Annual Totals Research Articles

Simulation and construction of the glacier mass balance in the Manas River Basin, Tianshan, China from 2000 to 2016

The glacier mass balance (GMB) is an important link between climate and water re-sources and has remarkable regulatory functions in river runoff. To simulate changes of the GMB and to analyze the recharge rates of glacier meltwater to runoff in the Manas River Basin (MRB) during 2000-2016, MOD11C3, TRMM 3B43 and other multi-source remote sensing data were used to drive the degree-day model. The results showed that: (1) the accuracy of the remote sensing meteorological data can be corrected effectively by constructing the temperature and precipitation inversion models, and the characteristics of glacial climate can be finely described through downscaling. The average annual temperature was −7.57 °C and the annual precipitation was 410.71 mm in the glacier area of the MRB. The zone at an altitude of about 4200 m was a severe climate change zone, and above and below that zone, the temperature drop rates were −0.03°C/100 m and −0.57°C/100 m, respectively, while precipitation gradients were −2.66 mm/100 m and 4.89 mm/100 m, respectively. (2) The overall GMB was negative with a cumulative GMB of up to −9811.19 mm w.e. and the average annual GMB fluctuated between −464.85 and −632.19 mm w.e. Besides, the glacier melted slowly during 2000–2002 and 2008-2010, but rapidly for 2002–2008 Sand 2010–2016, while the most serious loss of the glacier occurred in 2005-2009. Moreover, the vertical changes of the GMB increased at 244.83 mm w.e./100 m in the ablation zone but only at 18.77 mm w.e./100 m in the accumulation zone. (3) The intraannual runoff strongly responded to the change of the GMB especially in July and August when the loss of the GMB accounted for 75.4% of the annual loss, and when runoff accounted for 55.1% of the annual total. Due to differences in the annual precipitation and snow meltwater outside the glacier, the interannual glacier meltwater recharge rates fluctuated between 19% and 31%. The recharge rate of glacier meltwater to runoff in the MRB was close to that for other basins in the Tianshan Mountains, which may be used as a basis to confirm the reliability of the estimated GMB results. Furthermore, based on the present findings, it is recommended that the research community pursue studies on the GMB in other alpine river basins.

Documentation errors in transfusion chain: Challenges and interventions

Background and objectiveThere are several steps in transfusion chain where accurate documentation is critical. This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of documentation errors during transfusion process and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in error-management. Methods /MaterialThis study was conducted at Aga Khan University, Pakistan during 2016–2018. Transcription and bedside documentation errors were identified from in-house computerized system and from medical charts. Raw WBIT rate was calculated for repeat blood samples and adjusted for frequencies of ABO-groups in our population accounting for silent WBIT. Rate of ABO-mismatched red cell transfusions was calculated for the annual totals of red cell transfusions. Chi-square was used for observing relationship among errors of various data sets. ResultsA total of 43 WBIT was identified during 54,219 repeat blood samples where blood group was already defined in blood bank information system. Annual unadjusted and cryptic WBIT rate was consistent at 0.8 and 0.6 per 1000 samples respectively during 2016–2018 (p 0.859). There were 1161 transcription errors (1.1 %) in blood group documentation in 105,064 blood samples received for arranging blood products. ABO-mismatched transfusion rate was 0.9 for 10,000 RBC transfusions in pre- and decreased to 0.4 in post-typing era. Overall, the compliance for completing checklist, correct ABO technique and appropriate ABO-interpretation was 88 %, 40 % and 24 % in the reviewed medical charts. ConclusionsSample labeling errors were not improved through training or counseling. Bedside ABO-typing and checklist prior to blood transfusion can control the ABO-mismatched transfusion if done timely and correctly.

