology (NRLM) in Tsukuba, Japan used their portable radiometers to measure the spectral radiance of the OCTS visible and near-infrared integrating sphere at four radiance levels. These four levels corresponded to the configuration of the OCTS integrating sphere when the calibration coefficients for five of the eight spectral channels, or bands, of the OCTS instrument were determined. The measurements of the four radiometers differed by -2.7 % to 3.9 % when compared to the NEC calibration of the sphere and the overall agreement was within the combined measurement uncertainties. A comparison of the measurements from the participating radiometers also resulted in agreement within the combined measurement uncertainties. These results are encouraging and demonstrate the utility of comparisons using laboratory calibration integrating sphere sources. Other comparisons will focus on instruments that are scheduled for spacecraft in the NASA study of climate change, the Earth Observing System (EOS).

Nasopharyngeal lymphoid tissue masses in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-1. Histologic findings and clinical correlation.

BACKGROUND: Although the histologic changes in lymph nodes in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) are well described, the histology and resulting clinical symptoms of hyperplastic nasopharyngeal lymphoid tissue (NPLT) in these patients are not widely known, particularly to pathologists and oncologists. METHODS: Nine patients with HIV-1 presented with a nasopharyngeal mass, nasal stuffiness, nasal bleeding, hearing loss, and cervical lymphadenopathy in various combinations. Tonsillar tissue was biopsied or removed from all nine. RESULTS: The tonsillar tissue showed a spectrum of the changes of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians and pathologists must be aware of the spectrum of histologic changes and clinical features relating to biopsies from NPLT to interpret the changes correctly and to avoid a misdiagnosis of malignant lymphoma.

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma presenting as a soft-tissue mass mimicking sarcoma.

Anaplastic, sarcomatoid lymphomas appearing primarily in the soft tissue without peripheral lymphadenopathy create considerable diagnostic difficulties for the pathologist, as they may be mistaken for sarcomas. The clinical, pathologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular features of one such case are described.

The histologic diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease.

Histologic criteria for the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease are being modified, primarily as a result of phenotypic analysis. It seems likely that non-Hodgkin's lymphomas have been diagnosed as mixed-cellularity and lymphocytic-depletion Hodgkin's disease on the basis of previously accepted histologic criteria. As a result, phenotypic studies are indicated in all examples of lymphocytic-depletion Hodgkin's disease and in those cases of mixed-cellularity Hodgkin's disease in which the histologic findings are unusual. The effects of genotypic analysis on histologic criteria remain to be elucidated.

Response assessment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia after fludarabine plus prednisone: clinical, pathologic, immunophenotypic, and molecular analysis.

The goals of this study were to evaluate the response to treatment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) according to clinical, pathologic, immunophenotypic, and molecular features, as well as to address the clinical significance of each finding. One hundred fifty-nine CLL patients with either advanced Rai stage III or IV (81 patients) or progressive Rai stage 0 to II (78 patients) were treated with fludarabine (30 mg/m2/d intravenously every day for 5 days) plus prednisone (30 mg/m2/d orally daily for 5 days). Thirty-six patients were previously untreated. The response rates were 12% complete response (CR), 30% nodular complete response (nCR), and 18% partial response (PR). In all patients who achieved a complete response (both CR and nCR) less than 30% of nucleated cells were lymphocytes on marrow aspirate differential analysis; however, nCR patients had residual nodular and/or interstitial lymphocyte involvement on marrow biopsy examination. There was no evidence of leukemic infiltration on marrow biopsy examination in CR patients. With a median follow-up of 35 months, comparison of time to progression in the CR and nCR groups at 2 years showed a projected 87% versus 55% progression-free survival (P less than .03). Residual disease assessment by flow cytometry using simultaneous dual-color staining on blood and marrow lymphocytes was also performed on each patient. Residual disease was determined by the expression of CD5 on B lymphocytes and the monoclonality of surface light-chain expression. After six courses of fludarabine plus prednisone, no residual disease was detected by flow cytometry in 89% of the CRs, 51% of the nCRs, and 19% of the PRs. Clinical residual disease in PR patients with no residual disease detectable by flow cytometry was limited to lymph-adenopathy. Time to progression at 2 years was longer in CR and nCR patients having no residual disease detected by flow cytometry (84% v 39% 2-year progression-free survival, P less than .001). Posttreatment lg gene rearrangement analysis using JH, J kappa, and C lambda probes demonstrated no rearranged bands and a return to the germline configuration in five of seven CRs and two of eight nCRs studied. The molecular studies were concordant with the dual-parameter immunophenotype results and none of the patients who reverted to a germline DNA pattern after treatment have experienced relapse. The absence of detectable minimal residual disease by bone marrow biopsy, dual-color flow cytometry, and lg gene rearrangement analysis is achieveable in CLL with fludarabine and is predictive of the response duration.