Franklin County Research Articles

Formation and distribution of coal balls in the Herrin Coal (Pennsylvanian), Franklin County, Illinois Basin, USA

Large areas of concentrated coal balls (permineralized peat) up to 4 m thick obstructed longwall mining in the Herrin Coal at the Old Ben No. 24 mine. The largest coal‐ball area mapped contained >1500 m 3 ; several areas contained >400 m 3 of coal balls. In‐mine mapping established that there were two types of roof (freshwater and marine), and that the coal balls were spatially correlated with the marine roof units. Regional studies and local data revealed that the younger, freshwater Energy Shale (mud) originally covered all of the peat deposited at the mine, but the mud was locally removed during a period of erosion. The great majority of coal balls are found within the coal seam, where they were permineralized in situ by carbonates. Some coal balls are found exposed on the eroded coal surface and others are within the channel fill associated with the erosion, which predates any marine sedimentation. Thus, the mineralization of the coal balls was synchronous with the erosion of the Energy Shale mud. Data from C‐and O‐isotope, geochemical, and mineralogical analyses of coal balls and associated materials were used to refine a depositional model of coal‐ball formation. The concentrated coal‐ball areas were created by the triggered degassing of CO 2 from partially decomposed peat in the presence of cations from fresh waters; 13 C/ 12 C ratios in these coal balls average −23.9‰. 13 C/ 12 C ratios as low as −34‰ occurring in the most concentrated coal balls are consistent with CO 2 produced by anaerobic oxidation of methane. Top‐of‐seam coal balls were formed later and show slight to strong marine influence; their 13 C/ 12 C ratios average −10.8‰.

Telephone speech enhancement for elderly hearing-impaired listeners

Many elderly persons with high-frequency hearing loss find telephone use frustrating due to lower intensity levels and reductions in acoustical information that can be useful in deciphering speech. The purpose of this project is to pre-process the speech signal before it is sent over the phone line and provide speech enhancement without the use of amplifying handsets or hearing aids at the receiving end. The enhancement technique takes into account the limited bandwidth of the phone line as well as the hearing characteristics of the user. Two pre-processing schemes, a single channel and a double channel approach, used to increase the intelligibility of speech in these situations are discussed. The single channel method performs amplitude compression of the entire signal. The two-channel method filters the incoming signal into high-frequency and low-frequency channels and performs independent compression on each before recombination. Results comparing the two speech enhancement schemes against no processing for a group of elderly hearing-impaired subjects are presented. [Work supported by a grant from the Franklin County Office on Aging.]

Effects of a Replication of a Multicomponent Model for Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy In Three Kansas Communities

A significant amount of attention has been devoted to the complex issue of teenage pregnancy and to programs for reducing pregnancy among adolescents. Careful evaluations of such programs are needed to ascertain what strategies will be most effective at reducing teenage pregnancy. A pretest-posttest comparison group design was used to analyze the effects of a comprehensive multicomponent school and community intervention on estimated pregnancy rates and birthrates among young people in three Kansas communities: Geary County, Franklin County and selected neighborhoods of Wichita. There were high levels of program activity in all three communities during the intervention period, including teacher training and sexuality education for students. Survey respondents rated highly such project interventions as the extension of school-linked clinic hours to accommodate student schedules and support groups established in middle schools. Between 1994 and 1997, the proportions of adolescents reporting that they had ever had sex decreased significantly among all ninth and 10th graders in Geary County, from 51% to 38% among females and from 63% to 43% among males. In Franklin County, more males in grades 11 and 12 reported using condoms in 1996 (55%) than had done so in 1994 (39%). Age at first intercourse remained relatively stable in Franklin and Geary counties during the intervention period. The estimated pregnancy rate among adolescents aged 14-17 decreased between 1994 and 1997 in Geary Country, while it increased in comparison areas. The estimated pregnancy rates among 14-17-year-olds decreased in both Franklin County and its comparison communities. The birthrate declined both in one target area of Wichita and in its comparison area from 1991-1993 to 1994-1996. Over the same time period, the birthrate increased in a second target area of Wichita, while it decreased in the comparison community. This evaluation of a comprehensive multicomponent program for adolescent pregnancy prevention contributes to our understanding of this model and its replicability in diverse communities. Ongoing program evaluation is important for developing initiatives and for refining strategies so they respond to local conditions.