Thirty Years of Innocence

Systematic reporting of data about wrongful conviction cases in the United States typically begins with 1989, the year of the country’s first post-conviction, DNA-based exonerations. Year-end 2018 thus concludes a full thirty years of information and marks a propitious time to take stock. In this article, we provide an overview of known exonerations, innocence advocacy, and wrongful conviction-related policy reforms in the U.S. during these three decades. First, we provide a brief history of wrongful convictions in the U.S. before turning to the modern era of innocence. We describe the key sources of data pertaining to wrongful convictions and exonerations. Then, using case data from the National Registry of Exonerations, we offer a detailed analysis of national and state-by-state trends in exonerations, including annual totals, DNA- and non-DNA-exonerations, and capital case exonerations. Our examination includes factors corresponding to sources of error, state death-penalty status, and regional differences. We then discuss innocence advocacy organizations, with a particular focus on Centurion Ministries and members of the Innocence Network. This is followed by an examination of state-by-state trends in innocence-related policy reforms on key issues as identified by the Innocence Project. The final section of the article discusses the many important matters we do not yet know about wrongful convictions and poses thoughts, questions, and ideas for continued scholarship focusing on miscarriages of justice. The Appendix provides state-by-state summaries of select information relating to wrongful convictions and innocence reforms.

Temporal Changes in Mountain Slope Gradients in the Concentrations of Pollutants and Pb Isotope Ratios Near the Ostrava Conurbation (Upper Silesia, Czech-Polish Border)

The Upper Silesian basin belongs to the largest industrial pollution sources in Europe and the city of Ostrava ranks among the worst-polluted urban areas in the European Union. To assess temporal and spatial trends in atmospheric pollution, we determined concentrations of S, Pb, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sb, and Al in snow in downtown Ostrava and at the Lysa Hora Mt. (LH), situated 33 km southeast. Snowpack surfaces were sampled in February 2011/2012, 2018, and 2019. At LH, we collected snow samples at four elevations (700, 900, 1100, and 1300 m) in order to quantify mountain slope gradients in the pollution that, in turn, might reflect vertical stratification of air masses in a region frequently affected by temperature inversions. 206Pb/207Pb and 208Pb/207Pb isotope ratios and back trajectories of air masses were used for pollution source apportionment. In year 1, there were clear-cut upslope decreases in concentrations of soluble pollutants. By year 3, the concentrations of soluble pollutants at LH decreased by 90% and the concentration gradients ceased to exist. Because annual precipitation totals at LH increase upslope by 75%, rates of deposition of soluble pollutants are now higher at the summit than those at the foot of the mountain. Hydrological control of deposition rates of soluble pollutants thus plays a more important role under lower pollution levels. Concentrations of soluble pollutants in Ostrava were up to 36 times higher compared with those at LH and also decreased by 90%. Lead isotopes indicated the continuing presence of gasoline Pb in the atmosphere, despite its ban in 2000.

Projecting the future of rainfall extremes: Better classic than trendy

Non-stationarity approaches have been increasingly popular in hydrology, reflecting scientific concerns regarding intensification of the water cycle due to global warming. A considerable share of relevant studies is dominated by the practice of identifying linear trends in data through in-sample analysis. In this work, we reframe the problem of trend identification using the out-of-sample predictive performance of trends as a reference point. We devise a systematic methodological framework in which linear trends are compared to simpler mean models, based on their performance in predicting climatic-scale (30-year) annual rainfall indices, i.e. maxima, totals, wet-day average and probability dry, from long-term daily records. The models are calibrated in two different schemes: block-moving, i.e. fitted on the recent 30 years of data, obtaining the local trend and local mean, and global-moving, i.e. fitted on the whole period known to an observer moving in time, thus obtaining the global trend and global mean. The investigation of empirical records spanning over 150 years of daily data suggests that a great degree of variability has been ever present in the rainfall process, leaving small potential for long-term predictability. The local mean model ranks first in terms of average predictive performance, followed by the global mean and the global trend, in decreasing order of performance, while the local trend model ranks last among the models, showing the worst performance overall. Parallel experiments from synthetic timeseries characterized by persistence corroborated this finding, suggesting that future long-term variability of persistent processes is better captured using parsimonious features of the past. In line with the empirical findings, it is shown that, prediction-wise, simple is preferable to trendy.

