The phenomenon of plume persistence was observed for five federal Superfund sites by analysis of historical groundwater-withdrawal and contaminant-concentration data collected from long-term pump-and-treat operations. The potential factors contributing to plume persistence are generally recognized to include incomplete isolation of the source zone, permeability heterogeneity, well-field hydraulics, and non-ideal (rate-limited, nonlinear) desorption. However, the significance of each factor, especially the site-specific contribution is undetermined, which is very important for site development and management. One objective of this study is to quantify the impacts of different factors on mass-removal efficiency. Three-dimensional (3D) numerical models were used to simulate the impact of different well-field configurations on pump-and-treat mass removal. The relationship between reduction in contaminant mass discharge (CMDR) and mass removal (MR) was used as the metric to examine remediation efficiency. Results indicate that (1) even with effort to control the source, residual impact of source can still be a factor causing plume persistence, (2) the well-field configuration has a measurable impact on mass-removal efficiency, which can be muted by the influence of permeability heterogeneity, (3) in terms of permeability heterogeneity, both variance and correlation scale influence the overall mass-removal behavior, (4) the CMDR-MR relationship can be used to quantify the impacts of different factors on mass-removal efficiency at the plume scale. It has been recognized that the use of pump and treat for groundwater remediation will require many decades to attain site closure at most complex sites. Thus, monitored natural attenuation (MNA) and enhanced attenuation (EA) have been widely accepted as alternatives because of their lower cost and sustainable management for large, complex plumes. However, the planning and evaluation of MNA/EA applications require greater levels of characterization data than typically collected. Advanced, innovative methods are required to characterize specific attenuation processes and associated rates to evaluate the feasibility of MNA/EA. Contaminant elution and tracer (CET) tests have been proposed as one such advanced method. Another objective of this study is to investigate the use of modified well-field configurations to enhance the performance of CET tests to collect critical site-specific data that can be used to better delineate attenuation processes and quantify the associated rate coefficients. Three-dimensional numerical models were used to simulate the CET test with specific well-field configurations under different conditions. The results show that the CET test with a nested (two-couplet) well-field configuration can be used to characterize transport and attenuation processes by eliminating the impact of the surrounding plume. The results also show that applying select analytical mass-removal functions can be an efficient method for parameter estimation, as it does not require the use of mathematical transport modeling and does not require the attendant input data that are costly and time-consuming to obtain.

Simultaneous optical imaging and MRI of a dorsal skin-fold window chamber mouse model is investigated as a novel methodology to study the tumor microenvironment. Simultaneous imaging with two modalities allows for cross-validation of results, integration of the capabilities of the two modalities in one study and mitigation of invasive factors, such as surgery and anesthesia, in an in-vivo experiment. To make this investigation possible, three optical imaging systems were developed that operated inside the MRI scanner. One of the developed systems was applied to estimate vascular kinetic parameters of tumors in a dorsal skin-fold window chamber mouse model with simultaneous optical and MRI imaging. The target of imaging was a molecular agent that was dual labeled with both optical and MRI contrast agents. The labeling of the molecular agent, characteristics of the developed optical systems, the methodologies of measuring vascular kinetic parameters using optical imaging and MRI data, and the obtained results are described and illustrated.

No description available.

Microvascular permeability is a pharmacologic indicator of tumor response to therapy, and it is expected that this biomarker will evolve into a clinical surrogate endpoint and be integrated into protocols for determining patient response to antiangiogenic or antivascular therapies. The goal of this research is to develop a method by which microvascular permeability (Ktrans) and vascular volume (vp) as measured by DCE-MRI were directly compared to the same parameters measured by intravital fluorescence microscopy in an MRI-compatible window chamber model. Dynamic contrast enhanced-MRI (DCE-MRI) is a non-invasive, clinically useful imaging approach that has been used extensively to measure active changes in tumor microvascular hemodynamics. However, uncertainties exist in DCE-MRI as it does not interrogate the contrast reagent (CR) itself, but the effect of the CR on tissue water relaxivity. Thus, direct comparison of DCE-MRI with a more quantitative measure would help better define the derived parameters. The combined imaging system was able to obtain both dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI data high spatio-termporal resolution fluorescence data following injection of fluorescent and gadolinium co-labeled albumin. This approach allowed for the cross-validation of vascular permeability data, in relation tumor growth, angiogenesis and response to therapy in both imaging systems.