Gender and Individual Access to Urban Opportunities: A Study Using Space–Time Measures

Conventional accessibility measures based on the notion of locational proximity ignore the role of complex travel behavior and space–time constraints in determining individual accessibility. As these factors are especially significant in women's everyday lives, all conventional accessibility measures suffer from an inherent “gender bias.” This study conceptualizes individual accessibility as space–time feasibility and provides formulations of accessibility measures based on the space–time prism construct. Using a subsample of European Americans from a travel diary data set collected in Franklin County, Ohio, space–time accessibility measures are implemented with a network-based GIS method. Results of the study indicate that women have lower levels of individual access to urban opportunities when compared to men, although there is no difference in the types of opportunities and areas they can reach given their space–time constraints. Further, individual accessibility has no relationship with the length of the commute trip, suggesting that the journey to work may not be an appropriate measure of job access.

Busing, "White Flight," and the Role of Developers in the Continuous Suburbanization of Franklin County, Ohio

This study explores the conflicts surrounding school desegregation in Franklin County, Ohio, and how they have been resolved in a way that has facilitated a continuation of suburban residential development despite ongoing resistance to growth from local residents. One condition that has proven important in this case is the existence of developable areas within the city of Columbus that are in suburban school districts."White flight" from the desegregating Columbus School District mainly has been confined to these areas, provoking resistance from existing residents and calls for impact fees, calls that have been opposed by developer interests. The author discusses the ways in which developer interests have exploited the intense jurisdictional fragmentation of the metropolitan area to overcome obstacles to further residential development in suburban areas.

An improved technique for modeling initial reservoir hydrocarbon saturation distributions: applications in Illinois (USA) Aux Vases oil reservoirs

An improved technique for modeling the initial reservoir hydrocarbon saturation distributions is presented. In contrast to the Leverett J-function approach, this methodology (hereby termed flow-unit-derived initial oil saturation or FUSOI) determines the distributions of the initial oil saturations from a measure of the mean hydraulic radius, referred to as the flow zone indicator (FZI). FZI is derived from porosity and permeability data. In the FUSOI approach, capillary pressure parameters, S wir, P d, and λ, derived from the Brooks and Corey (1966) model [Brooks, R.H., Corey, A.T., 1966. Hydraulic properties of porous media, Hydrology Papers, Colorado State Univ., Ft. Collins, No. 3, March.], are correlated to the FZI. Subsequent applications of these parameters then permit the computation of improved hydrocarbon saturations as functions of FZI and height above the free water level (FWL). This technique has been successfully applied in the Mississippian Aux Vases Sandstone reservoirs of the Illinois Basin (USA). The Aux Vases Zeigler field (Franklin County, IL, USA) was selected for a field-wide validation of this FUSOI approach because of the availability of published studies. With the initial oil saturations determined on a depth-by-depth basis in cored wells, it was possible to geostatistically determine the three-dimensional (3-D) distributions of initial oil saturations in the Zeigler field. The original oil-in-place (OOIP), computed from the detailed initialization of the 3-D reservoir simulation model of the Zeigler field, was found to be within 5.6% of the result from a rigorous material balance method.

Temporary vehicle impoundment in Ohio: a replication and confirmation

Driving while suspended by individuals who have been convicted of an impaired driving offense is a significant highway safety problem. Such offenders present four times the risk of involvement in a fatal crash at a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.10. A previous report by the authors demonstrated that a vehicle immobilization program in Franklin County (Columbus), Ohio, significantly reduced driving-under-the-influence (DUI) recidivism rates for multiple DUI offenders. This study evaluated a somewhat different application of the same law in Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio, where vehicles were impounded rather than immobilized, and obtained similar results—a reduction in repeat DUI offenses by multiple offenders both while their vehicles were being held by the police and after they were returned to the offenders.

Renewed interest in the vascular plants of Franklin County, Ohio (U.S.A.), 1882‐1899

SummaryLowden, R. M.: Renewed interest in the vascular plants of Franklin County, Ohio (U.S.A.), 1882‐1899. – Taxon 47: 647‐656. 1998. – ISSN 0040‐0262.During the last two decades of the 19th century a great deal of plant collecting occurred in Franklin County, led by the Columbus Horticultural Society, the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station (Columbus), and the newly formed Botany Department at the Ohio State University. A number of botanical enthusiasts and students dedicated themselves to collecting and recording plant data for a county flora, whose specimens contributed significantly to the initial formation of the herbarium at the Ohio State University. Moses Craig and Augustine D. Selby were responsible for the preparation of preliminary treatments for a vascular flora of Franklin County. 22 plants are treated as introduced in the 1880s on the grounds of the Sells Brothers Circus at Sellsville (on the west side of Columbus).