Carbon footprint prediction of vehicle usage in Turkey

AbstractThe aim of this study was to determine the total level of vehicle‐based CO2 emissions for Turkey. Turkey was chosen for the case study because of the CO2‐intensive characteristics of vehicles in this country. Vehicle‐based emissions were calculated through use of a questionnaire survey. Total CO2 emissions were calculated for each province. It was evident that vehicle‐based CO2 emissions per capita varied from province to province, from 761 to 4 281 kg of CO2; an average of 2 728 kg per capita. The lowest level of vehicle‐based CO2 emissions occurs on a Sunday with a rate of 10.9%. An annual total of 217.77 Mt of CO2 is released to the atmosphere as a result of vehicle use in Turkey. Vehicle‐based CO2 emissions per capita were calculated to be 2 728 kg CO2 in 2016. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Precipitation trends in the island of Ireland using a dense, homogenized, observational dataset

AbstractA dense monthly precipitation dataset of Ireland and Northern Ireland was homogenized with several modern homogenization methods. The efficiency of these homogenizations was tested by examining the similarity of homogenization results both in the real data homogenization and in the homogenization of a simulated dataset. The analysis of homogenization results shows that the real dataset is characterized by a large number of, but mostly small, non‐climatic biases, and a moderate reduction of such biases can be achieved with homogenization. Finally, a combination of the ACMANT and Climatol homogenization results was applied to improve the data accuracy before the trend calculations. These two methods were selected for their proven high accuracy, missing data tolerance and ability to complete time series via the infilling of missing values before the trend calculations. Metadata were used within the Climatol method. To facilitate this analysis the study area was split into smaller climatic regions by using the Ward clustering method. Five climatic zones consistent with the known spatial patterns of precipitation in Ireland were established. Linear regression fitting and the Mann‐Kendall test were applied. Low frequency fluctuations were also examined by applying a Gaussian filter. The results show that the precipitation amount generally increases in the study area, particularly in the northwestern region. The most significant increasing trends for the whole study period (1941–2010) are found for late winter and spring precipitation, as well as for the annual totals. In the period from the early 1970s the increase of precipitation is general in all seasons of the year except in winter, but the statistical significance of this increase is weak.

Plane tree pollen season in Poland and Hungary in 2019 – why are the plane trees planted in cities so much?

Allergic diseases are considered as important human health issues as they substantially restrict many allergic people. Trees such as the plane tree can pose a certain threat to allergy sufferers. Due to the frequent planting of these trees in large cities, their pollen can affect the increase in the frequency of local allergy symptoms. This study compares the plane tree pollen seasons in Poland, in Bialystok, Bydgoszcz, Warsaw, Zielona Gora, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Opole, Olsztyn, Szczecin and in Hungary, in Budapest, Debrecen, Gyor, Kaposvar, Kecskemet, Miskolc, Nyiregyhaza and Pecs in 2019. The investigations were carried out using the volumetric method (Hirst type pollen sampler). Seasonal Pollen Index (SPI) was estimated as the sum of daily average pollen concentrations in the given season. The season ranges from March to May, depending on the geographical latitude. Diagnosis of plane tree pollen allergy is made difficult due to some cross-reactivity with birch, but also alder, hazel, hornbeam, oak, beech, sweet chestnut, and to some extent with grass pollen. In 2019 the pollen season of Platanus started first in Hungary, in Pecs on the April 1st; in Poland the pollen season started in Szczecin and Zielona Gora on the April 4th. At the latest, a pollen season ended in Poland, in Warsaw and Bydgoszcz until May 11th–12th, similarly in Hungary – until May 11th in Budapest and Kaposvar. The differences of pollen seasons duration were very considerable, from 15 to 40 days. Also the differences of the highest airborne concentration especially between both countries were extremely considerable (2105 pollen grains/m3 in Nyíregyháza and 3 pollen grains/m3 in Białystok. The maximum values of seasonal pollen count in Polish cities occurred between April 24th and May 1st, and in Hungarian cities between April 9th and 16th. The highest plane tree pollen allergen hazard occurred in 2019 undoubtedly in Hungary: in Pecs, Kaposvar and Nyiregyhaza, and was ten times higher than in Poland. The highest variability in the analysed seasons was found in the peak value and annual total.