Air permeability (ka) is a viable alternative to water- and texture-based methods to rapidly map saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat). The ability to measure this important hydraulic property without the use of more cumbersome and time-consuming methods may provide a practical approach to generate more complete data to describe hydrologic conditions. This study presents the development of an air permeameter which is suitable for desert soils. The Soil Corer Air Permeameter (SCAP) is compatible with a standard soil corer and employs digital components to measure flowrates under low-pressure gradients to improve accuracy, ease of use, and portability. SCAP allows for the extraction of undisturbed soil samples for laboratory analysis, providing direct comparisons of ka with other soil physical and hydraulic properties. The applicability of a regression equation to estimate Ksat from field-measured ka using SCAP was examined in unburned and burned soils. Ex situ field ka and laboratory Ksat measurements were compared and air to water permeability (ka/kw) ratios were calculated to determine structural changes due to water saturation. The study also characterized changes in permeability due to fire in woodland-chaparral and coniferous soils. For soils that could be extracted with minimal structural changes, results show ka and Ksat measurements for unburned and burned soils were within the 95% confidence intervals of a ka-Ksat regression developed for agricultural soils. However, correlations for in situ ka measurements in some burned soils showed a decrease in accuracy and may be attributed to soil anisotropy. A three-dimensional steady-state finite element air flow model was developed using FEMLAB 3.0A to consider the effects of anisotropy on in situ ka measurements. Results show that anisotropic conditions can introduce an error as high as a factor of 2 especially for air permeameters with high diameter to height (D/H) ratios, however, the error is much smaller than the anisotropy ratio. If anisotropy is important to characterize, it was shown that paired measurements of in situ and ex situ ka can be used to infer the anisotropy ratio.

No description available.

Depressurization is thought to be a promising method for gas recovery from methane hydrate reservoirs, but considerable water production is expected when this method is applied to the hydrate reservoir of high initial water saturation. In this case, the prediction of water production is a critical problem. This study examined relative permeability curves during hydrate dissociation by comparing numerical simulations with laboratory experiments. Data of gas and water volumes produced during depressurization were taken from gas recovery experiments using sand-packed cores containing methane hydrates. In each experiment, hydrates were dissociated by depressurization at a constant pressure. The surrounding temperature was held constant during dissociation. The volumes of gas and water produced, the temperatures inside of the core, and the pressures at the both ends of the core were measured continuously. The experimental results were compared with numerical simulations by using the simulator MH21-HYDRES (MH21 Hydrate Reservoir Simulator). The experimental results showed that considerable volume of water was produced during hydrate dissociation, and the simulator could not reproduce the large water production when we used typical relative permeability curves such as the Corey model. To obtain good matching for the volumes of gas and water produced during hydrate dissociation, the shape of relative permeability curves was modified to express the rapid decrease in gas permeability with increasing water saturation. This result suggests that the connate water can be easily displaced by hydrate-dissociated gas and move forward in the hydrate reservoir of high initial water saturation.

