Supercell thunderstorm charge structure variability and influences on spatial lightning flash relationships with the updraft

Relationships between lightning flashes and thunderstorm kinematics and microphysics are important for applications such as nowcasting of convective intensity. These relationships are influenced by cloud electrification structures and have been shown to vary in anomalously electrified thunderstorms. This study addresses transitional relationships between active charge structure and lightning flash location in the context of kinematic and microphysical updraft characteristics during the development of an anomalously electrified supercell thunderstorm in the Tennessee Valley on 10 April 2009. The initial charge structure within the updraft was characterized as an anomalous dipole in which positive charge was inferred in regions of precipitation ice (i.e., graupel and hail) and negative charge was inferred in regions of cloud ice (i.e., aggregates and ice crystals). During subsequent development of the anomalous charge structure, additional minor charge layers as well as evidence of increasing horizontal complexity were observed. Microphysical and kinematic characteristics of the charge structure also evolved to include increasing observations of negative charge in precipitation ice regions, indicating the emergence of more prominent normal charging alongside dominant anomalous charging. Simultaneously, lightning flash initiation locations were also increasingly observed in regions of faster updrafts and stronger horizontal gradients in updraft speed. It is suggested that continuous variability in charging behavior over meso-gamma spatial scales influenced the evolution of lightning flash locations with respect to the updraft structure. Further work is necessary to determine how this variability may impact lightning flash relation-ships, including lightning flash rate, with bulk microphysical and kinematic characteristics and related applications.

The GeriPACT Initiative to Prevent All-Cause 30-Day Readmission in High Risk Elderly

Background: Suboptimal care transitions increases the risk of adverse events resulting from poor care coordination among providers and healthcare facilities. The National Transition of Care Coalition recommends shifting the discharge paradigm from discharge from the hospital, to transfer with continuous management. The patient centered medical home is a promising model, which improves care coordination and may reduce hospital readmissions. Methods: This is a quality improvement report, the geriatric patient-aligned care team (GeriPACT) at Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) participated in ongoing quality improvement (Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA)) cycles during teamlet meetings. Post home discharge follow-up for GeriPACT patients was provided by proactive telehealth communication by the Registered Nurse (RN) care manager and nurse practitioner. Periodic operations data obtained from the Data and Statistical Services (DSS) coordinator informed the PDSA cycles and teamlet meetings. Results: at baseline (July 2018–June 2019) the 30-day all-cause readmission for GeriPACT was 21%. From July to December 2019, 30-day all-cause readmissions were 13%. From January to June 2020, 30-day all-cause readmissions were 15%. Conclusion: PDSA cycles with sharing of operations data during GeriPACT teamlet meetings and fostering a shared responsibility for managing high-risk patients contributes to improved outcomes in 30-day all-cause readmissions.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION PROGRAMS ON ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION OF ROSTOV STATE UNIVERSITY

During 1991–1998 at the Rostov State University, some programs related to the problems of environmental education were carried out. These programs kicked off with a visit to the United States by a delegation of environmental education specialists at the invitation of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Environmental Protection Unit. The implemented programs of cooperation, details of their implementation, and the results achieved are listed. The importance of involving schoolchildren and schoolteachers in the implementation of these programs was pointed out. The history of the emergence of the Center for Geoinformation Technologies of the Southern Federal University is described and the master’s program currently being carried out on its basis is mentioned

Methods for determining the effective height of the pipe taking into account the dispersion of emissions in the production facilities working area

Introduction. In order to determine the height of the rise of the polluted substances above the source of the pollution, it is important to know the exact distribution of the gas plume. Problem Statement. The determination of the dust concentration in the working area of asphalt concrete plants should take into account the assessment of the concentration of harmful substances in the working area of the asphalt concrete plant. The study is the analysis of methods for determining the effective height of the pipe, taking into account the dispersion of emissions in the working area. Theoretical Part. The paper considers the dependences of the estimation of the initial rise of the gas jet, proposed by Berland, Holland, Briggs, and the specialists of the Tennessee Valley. The value of the initial rise of the impurity jet depends on the moment of the amount of gas movement, the thermal power of the wind speed carrying the jet, and the conditions of thermophoresis. The paper presents the comparative graphs of the calculation of the level of the initial rise of the gas jet at different rates of gas exit from the pipe and constant wind speed. Conclusion. The method of taking into account the initial rise of the heated gas jet gives us better convergence in the calculations of the maximum surface concentrations of harmful substances and in the estimation of distances to them.

Born Secret (Cash for Kryptonite) a field guide to the Anthropocene mode of production

The article offers a discursive complement to an audiovisual artwork created by the authors for the cultural program Mississippi. An Anthropocene River. It explores philosophical, technological, and political aspects of the modernization process that reshaped the landscape of the Tennessee Valley for the generation of hydroelectric power in the 1930s, laying the groundwork for the region’s integration to the continentalscale Manhattan Project in the following decade. Government management of scientific research and industrial production for military imperatives is identified as the origin of a characteristic Anthropocene mode of production which subsequently spread around the world, contributing decisively to the Great Acceleration of the global economy in the 1950s. Cast in the form of a “field guide” and addressed to a broad audience, the article suggests that sustained attention to anthropogenic patterns in any modernized landscape will reveal parallel developments of this mode of production.