Artificial intelligence,fetal echocardiography,and congenital heart disease

There has been a recent explosion in the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which is now part of our everyday lives. Uptake in medicine has been more limited, although in several fields there have been encouraging results showing excellent performance when AI is used to assist in a well-defined medical task. Most of this work has been performed using retrospective data, and there have been few clinical trials published using prospective data. This review focuses on the potential uses of AI in the field of fetal cardiology. Ultrasound of the fetal heart is highly specific and sensitive in experienced hands, but despite this there is significant room for improvement in the rates of prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease in most countries. AI may be one way of improving this. Other potential applications in fetal cardiology include the provision of more accurate prognoses for individuals, and automatic quantification of various metrics including cardiac function. However, there are also ethical and governance concerns. These will need to be overcome before AI can be widely accepted in mainstream use. It is likely that a familiarity of the uses, and pitfalls, of AI will soon be mandatory for many healthcare professionals working in fetal cardiology.     

Relative sea level rise and Venice lagoon wetlands

Over the past century, the Venice lagoon has experienced a high rate of wetland loss and a strong net export of sediments; currently the local Authority is running several projects for beneficial use of dredging materials. From March 1993 until March 1995 the accretionary response of wetlands in the lagoon to changing water levels was studied. Vertical accretion, short term sedimentation and surface elevation change were measured at six sites with varying sediment availability and wave energy. Short term sedimentation averaged 6.85 g m⁻² d⁻¹ with a minimum of 0.06 g and a maximum of 72 g during periods of high tides and storms. Over two years accretion ranged from 0.3 to 2.3 cm/yr and surface elevation change ranged from+0.7 to −3.7 cm/yr. The sites with highest accretion were near a river mouth and a site with strong wave energy and rapid erosion of the marsh edge with a high resuspended sediment availability. The rate of accretion at three sites was clearly sufficient to offset relative sea level rise, but a saline site with low sediment availability had the lowest accretion. A sediment fence significantly increased accretion at one site. The results suggest that reduction of turbulent motion or increasing sediment availability are needed to offset wetland loss in different areas of the lagoon.     

The use of tree-rings and foliage as an archive of volcanogenic cation deposition

Tree cores (Pinus nigra ssp. laricio) and leaves (Castanea sativa) from the flanks of Mount Etna, Sicily were analysed by ICP-MS to investigate whether volcanogenic cations within plant material provide an archive of a volcano's temporal and spatial depositional influence. There is significant compositional variability both within and between trees, but no systematic dendrochemical correlation with periods of effusive, explosive or increased degassing activity. Dendrochemistry does not provide a record of persistent but fluctuating volcanic activity. Foliar levels of bioaccumulated cations correspond to modelled plume transport patterns, and map short-term volcanic fumigation. Around the flanks of the volcano foliar variation is greater for volatile cations (Cs, Cd, Pb) than for lithophilic cations (Ba, Sr), consistent with trace-metal supply from volcanic aerosol during quiescent periods.     

Response of plant species to coal-mine soil materials

A two-year experiment was conducted on the Black Mesa Coal Mine near Kayenta, Arizona to investigate the growth and establishment of seven plant species in unmined soil (undisturbed soil) and coal-mine soil (spoils). Natural rainfall (20 cm/yr) and natural rainfull plus sprinkler irrigation (50 cm/yr) were the irrigation treatments applied to each soil material. Plant species grew better in unmined soil than in coal-mine soil. Supplemental irrigation water resulted in more plant growth than did natural rainfall alone in both soil materials; however, there were highly significant differences among species. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and all of the annual perennial grasses used, excluding Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides Ricker), produced effective ground cover on both soil materials when they received supplemental irrigation water. Fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens Pursh.) had low germination (emergence), seedling establishment, and stem production during the first year of growth; however, in the second year of growth, this species produced a dense ground cover on coal-mine soil with natural rainfall plus irrigation. In revegetating the Black Mesa Coal Mine, Harlan II barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and Super X wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) provided initial protective cover until adapted perennial species could be established for permanent stabilisation. The Black Mesa Research Study indicated that irrigation water during seedling establishment was essential for the effective stabilisation of coal-mine soils in a semiarid environment.     

