Water Use and Management in the Bakken Shale Oil Play in North Dakota.

Oil and natural gas development in the Bakken shale play of North Dakota has grown substantially since 2008. This study provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of water quantity and management impacts from this development by (1) estimating water demand for hydraulic fracturing in the Bakken from 2008 to 2012; (2) compiling volume estimates for maintenance water, or brine dilution water; (3) calculating water intensities normalized by the amount of oil produced, or estimated ultimate recovery (EUR); (4) estimating domestic water demand associated with the large oil services population; (5) analyzing the change in wastewater volumes from 2005 to 2012; and (6) examining existing water sources used to meet demand. Water use for hydraulic fracturing in the North Dakota Bakken grew 5-fold from 770 million gallons in 2008 to 4.3 billion gallons in 2012. First-year wastewater volumes grew in parallel, from an annual average of 1,135,000 gallons per well in 2008 to 2,905,000 gallons in 2012, exceeding the mean volume of water used in hydraulic fracturing and surpassing typical 4-year wastewater totals for the Barnett, Denver, and Marcellus basins. Surprisingly, domestic water demand from the temporary oilfield services population in the region may be comparable to the regional water demand from hydraulic fracturing activities. Existing groundwater resources are inadequate to meet the demand for hydraulic fracturing, but there appear to be adequate surface water resources, provided that access is available.

Diversity and abundance of the abnormal chromosome 10 meiotic drive complex in Zea mays.

Maize Abnormal chromosome 10 (Ab10) contains a classic meiotic drive system that exploits the asymmetry of meiosis to preferentially transmit itself and other chromosomes containing specialized heterochromatic regions called knobs. The structure and diversity of the Ab10 meiotic drive haplotype is poorly understood. We developed a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library from an Ab10 line and used the data to develop sequence-based markers, focusing on the proximal portion of the haplotype that shows partial homology to normal chromosome 10. These molecular and additional cytological data demonstrate that two previously identified Ab10 variants (Ab10-I and Ab10-II) share a common origin. Dominant PCR markers were used with fluorescence in situ hybridization to assay 160 diverse teosinte and maize landrace populations from across the Americas, resulting in the identification of a previously unknown but prevalent form of Ab10 (Ab10-III). We find that Ab10 occurs in at least 75% of teosinte populations at a mean frequency of 15%. Ab10 was also found in 13% of the maize landraces, but does not appear to be fixed in any wild or cultivated population. Quantitative analyses suggest that the abundance and distribution of Ab10 is governed by a complex combination of intrinsic fitness effects as well as extrinsic environmental variability.

Predictors of cognitive decline after cardiac operation.

Despite major advances in cardiopulmonary bypass technology, surgical techniques, and anesthesia management, central nervous system complications remain a common problem after cardiopulmonary bypass. The etiology of neuropsychologic dysfunction after cardiopulmonary bypass remains unresolved and is probably multifactorial. Demographic predictors of cognitive decline include age and years of education; perioperative factors including number of cerebral emboli, temperature, mean arterial pressure, and jugular bulb oxygen saturation have varying predictive power. Recent data suggest a genetic predisposition for cognitive decline after cardiac surgery in patients possessing the apolipoprotein E epsilon-4 allele, known to be associated with late-onset and sporadic forms of Alzheimer's disease. Predicting patients at risk for cognitive decline allows the possibility of many important interventions. Predictive power and weapons to reduce cellular injury associated with neurologic insults lend hope of a future ability to markedly decrease the impact of cardiopulmonary bypass on short-term and long-term neurologic, cognitive, and quality-of-life outcomes.

Cytologic diagnosis of blastomycosis in pleural fluid.

Two cases of pleural involvement in respiratory blastomycosis are described. In both cases, cytologic examination of pleural fluid played a primary role in determining the nature of the effusion. Emphasis is placed on the value of the cytologic method for determining the presence of the fungal organisms in pleural effusions.

Continuous jugular venous versus nasopharyngeal temperature monitoring during hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass for cardiac surgery.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare jugular venous to nasopharyngeal temperature during hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Tertiary care teaching hospital. PATIENTS: 5 ASA physical status IV patients (40 to 65 years of age) having cardiac surgery with hypothermic CPB. INTERVENTIONS, MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Jugular venous and nasopharyngeal temperatures were recorded throughout the procedure with comparisons made during four time periods: pre-CPB, during CPB, during rewarming, and post-CPB. The patients underwent 85.8 +/- 45.8 minutes (mean +/- SD) of hypothermic CPB, cooling to 26.3 +/- 7.6 degrees C (nasopharyngeal) followed by rewarming at 0.35 +/- 0.1 degree C (nasopharyngeal)/min. There was a high degree of precision between the two temperature sites, but marked differences in bias. In particular, temperature bias was more pronounced during rewarming from CPB compared with other time periods (p < 0.05) where jugular venous temperature was greater than nasopharyngeal temperature by 3.4 degrees C. CONCLUSION: Nasopharyngeal temperature underestimates jugular venous temperature during rewarming from hypothermic CPB. As a result, the brain may be exposed to periods of hyperthermia, possibly increasing the risk of neurologic injury associated with CPB.