Endothelial cells (ECs) form the inner lining of all blood vessels in the body, and coat the outer surfaces of heart valves. Because ECs are anchored to extracellular matrix proteins and are positioned between flowing blood and underlying interstitium, ECs are constantly exposed to hemodynamic shear, and act as a semi-permeable barrier to blood-borne factors. In vitro cell culture flow (ICF) systems have been employed as laboratory tools for testing endothelial properties such as adhesion strength, shear response, and permeability. Recently, advances in microscale technology have introduced microfluidic systems as alternatives to conventional ICF devices, with a multitude of practical advantages not available at the macroscale. However, acceptance of microfluidics as a viable platform has thus far been reserved because utility of microfluidics has yet to be fully demonstrated. For biologists to embrace microfluidics, engineers must validate microscale systems and prove their practicality as tools for cell biology. Microfluidic devices were designed, fabricated, and implemented to study properties of two EC types: aortic ECs and valve ECs. The objective was to streamline experimentation to reveal phenotypic traits of the two types and in the process demonstrate the usefulness of microfluidics. The first task was to develop a protocol to isolate pure populations of valve ECs because reported methods were inadequate. Dispase and collagenase in combination for leaflet digestion followed by clonal expansion of cell isolates was optimal for obtaining pure valve EC populations. Using a parallel microfluidic network, we discovered that valve ECs adhered strongly and spread well only on fibronectin and not on type I collagen. In contrast, aortic ECs adhered strongly on both proteins. Both aortic and valve ECs were then exposed to shear and analyzed for cell orientation. Morphological analyses showed aortic and valve ECs both aligned parallel to flow when sheared in a macroscale flow chamber, but aortic ECs aligned perpendicular to flow when sheared in a microchannel. Finally, a microfluidic membrane device was designed and characterized as a potential tool for measuring albumin permeability through sheared endothelial monolayers. Overall, these studies revealed novel EC characteristics and phenomena, and demonstrated accessibility of microfluidics for EC studies.

Endothelial cells (ECs) form the inner lining of all blood vessels in the body, and coat the outer surfaces of heart valves. Because ECs are anchored to extracellular matrix proteins and are positioned between flowing blood and underlying interstitium, ECs are constantly exposed to hemodynamic shear, and act as a semi-permeable barrier to blood-borne factors. In vitro cell culture flow (ICF) systems have been employed as laboratory tools for testing endothelial properties such as adhesion strength, shear response, and permeability. Recently, advances in microscale technology have introduced microfluidic systems as alternatives to conventional ICF devices, with a multitude of practical advantages not available at the macroscale. However, acceptance of microfluidics as a viable platform has thus far been reserved because utility of microfluidics has yet to be fully demonstrated. For biologists to embrace microfluidics, engineers must validate microscale systems and prove their practicality as tools for cell biology. Microfluidic devices were designed, fabricated, and implemented to study properties of two EC types: aortic ECs and valve ECs. The objective was to streamline experimentation to reveal phenotypic traits of the two types and in the process demonstrate the usefulness of microfluidics. The first task was to develop a protocol to isolate pure populations of valve ECs because reported methods were inadequate. Dispase and collagenase in combination for leaflet digestion followed by clonal expansion of cell isolates was optimal for obtaining pure valve EC populations. Using a parallel microfluidic network, we discovered that valve ECs adhered strongly and spread well only on fibronectin and not on type I collagen. In contrast, aortic ECs adhered strongly on both proteins. Both aortic and valve ECs were then exposed to shear and analyzed for cell orientation. Morphological analyses showed aortic and valve ECs both aligned parallel to flow when sheared in a macroscale flow chamber, but aortic ECs aligned perpendicular to flow when sheared in a microchannel. Finally, a microfluidic membrane device was designed and characterized as a potential tool for measuring albumin permeability through sheared endothelial monolayers. Overall, these studies revealed novel EC characteristics and phenomena, and demonstrated accessibility of microfluidics for EC studies.

The relative contributions of bedrock geology, radiometric uranium, till permeability and surficial geology were assessed as predictors of radon in indoor air in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), NS, Canada. Bedrock geology and radiometric uranium were statistically significant predictors (14.4%) of indoor radon, based on available indoor radon data. Permeability was not among the predictors, which was surprising given its importance in past studies. In a follow up field analogue study done in laboratory columns, the permeability and diffusivity, as gas transport mechanisms, were found, as suspected, to be important drivers on the concentrations of radon-222 detected. Given the variable thickness of till in the HRM (< 0.5 m to > 3 m), these experiments highlighted the significance of till thickness, composition, and permeability in predicting the radioactive radon-222 potential.