A New Station for Dicranopteris flexuosa in Franklin County, Florida

A New Station for Dicranopteris flexuosa in Franklin County, Florida

School-Based Sexuality Education: The Issues and Challenges

This commentary on the issues and challenges related to the provision of sex education in US schools opens by using a 1997 action of the Franklin County, North Carolina, school board as an example of the controversy. In this case, the school board ordered the removal of chapters on sex behavior, contraception, AIDS, and sexually transmitted diseases from its 9th grade health text book to comply with a new state law requiring public schools to teach sexual abstinence until marriage. While most US adults approve of sex education in schools, the abstinence-only movement has orchestrated a highly organized, successful campaign to remove information from schools and has garnered a $250 million commitment from the federal government to promote abstinence until marriage as part of welfare reform efforts. The commentary continues with a review of efforts to undermine sexuality education starting in the 1960s and sketches the current state of sex education efforts. The next section looks at the new strategy used by sex education opponents, which led them to refocus efforts on local school boards and state legislatures instead of national policies. Remaining topics include the other tactics used by sex education opponents, the heightened fear of teachers to discuss controversial subjects, the lack of teacher training to discuss sexuality, and the consequences of this situation in the classroom. Recommendations to redress this situation include improving professional training, forming local advisory committees, encouraging parental involvement, and promoting the benefits of comprehensive programs.

Recurrent pneumococcal bacteremia: 34 episodes in 15 patients.

Thirty-four episodes of pneumococcal bacteremia were identified in 15 patients over 5 years in 10 hospitals in Franklin County, Ohio. Twelve patients each had 2 episodes of pneumococcal bacteremia, 2 had 3, and 1 had 4. All patients had predisposing conditions, with lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease being the most frequent. The mean interval between the first and second episode was 268 days. Serotyping and genotyping were performed on 29 isolates. The same serotypic and genotypic patterns were found for sequential isolates from four patients; three of these patients had a recurrence between 22 and 90 days after a previous episode. Seven (24%) of the 29 isolates were serotype 23F; four isolates (14%) were not susceptible to penicillin. All of our patients received appropriate antimicrobial therapy and appeared to be clinically cured of their initial infection. For patients with recurrent pneumococcal disease, alternate preventive measures such as immunization with conjugate pneumococcal vaccine and/or prophylactic antibiotic therapy should be considered.

Evaluation of acrolein as a fumigant for controlling northern pocket gophers

Author(s): Matschke, George H.; McCann, Geraldine R.; Doane, Rebecca A. | Abstract: Baker Performance Chemical Incorporated entered into a cooperative agreement with the National Wildlife Research Center to evaluate acrolein as a fumigant for controlling northern pocket gophers (Thomomys talpoides). In October 1996, a 44.5 ha (110 acre) irrigated alfalfa hay field was selected as the study site in Franklin County, Washington. Eight treatment units (TUs), six fumigated, and two control, were established on the study site. On the six fumigated TUs, 58.9% of the sample plots were inactive, whereas, all sample plots (100%) on the two control TUs were active. The 58.9% mean reduction in pocket gopher activity on the six fumigated TUs was below the minimum efficacy standard of 70% established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 1982). Possible reasons for the pocket gophers surviving the acrolein treatment are discussed.

Franklin County individualized care case rate project.

Franklin County individualized care case rate project.

Riddell, Sullivant, and the early botanical exploration of Franklin County, Ohio, U.S.A. (1832‐1840)

SummaryLowden, R. M.: Riddell, Sullivant, and the early botanical exploration of Franklin County, Ohio, U.S.A. (1832‐1840). – Taxon 46: 689‐703. 1997. – ISSN 0040‐0262.Two frontier botanists, John Leonard Riddell and William Starling Sullivant, treated the vascular flora of Franklin County, Ohio, U.S.A., creditably despite the scarcity of proper books and the lack of opportunity to consult herbaria. Their vascular plant catalogues document the first species (and their habitats) discovered in this central Ohio county, now the site of the state capital. A list is presented of 24 vascular plant taxa first named and described from Franklin County.