The GluK4 kainate receptor subunit regulates memory, mood, and excitotoxic neurodegeneration.

Though the GluK4 kainate receptor subunit shows limited homology and a restricted expression pattern relative to other kainate receptor subunits, its ablation results in distinct behavioral and molecular phenotypes. GluK4 knockout mice demonstrated impairments in memory acquisition and recall in a Morris water maze test, suggesting a previously unreported role for kainate receptors in spatial memory. GluK4 knockout mice also showed marked hyperactivity and impaired pre-pulse inhibition, thereby mirroring two of the hallmark endophenotypes of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Furthermore, we found that GluK4 is a key mediator of excitotoxic neurodegeneration: GluK4 knockout mice showed robust neuroprotection in the CA3 region of the hippocampus following intrahippocampal injection of kainate and widespread neuroprotection throughout the hippocampus following hypoxia-ischemia. Biochemical analysis of kainate- or sham-treated wild-type and GluK4 knockout hippocampal tissue suggests that GluK4 may act through the JNK pathway to regulate the molecular cascades that lead to excitotoxicity. Together, our findings suggest that GluK4 may be relevant to the understanding and treatment of human neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.

Coupling between positron-atom scattering channels above the first inelastic threshold.

Experimentally determined cross sections for the elastic scattering of positrons by argon and xenon atoms have been found to exhibit a steplike increase at the first inelastic threshold energy--i.e., that for positronium formation. Rather than supporting the existence of a cusplike behavior predicted theoretically, this feature, which is more pronounced for xenon, suggests the existence of an intermediate virtual positronium state which enhances the elastic interaction probability.

Transcranial Doppler blood flow velocity versus 133Xe clearance cerebral blood flow during mild hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass.

OBJECTIVE: Transcranial doppler (TCD) is used during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) to assess cerebral emboli and to estimate cerebral perfusion. We sought to compare TCD middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (Vmca) to 133Xe clearance cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurements during mild hypothermic CPB thus determining its utility in cerebral perfusion assessment. METHODS: Thirty-four patients undergoing mild hypothermic CPB (35 degrees C) were studied and had comparisons of Vmca and 133Xe CBF at three time intervals, 10, 30 and 60 min after the institution of CPB. Linear regression analysis was performed on data from each of the 3 intervals as well as for pooled data from all 3 periods. RESULTS: The correlation coefficients for the 3 time periods were, r = 0.32 (p = 0.12), r = 0.32 (p = 0.11), r = 0.48 (p = (0.02), respectively. The pooled data correlation had a coefficient of 0.34 (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that TCD Vmca is a relatively poor correlate of CBF during mild hypothermic CPB.

Occurrence and frequency of subgroup I-6 spiroplasma in arthropods associated with old fields in Maryland and Virginia.

The Subgroup I-6 spiroplasma, "Maryland Flower Spiroplasma," originally discovered on fall flowers and subsequently recovered from a syrphid fly and a beetle triungulin, was isolated from two new fall flower hosts and from the guts of nine nectar-imbibing insect species. These data, together with lack of recovery of I-6 spiroplasma from foliage-feeding, plant-sucking, or flightless flower-associated insects, suggest that I-6 spiroplasma may infect and be disseminated by nectar- or pollen-foraging insects, and that the dynamics of maintenance will prove to be complex.

