Sustainable Turf Management

Report completed by students enrolled in HORT 4061: Turfgrass Management, taught by Eric Watkins in fall 2014.This project was completed as part of a year-long partnership between the City of Rosemount and the University of Minnesota’s Resilient Communities Project (http://www.rcp.umn.edu). The City of Rosemount is home to more than 30 parks, yet has only four staff working to maintain them. With limited time and expertise to determine and respond to the unique needs of each park and recreation facility in the city, the Public Works Department had mostly standardized their maintenance techniques. The goal of this project was to identify more effective and efficient long-term maintenance techniques for parks within the City of Rosemount in order to better preserve its natural public spaces and promote active living as the population grows. In collaboration with Jim Koslowski, Public Works Supervisor for the City of Rosemount, and Tom Schuster, Parks Supervisor for the City of Rosemount, four teams of students in HORT 4061: Turfgrass Management analyzed the soil, plant species, and drainage patterns at four different parks—the Dakota County Technical College Ames Soccer Complex, Brockway Disc Golf Course, Innisfree Park, and Meadows Park—and provided recommendations for how best to restore and maintain turf at these facilities. A combined final report from the project including links to brief YouTube videos on each of the parks is available.This project was supported by the Resilient Communities Project (RCP), a program at the University of Minnesota that convenes the wide-ranging expertise of U of M faculty and students to address strategic local projects that advance community resilience and sustainability. RCP is a program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). More information at http://www.rcp.umn.edu

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Evaluation of prognostic risk models for postoperative pulmonary complications in adult patients undergoing major abdominal surgery: a systematic review and international external validation cohort study

Background Stratifying risk of postoperative pulmonary complications after major abdominal surgery allows clinicians to modify risk through targeted interventions and enhanced monitoring. In this study, we aimed to identify and validate prognostic models against a new consensus definition of postoperative pulmonary complications. Methods We did a systematic review and international external validation cohort study. The systematic review was done in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched MEDLINE and Embase on March 1, 2020, for articles published in English that reported on risk prediction models for postoperative pulmonary complications following abdominal surgery. External validation of existing models was done within a prospective international cohort study of adult patients (≥18 years) undergoing major abdominal surgery. Data were collected between Jan 1, 2019, and April 30, 2019, in the UK, Ireland, and Australia. Discriminative ability and prognostic accuracy summary statistics were compared between models for the 30-day postoperative pulmonary complication rate as defined by the Standardised Endpoints in Perioperative Medicine Core Outcome Measures in Perioperative and Anaesthetic Care (StEP-COMPAC). Model performance was compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROCC). Findings In total, we identified 2903 records from our literature search; of which, 2514 (86·6%) unique records were screened, 121 (4·8%) of 2514 full texts were assessed for eligibility, and 29 unique prognostic models were identified. Nine (31·0%) of 29 models had score development reported only, 19 (65·5%) had undergone internal validation, and only four (13·8%) had been externally validated. Data to validate six eligible models were collected in the international external validation cohort study. Data from 11 591 patients were available, with an overall postoperative pulmonary complication rate of 7·8% (n=903). None of the six models showed good discrimination (defined as AUROCC ≥0·70) for identifying postoperative pulmonary complications, with the Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia score showing the best discrimination (AUROCC 0·700 [95% CI 0·683–0·717]). Interpretation In the pre-COVID-19 pandemic data, variability in the risk of pulmonary complications (StEP-COMPAC definition) following major abdominal surgery was poorly described by existing prognostication tools. To improve surgical safety during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery and beyond, novel risk stratification tools are required. Funding British Journal of Surgery Society

Wave-equation angle-based illumination weighting for optimized subsalt images

A methodology has been developed for improving seismic depth images generated in areas of complex structure, such as subsalt. The main goal of the wave-equation angle-based illumination workflow is to calculate a set of illumination weight gathers and apply them to migrated field angle gathers. To obtain meaningful illumination weight gathers, it is important to use the field-acquisition geometry information, migration velocity models, and interpreted horizons. The workflow is model based and requires horizons conformable to real structure, preferably picked on the field seismic depth images. The workflow is implemented using one-way and two-way wave-equation methods and is tested on narrow-azimuth towed-streamer (NATS) and merged NATS with wide-azimuth towed-streamer (XWATS) data sets. The method weights down poorly illuminated areas while preserving strongly illuminated areas, which is opposite to the compensation methods. As a result, an overall improvement in seismic depth images can be observed, especially in subsalt areas. The impact of the workflow on improving well-tie estimation at the Thunder Horse subsalt development in the Gulf of Mexico is demonstrated. </jats:p

Q-compensation study at the Thunder Horse Field, Gulf of Mexico

The available seismic imaging methods are challenged by the presence of massive and complicated salt bodies. This complex overburden affects seismic wave propagation in many ways including attenuation. As a consequence, the amplitude and frequency of the recorded seismic data decay differentially with time and raypath. The differential attenuation lowers the seismic resolution and distorts the phase. </jats:p