PARTIES' EVALUATIONS OF THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR MEDIATORS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN A COURT‐CONNECTED MEDIATION PROGRAM

The Franklin County, Ohio, domestic court instituted a mediation program in 1989. An analysis was completed on data provided by a brief postmediation survey evaluating participants' mediation experiences. The data indicated that 63.3% of participants felt satisfied or very satisfied with the relationship they had with their mediators, and 51.6% of the participants thought they made progress in their mediation sessions. Multiple regression analyses were used to identify several factors associated with the parties' level of satisfaction with their mediator relationships and their assessment of progress in mediation. These analyses go beyond a descriptive reporting of the data and toward an exploration of the important antecedents of satisfaction and progress in divorce mediation. It is of interest to note that participants' gender and the cost of mediation were not related to the parties' assessments of progress and satisfaction.

Temporary vehicle immobilization: evaluation of a program in Ohio

Driving while suspended is a growing problem in most states. To deal with this problem, a number of jurisdictions are impounding and/or immobilizing the vehicles of driving while suspended or multiple driving under the influence offenders. This study evaluates the first 2 years of the implementation of this type of law in Franklin County (Columbus), OH. Variations in police enforcement and judicial sentencing policies resulted in some offenders, though eligible for impoundment or immobilization, not receiving the sanction. The recidivism rates of these offenders were compared with offenders who did receive a vehicle sanction. Tracking these two groups of offenders for up to 2 years demonstrated that the offenders who received the sanction had lower recidivism rates, both before and after they reclaimed their vehicles.

97/02490 The changing particle size distribution in micronized coal and micronized coal water mixture flames: Its influence on heat transfer

Stratigraphy, palynology, petrography, and geochemistry of the Bon Air coal from the Armfield, Dotson, Rutledge, and Shakerag mine sites of Franklin County, Tennessee suggest that Bon Air seams at all sites were small (≤ 1.0 mile, 1.6 km), spatially distinct paleomires that evolved from planar to domed within the fluviodeltaic Lower Pennsylvanian Raccoon Mountain Formation. Of observed palynoflora, 88–97% are from lycopsids prevalent in the Westphalian. Densosporites palynomorphs of small lycopsids (e.g., Omphalophloios) dominate at the shale-hosted Armfield site, while Lycospora palynoflora of large arboreous lycopsids (especially Lepidodendron, with lesser Lepidophloios harcourtii and Lepidophloios hallii) dominate where intercalated siltstone/sandstone/shale hosts the coal (all other sites). Palynoflora of other lycopsids (Sigillaria and Paralycopodites), tree ferns, seed ferns, small ferns, calamites, and cordaites are generally minor. Genera of clastic-associated Paralycopodites are most common in Shakerag's coal (≥ 10%), yet quite rare in Rutledge or Dotson coals. Overall, the palynomorph assemblages suggest that the Bon Air paleomires were forest swamps, and Early Pennsylvanian in age (Westphalian A, Langsettian).Dominant macerals at all sites are vitrinites, with fine collodetrinite (from strongly decomposed plant debris) more common than coarser collotelinite (from well-preserved plant fragments), and with lesser inertinites (fusinite and semifusinite) and liptinites (dominantly sporinite). Shakerag's coal has greatest abundance (mineral-matter-free) of collotelinite (up to 47%) and total vitrinite (74–79%) of any sites, but lowest liptinite (12–14.5%) and inertinite (7–11%). The Dotson and Rutledge seams contain moderate liptinite (21–23%) and highest inertinite (36–37%), lowest vitrinite (≤ 41%), and lowest collotelinite (13–15%). Armfield's seam has relatively high liptinite (26–28%) and vitrinite (56.5–62%), but rather low inertinite (12–15%). Moderately high ash (11.0–20.0%) and low to moderate sulfur (1.24% avg.) are typical, but ash may locally be up to 38% and sulfur up to 2.9%. Volatile matter (32.1–41.3%), calorific value (33.3–34.9 MJ/kg MAF), moisture (2.2–3.4%), and vitrinite reflectance (0.70–0.84% Rmax; 0.64–0.79% Rrandom) place the Bon Air's rank as high-volatile-A bituminous (hvAb).The Armfield coal was probably a channel-distal paleomire, perhaps an oxbow lake or floodplain depression, which domed and then subsided back to planarity prior to burial. Features of its basal and uppermost benches suggest low-lying, often-flooded (but periodically dry) mires marked by fluvial influxes and diverse lycopsid growth. These include variable inertinite, common palynoflora of both small lycopsids (Omphalophloios-like) and large arboreous ones (Lepidophloios and Lepidodendron), minor but significant palynoflora of subaerial levee or levee/mire transition species (especially Paralycopodites), moderate to high ash, variable sulfur, and elevated levels of commonly fluvial trace elements (e.g., Al, Cr, REEs, Rb, Sr, Th, V, Y, and Zr). These benches also contain high total vitrinite, high collotelinite/collodetrinite ratios, and clays with moderate to low kaolinite/quartz ratios, all consistent with the near-neutral pH and limited peat degradation that typify such planar mires. By contrast, middle benches at Armfield reflect mires domed above the land surface, less-often flooded, less-preservational, and of lower pH: coals have lower ash, vitrinite, and collotelinite, less palynoflora of both large arboreous lycopsids and Paralycopodites, and high proportions of kaolinite, liptinite, and Densosporites.Similar data at Shakerag suggest that its mire also grew from planar to domed. However, more abundant Paralycopodites, a kaolinite-poor but quartz-and-illite-rich underclay, benches alternately ash-rich and ash-poor, and an upper bench truncated by channel sandstone, suggest that it was channel-proximal and prone to intermittent clastics. It is unclear if it returned to planarity prior to burial. The mires at Dotson and (especially) Rutledge, with more ferns, more inertinite, less Paralycopodites and less vitrinite, were probably topographically elevated or protractedly domed mires, more vulnerable to drought or fire.

