Advances

Advances gives a glimpse of the many significant research projects at the university. Tell us about your discoveries. E-mail: wisweek@news.wisc.edu.

New studies to focus on water contamination
An estimated 35 percent of all drinking-water wells in Wisconsin contain arsenic and other toxic contaminants, particularly in the northeast and southeast parts of the state. Meanwhile, increasing demands on water supplies are driving researchers to investigate alternative methods for replenishing ground water.

The Water Resources Institute has received a federal grant of $85,000 to investigate these and other problems associated with the state’s water supply and quality. The grant will be supplemented with $170,000 in funds from the state and other sources.

This year’s projects focus on key water quality and quantity issues, including:

• Arsenic: Scientists are developing new methods for removing arsenic from ground water.

• Rain gardens: As demands on drinking water supplies increase, ground water withdrawals often exceed the rate at which the water can be replenished or recharged. Researchers are evaluating rain gardens, which are sunken gardens that individuals and businesses can build to receive storm runoff as a method for enhancing ground water recharge.

The WRI annually supports more than a dozen research projects, all focused on addressing problems of water supply and water quality at local, state, regional and national levels.

Neurosurgeon doubts safety of steroid use
The use of a powerful steroid to treat acute spinal-cord injury may cause more harm than good in many patients, and should not be recommended as a routine standard of care for patients with damaged spinal cords, says UW Health neurosurgeon Daniel Resnick.

Resnick and a national panel of leading neurosurgeons reviewed the evidence for and against the use of methylprednisolone, which has been commonly used in treating spinal-cord injuries since the early 1990s. The drug is believed to reduce swelling and subsequent damage to the cord after an injury.

Methylprednisolone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1990 for emergency treatment of acute spinal-cord injuries, and it is widely prescribed for that purpose. However, high doses often produce unwanted side effects, such as blood infection and pneumonia.

Resnick, assistant professor of neurosurgery, specializes in the treatment of complex spinal and nerve problems. He expects that the question of methylprednisolone use is likely to remain controversial until more research is done.

Running off at the farm
What goes in must come out, and in the case of phosphorus, too much has been going into cows through their feed and coming out on farmlands. New state and federal rules aimed at curbing runoff pollution are going to affect many farms.

Surveys show that phosphorus levels in most Wisconsin farm soils are too high, but proper whole-farm phosphorus management will allow most farms to meet the regulations, says Mark Powell, agroecologist, Dairy Forage Research Center.

Powell has studied how phosphorus management in one dairy-system component such as feed affects other system components (soils and crops), and how whole-farm phosphorus management can help producers comply with the new regulations. Powell says: “Feed consultants and veterinarians need to know that their dietary phosphorus recommendations could very well be the most critical element of a farmer’s ability to comply with nutrient management regulations.”