Use of hold-gro erosion control fabric in the establishment of plant species on coal mine soil

Experiments were conducted on the Black Mesa Coal Mine, Kayenta, Arizona in 1977 and 1978 to study the effectiveness of Hold-Gro Erosion Control Fabric (a product from the Gulf States Paper Corporation, Tuscaloosa, Alabama) in the establishment of plants on coal mine soil following the surface mining of coal. Four plant species were planted: (1) spring barley (Horduem vulgare L.), an annual grass (2) crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum L.), a perennial grass (3) alfalfa (lucerne) (Medicago sativa L.), a perennial legume and (4) fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens Pursh.), a perennial shrub. Seeds of each plant species were planted in reclaimed coal mine soil in the spring of the year by both broadcast seeding (conventional culture) and the incorporation of seeds in Hold-Gro Erosion Control Fabric. Average numbers of seedlings established and percent ground cover for all species studied were higher in areas where conventional culture was used than they were in areas where seeds were incorporated in Hold-Gro Erosion Control Fabric. The incorporation of seeds in Hold-Gro Erosion Control Fabric in the establishment of plant species on coal mine soil was not an effective cultural practice in the southwestern United States. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of M.A. Norem with portions of the research involving this contribution. The authors also express their appreciation to the Gulf States Paper Corporation in Tuscaloosa. Alabama for providing the Hold-Gro Erosion Control Fabrie used in this research. Contribution from the Arizona Agr. Exp. Stn., University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721. Approved for publication as Arizona Agr. Exp. Stn. Research Contribution No. 3767.     

Australia's first Environment Statement

Summary Australia's first National Environment Statement focuses on the substantial ecologic and economic impacts of land degradation, primarily in the significant agricultural mega-region of the Murray-Darling Basin. But the Statement only summarises existing policies to show a A$500 million spending programme on the environment. Inescapable, is the conclusion that economic growth as present and projected, and environmental sustainability, cannot co-exist in the long term. Levels of awareness of Australia's diverse environmental concerns were measured but no targets or future achievements were chartered — so how is effective management to be attained? The proposed significant and rapid devolution of power for action to local government, catchment management groups and community associations is a welcome development but this must be supported by adequate technical information and guidance by government.Dr Diana G. Day is an environmental policy analyst with major interests in water planning. She is currently setting up a new Centre for Environmental Management at Newcastle University, and is Director of the National Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation in Australia.     

How changing regulations determine biotreatment options for petroleum wastes

Remediation of refinery wastes is regulated by three major federal environmental statutes: the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); other statutes apply, but to a lesser degree. During the past two years, RCRA's rules have effectively outlawed the passive biological treatment of primary refinery waste sludges in waste ponds and lagoons, even though the law recommends active biological treatment as the second stage in the waste treatment train. RCRA's land disposal restrictions may also outlaw land farming treatment for the bottom sludges involved in crude oil storage. Since 1980, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listed an initial group of five waste streams as hazardous, the agency has listed two more waste streams and twenty-five organic constituents, several found in petroleum wastes. Now it is about to list fourteen more petroleum refining wastes and is studying the addition of fifteen more waste streams. Treatment standards and restrictions have also been promulgated. This article explores the biotreatment techniques and technologies that are still available to petroleum and environmental engineers.     

Regression modeling of streamflow, baseflow, and runoff using geographic information systems

Regression models for predicting total streamflow (TSF), baseflow (TBF), and storm runoff (TRO) are needed for water resource planning and management. This study used 54 streams with >20 years of streamflow gaging station records during the period October 1971 to September 2001 in Pennsylvania and partitioned TSF into TBF and TRO. TBF was considered a surrogate of groundwater recharge for basins. Regression models for predicting basin-wide TSF, TBF, and TRO were developed under three scenarios that varied in regression variables used for model development. Regression variables representing basin geomorphological, geological, soil, and climatic characteristics were estimated using geographic information systems. All regression models for TSF, TBF, and TRO had R(2) values >0.94 and reasonable prediction errors. The two best TSF models developed under scenarios 1 and 2 had similar absolute prediction errors. The same was true for the two best TBF models. Therefore, any one of the two best TSF and TBF models could be used for respective flow prediction depending on variable availability. The TRO model developed under scenario 1 had smaller absolute prediction errors than that developed under scenario 2. Simplified Area-alone models developed under scenario 3 might be used when variables for using best models are not available, but had lower R(2) values and higher or more variable prediction errors than the best models.     

A free,open-source tool for identifying urban agglomerations using polygon data

This paper describes the function of a software tool for identifying urban agglomerations in low-information settings using free, open data. The framework outlined here is designed to work using polygon data. This paper describes the advantages and disadvantages of using polygon-based geographies in regional analysis, discusses the practical and ethical challenges of distinguishing urban from rural regions, and discusses the relevance of this tool in the analysis of global city regions. It also describes the logical structure of our polygon-based software tool and directs interested readers to the source code. We finally examine the agglomeration results for Sri Lanka and compare them with published urbanization figures. We conclude that there are very large disparities between our model’s outputs and the urbanization estimates from the United Nations and that our tools can be used as a less discretionary way to identify actual levels of urbanization. We hope that other analysts will continue to refine the progression toward a less discretionary model of identifying urban regions.