Modeling fertilization impacts on nitrate leaching and groundwater contamination with HYDRUS-1D and MT3DMS

Agriculture is recognized as the major source of groundwater nitrate (NO3−) contamination; yet quantifying its effects is still challenging in large, due to the difficulty to track the transformation and fates of agricultural nitrogen (N) in soils and aquifers. In this study, a HYDRUS-1D model was adopted to explore water content and NO3− distribution in the unsaturated zone above groundwater table in an agricultural area. The resulting estimates of water flux and NO3− leaching through the unsaturated zone were used as input data in the application of the groundwater flow model Visual MODFLOW and mass transport model MT3DMS via a concentration recharge boundary. Nitrate leaching occurred mainly between May and September, accounting for 64% of the annual total. Four fertilizer application scenarios were developed, and their effects were compared in predictive simulations of groundwater NO3− concentrations using MT3DMS and quantitative analysis of NO3−-contaminated areas, the spatial and temporal distribution of groundwater NO3− concentration using ArcGIS. Predictions in the business as usual (scenario 1) showed that NO3− continued to accumulate in groundwater in the study area, with the maximum increased from 14 to 18 mg L−1 in 10 years. In the scenario 2 (2% increase in fertilizer application rate), peak groundwater NO3− was expected to exceed 20 mg L−1 in 2027. However, in both scenarios 3 (2% reduction in fertilizer application) and 4 (4% reduction in fertilization), the maximal NO3− concentrations were predicted to be lower than 12 mg L−1 in 2027. The integration of HYDRUS-1D, MT3DMS and GIS models offers a powerful tool for evaluating agricultural management impacts on aquifer water quality.

Global barchans: A distributional analysis

Analysis of Google Earth imagery shows that barchans have an uneven global distribution. Nevertheless, they are widespread, and found in many of the world’s deserts, as well as from some moist coastal areas. Most barchans occur in 11 main provinces, and some of these are great in extent and contain large numbers of individual dunes. These provinces are: Egypt and the Sudan, Namib, Peru, Somalia, Western Sahara, Iraq/Iran border, Baluchistan and Seistan, Eastern Arabia, Central Sahara, Mauritania, and the Hexi Corridor and neighbouring parts of China and Mongolia. While there is considerable variability of individual barchan dimensions in any one area, mean widths of barchans also vary substantially. The mean of means for all 54 locations is 121 m. Wind directional variability is a major control of their distribution, with nearly all locations having an index of directional variability between 0.7 and 0.97. Most barchans occur in dry locations, where vegetation cover is likely to be low, and with mean annual rainfall totals below 100 mm. A range of other controls account for barchan distribution at a variety of scales, including their location with regard to sand seas. Barchans occur in two main areas (1) on the margins of sand seas, and (2) in sand transport corridors linking sand source zones and depositional areas, especially downwind from source zones. It is also evident that barchans are present where sand is channeled along wind-fluted furrows or pours down gaps in escarpments and plateaux. Sand supply is an important control of their distribution.

RELATIONSHIP OF EL NINO/SOUTHERN OSCILLATION TO RAINFALL PATTERNS IN NIGERIA

This paper examines the relationship between El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and rainfall patterns in Nigeria. Annual rainfall totals, growing season rainfall totals and annual raindays of 27 Nigerian meteorological stations with varying lengths of records from 1903 to 2012 were collected from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET). Monthly Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) anomalies data over Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) were obtained from Climatic Prediction Centre (CPC). Kendall tau statistics and Step-Wise Multiple Regression model were used for data analyses. Results from this study showed that annual rainfall totals, growing season rainfall and annual raindays series exhibited a significant downward trend at most of the stations over the period of the study. It was observed that annual rainfall pattern changed from a positive pattern within 1931- 1960 period to a negative pattern within 1961-1990 period and then, to a positive pattern within 1991-2012 period. It was concluded that he alternating wet and dry patterns in inter-annual rainfall fluctuations and by extension, the droughts and floods over Nigeria within the study period, were caused by sea surface temperature anomalies over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The paper therefore concludes that SSTs should be integrated in the seasonal rainfall prediction models in Nigeria for an improved forecast. 
 Oladejo, K. M. | Department of Geography, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria

Análise da variabilidade da precipitação frente às mudanças no uso da terra no município de Tucuruí-PA