Improving surgical resection rate in lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Surgical resection is the recognised treatment of choice for patients with stage I or II non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the UK surgical resection rates have remained far lower (< 10%) than those achieved in Europe and the USA (> 20%), despite the recent introduction of fast access investigation units. It remains unclear therefore why UK surgical resection rates lag so far behind those of other countries. METHODS: A new quick access two stop investigation service was established at Papworth in November 1995 to investigate all patients presenting to any of three surrounding health districts with suspected lung cancer. Once staging was complete, all patients with confirmed lung cancer were reviewed by a multidisciplinary team which included an oncologist and a thoracic surgeon. Time from presentation to definitive treatment and surgical resection rates were reviewed. RESULTS: Two hundred and nine (76%) of a total of 275 consecutive patients investigated had confirmed lung cancer (28 small cell, 181 non-small cell). Of the remainder, eight patients (2%) had metastatic disease, four (1%) had other thoracic malignancy (thymoma, mesothelioma), four patients (1%) had benign thoracic tumours, and 50 (18%) had other non-malignant diseases. Of the 181 patients with non-small cell primary lung cancer, 47 (25%) underwent successful surgical resection, of whom 59% had stage I and 21% stage II disease. The failed thoracotomy rate was 11%. Median time from presentation at the peripheral clinic to surgical resection was 5 weeks (range 1-13). CONCLUSION: Quick access investigation, high histological confirmation rates, routine CT scanning, and review of every patient with confirmed lung cancer by a thoracic surgeon led to a substantial increase in the successful surgical resection rate. These results support the growing concern that many patients with operable tumours are being denied the chance of curative surgery in our present system.

Cardiac exposure history as a determinant of symptoms and emergency department utilization in noncardiac chest pain patients.

Although comparative studies differentiate noncardiac chest pain (NCCP), panic disorder, and coronary artery disease (CAD), little research has examined the defining features of NCCP, such as cardiac complaints, medical utilization, and learning history. We administered self-report measures to 80 Emergency Department (ED) patients with a primary complaint of chest pain who were subsequently found to not have CAD. Forty-eight percent of the ED utilization variance was accounted for by NCCP duration, age, cardiac distress symptoms, and prior exposure to both siblings' and friends' cardiac distress symptoms. In turn, 67% of the variance in cardiac distress symptoms was explained by education, age, NCCP duration, number of illnesses, noncardiac panic symptoms, prior exposure (friends), and prior observation of others' cardiac distress. No effects emerged for gender, ethnicity, avoidance, or depression. Results suggest that beyond the effects of age and distress intensity, prior exposure to other people's cardiac distress may influence NCCP.

Effect of temperature during cardiopulmonary bypass on gastric mucosal perfusion.

The purpose of our study was to prospectively study the splanchnic response to hypothermic and tepid cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) using alphastat management of arterial blood-gas tensions. Twenty-four patients for elective CABG surgery were allocated randomly to tepid (35-36 degrees C) or hypothermic (30 degrees C) bypass groups. Measurements were made at four times: (1) baseline, (2) stable during CPB (inflow temperature = nasopharyngeal temperature) 30 degrees C for hypothermic patients, bypass +20 min for tepid patients, (3) 10 min before the end of bypass, (4) after bypass, skin closure. Both groups demonstrated a significant reduction in gastric intramucosal pH (pHim) from time 1 to time 4 and there was no difference in the incidence of a low pHim between the tepid and cold groups (4/12 vs 3/12; ns) at time 4. pHim was significantly lower in the tepid groups at time 3 (P = 0.03) but this discrepancy may have been because of an artefactually high pHim in the cold group. There was a significantly higher incidence of postoperative non-cardiac complications in patients who had a low pHim at time 4 (P = 0.0008). Therefore, we conclude that although the temperature during CPB had a transient effect on pHim it is unlikely to be a major determinant in the pathogenesis of gut mucosal hypoperfusion after bypass.

Effect of perfusion pressure on cerebral blood flow during normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass.

BACKGROUND: We have recently shown that during hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), cerebral autoregulation has a positive slope such that for every 10 mm Hg change in pressure, a 0.86 mL.100 g-1.min-1 change in cerebral blood flow (CBF) is predicted. The purpose of this study was to define the influence of mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) on CBF during normothermic CPB. METHODS AND RESULTS: CBF was measured by use of 133Xe washout and alpha-stat blood gas management during nonpulsatile CPB. CBF measurements were made at a pump flow of 2.4 L.min-1.m-2 at stable normothermia and approximately 15 minutes later after the MAP was increased or decreased > or = 20%. A third data set was recorded after the pressure was returned to the initial value. Forty-five patients were entered into the study. Temperature was held constant. We found a significant effect (P = .016) of change in MAP on change in CBF during normothermic CPB. For a 10 mm Hg increase in MAP, an increase in CBF of 1.78 mL.100 g-1.min-1 is predicted. Along with change in CBF, significant increases in both cerebral metabolic rate and cerebral oxygen delivery were observed. CONCLUSIONS: This information, along with our previous data shows that autoregulation during CPB has a positive slope that is greater with normothermia than hypothermia. Although it is unlikely that these small changes in flow are an important primary effect in the development of hypoperfusion, increased metabolic rate with increased CBF may indicate pressure-dependent collateral flow potentially in regions embolized during CPB.