Predictors of Serious Violent Recidivism

Despite the growth in research on violent offenders, little is known about the existence of a career in violent crime. To fill the gap in the knowledge of violent offenders, the authors conducted a retrospective longitudinal study of all individuals arrested in Franklin County, OH, in 1973 for an FBI index violent crime. Those continuing in post-1973 criminal activities (as measured by an arrest) were not high-rate violent offenders; on the other hand, they maintained a higher than average amount of index violent and other violent criminal activity. They were arrested for a large number of serious crimes and committed a large number of the cohort's violent offenses. Contrary to expectations, many of these subjects seriously persisted in violent activities.

Effects of race and ethnicity on insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, and heart rate in three ethnic populations: Comparative studies in African-Americans, African immigrants (Ghanaians), and white Americans using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring

We sought to examine the association of insulin, insulin sensitivity, and blood pressure using ambulatory blood pressure monitor in three ethnically distinct populations. The study population comprised the following. Group 1 (n = 31): African-Americans; Group 2 (n = 27): recent African immigrants; and Group 3 (n = 31): white Americans who were residing in Franklin County, Ohio. Quantitative insulin sensitivity index (Si) was obtained using the minimal model method in both groups of African ancestry and white Americans. The mean insulin sensitivity index (Si) was similar in the African-Americans (3.23 +/- 0.47 x (10)-4 x [min-l x microU/mL (-1)])(-l) and African immigrants (2.53 +/- 0.27). However, these Si values were significantly (P < .01) lower in people of African ancestry than in white Americans (6.56 +/- 1.07). The mean systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rates (HR) during 24-h and daytime periods were not significantly different in the African-Americans and African immigrants. During the night, whereas the mean SBP was not different in the three groups, DBP and HR were significantly (P < .05) higher in both groups of African ancestry than in white Americans. However, we found no significant relationships among serum insulin levels, insulin sensitivity, and ambulatory blood pressure (systolic and diastolic and mean arterial pressure) and heart rates in any of the groups. In summary, our present study demonstrates that people of African ancestry manifest 1) significantly lower insulin sensitivity indices and 2) blunted physiologic reduction in nocturnal DBP and HR when compared to white Americans who reside in the same environment. We speculate that these chronobiological alterations in BP and HR in blacks appear to be genetically determined.

Urban Physicians

This study describes information sources used and preferred by urban physicians, with particular emphasis on their use of medical and health sciences libraries and end-user searching. To gather data, a mail survey of 300 Franklin County, Ohio, physicians was conducted. Major variables studied included reasons for library use, barriers to accessing information, and demographic information. Respondents reported satisfaction with the methods they are using to meet professional information needs. They are making good use of medical and health sciences libraries. These physicians value traditional library services, such as document delivery, reference assistance, and literature searches. They also reported very strong interest in access to electronic resources and search training.