O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar as variações da precipitação e a dinâmica espacial do uso e cobertura da terra no município de Tucuruí, Pará, Brasil, no período de 1980 a 2015. Para isso, foram utilizados dados das estações meteorológicas do Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET) e da Agência Nacional de Águas (ANA). Para o estudo da precipitação no município foram utilizados testes de Mann-Kendall e Sen's Slope com nível de significância de 95%. Para compreender as mudanças da cobertura da terra na área de estudo, utilizou-se o modelo linear de mistura em imagens Landsat-TM 3, 5 e 8 segmentadas, para análise multitemporal das classes da cobertura da terra identificadas no município. Os resultados indicaram que não houve tendências nas séries dos totais anuais de precipitação (1980 a 2015). Porém, constataram-se significativas variações do regime de chuvas interanuais, com precipitação média anual de 2431.6 mm. Os dados indicaram sazonalidade caraterizada por duas estações distintas: (1) menos chuvosa, entre os meses de junho a novembro; e (2) mais chuvosa, entre os meses de dezembro a maio. O mapeamento mostrou diferentes classes de uso da terra no período estudado, no entanto, as classes da vegetação nativa, vegetação secundária, hidrografia e solo exposto apresentaram variação espaço-temporal não linear. Contudo, a classe do solo exposto exibiu um comportamento crescente desde 1980, com o início das obras da usina hidrelétrica. Em relação à precipitação anual do município, nota-se que não há relação direta com as classes do uso e cobertura da terra nos anos analisados.

Variations in extreme temperature and precipitation for a Caribbean island: Barbados (1969–2017)

Changes in temperature and precipitation can have direct effects on a country’s economic and sustainable development. This study presents the historical trends in daily extreme temperature and precipitation indices for Barbados, a Caribbean island, for the period 1969–2017. Linear trends were determined on monthly, seasonal, and annual indices derived from daily rainfall, and daily maximum and minimum temperatures collected at Husbands using the Mann-Kendall trend test and the Sen slope estimator. Annual precipitation total, the simple daily rainfall intensity index (SDII), and the total precipitation when daily rainfall was greater than the 95th percentile (R95P) changed significantly by 3.9% per decade, 0.38 mm day−1 per decade, and 2.9% per decade, respectively. Annual trends in mean maximum (TXmean) and mean minimum temperatures (TNmean), 0.06 °C decade−1 and 0.34 °C decade−1, respectively, mask stronger monthly warming trends: TXmean for September and October both warmed at a rate of approximately 0.17 °C decade−1 while TNmean for April warmed at 0.40 °C decade−1. In addition, warming manifests in the frequency of warm nights and cool days at rates of 4.23% per decade and − 2.34% per decade, respectively. Of the extreme temperature indices, the percentage of warm nights (TN90P), cool nights (TN10P), the maximum of the daily minimum temperature (TNX), and the minimum of the daily minimum temperature (TNn) show trends in their monthly indices. These trends indicate warming at Husbands, Barbados, to a greater degree in increasing nighttime temperatures than daytime temperatures.

Ground‐Based Observations Reveal Unique Valley Precipitation Patterns in the Central Himalaya

AbstractWhile the Himalayas act as a natural barrier to water vapor transport to the Tibetan Plateau, many north‐south‐oriented valleys channel moisture onto the Plateau. However, owing to the lack of in situ data, the spatiotemporal characteristics of precipitation remain unclear along these valleys. In this study, a high‐altitude (2,800–4,500 m above mean sea level) rain‐gauge network was established in the Yadong Valley, one of the main valleys in the central Himalayan Region (CHR). New observations from this network are used to evaluate the Integrated Multi‐satellitE Retrieval for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) precipitation product, with results demonstrating that the IMERG data can reproduce the seasonal and diurnal patterns of precipitation seen in the observational data. This combination of in situ and IMERG precipitation data reveals two unique characteristics in the CHR. First, precipitation during the premonsoon season (March‐May) contributes 20–40% of the annual total, from the high altitudes of the CHR to Southeast Tibetan Plateau, due to water vapor flux conveyed by southwesterlies from the Bay of Bengal, whereas this percentage is much lower in the northern Himalaya and South Asia. Second, diurnal variations in precipitation during the monsoon season (June‐September) vary between the low and high altitudes of the north‐south‐oriented valleys in the CHR: Precipitation at high altitudes has two peaks (one in the afternoon and the other at night), which is different from the single nighttime peak in low altitudes that is usually reported. These two notable spatiotemporal characteristics are indicative of the unique climate that exists at the high altitudes of the CHR.

Are insects declining and at what rate? An analysis of standardised, systematic catches of aphid and moth abundances across Great Britain

Although we have known anecdotally that insects have been declining in Great Britain for more than 100 years, insect declines have only been statistically estimated over the last 20 years. Estimation of the rate of those declines is still hotly debated, fuelled by a lack of standardised, systematically collected data.More than 24 million individual moths and aphids collected from 112 light traps and 25 12.2 m suction‐traps, respectively, were analysed using mixed models. Our objective was to estimate the long‐term trends in both groups based on annual totals recorded every year between 1969 and 2016.The models showed that two paradigms existed: Over 47 years, long‐term linear trends showed that moths had declined significantly by −31%, but short‐term trends indicated that there were periods of significant decline and recovery in most decades since the 1960s. Conversely, despite aphid annual totals fluctuating widely, this group was in a steady state over the long‐term, with a non‐significant decline of −7.6%. Sensitivity analysis revealed that moth trends were not driven by a group of abundant species, but the sign of the overall aphid trends may have been driven by three of the most abundant species.The spatial extent of moth trends suggests that they are extremely heterogeneous. Uniquely, moth declines were different among several habitat types, with robust significant declines found in coastal, urban and woodland habitats, but notably not in agricultural, parkland and scrubland habitats. Conversely, aphid trends showed spatial synchrony extending to 338 km, albeit with local variation.

Changes in the climatic growing season in western Anatolia, Turkey

AbstractIn this study spatial and temporal variations of climatic growing season parameters in western Anatolia, Turkey, during 1966–2015 are analysed. The beginning of the growing season (end of the growing season) for all threshold values of 5, 7 and 10°C is delayed (advances) from the southwest to the northeast over the study area. The growing season length (GSL) increases from northeast to southwest. The growing season start (GSS), growing season end (GSE) and GSL are strongly correlated with elevation, low‐elevation stations having earlier GSS, later GSE and longer GSL than stations at higher elevations. The regional average GSS shifted 7.3, 10.0 and 10.5 days earlier, while the regional average GSE moved 4.8, 6.1 and 6.2 days later, increasing the GSL by 12.0, 16.6 and 15.9 days for 5, 7 and 10°C, respectively. A comparison of mean values between subperiods documented significant changes at more than 50% of stations for GSS and GSL from the subperiod 1977–1997 to the subperiod 1998–2015 and almost no significant change between 1966–1976 and 1977–1997 for all thresholds. Correlation analysis showed that the East Atlantic Pattern was the main driver for GSS and the North Sea–Caspian Pattern for GSE, followed by the East Atlantic/Western Russia Pattern and the North Atlantic Oscillation, respectively. Monthly and annual precipitation totals and precipitation distribution within a year have not changed significantly, suggesting that air temperature has become more influential on GSS and GSE.

Measuring poverty with noisy and corrected estimates of annual consumption: Evidence from Nigeria

AbstractAn opportunity to improve measurement and modelling of poverty in Africa arises from recent intra‐year panel surveys that observe household consumption in post‐planting and post‐harvest periods. Observing the same household twice lets an intra‐year correlation be estimated, which can be used to form a corrected estimate of annual consumption. The usual approach surveys consumption for just one short period, like a week or month, and extrapolates to an annual total. This may adequately estimate mean annual consumption for samples spread over a year but overstates dispersion. The resulting noise in consumption estimates inflates measures of poverty and inequality and creates misclassification errors that bias logit and probit models of poverty determinants. This study uses data from the 2012/2013 Nigeria General Household Survey panel to show effects on poverty measures of using annual estimates extrapolated from short‐period surveys. With the corrected extrapolation method that uses intra‐year correlations to adjust for inflated variances, Nigeria's poverty headcount rate falls by one half. Hence, much of the poverty measured in cross‐sectional surveys is transient poverty, for which different policy interventions are needed than for alleviating chronic poverty.

Flash flood reconstruction in the Eastern Mediterranean: Regional tree ring-based chronology and assessment of climate triggers on the island of Crete

The past geomorphic activity of flash floods in the Eastern Mediterranean has been poorly understood. Despite the general increase in mean annual temperature and decrease in annual precipitation totals, intense rainfall during strong cyclogenesis is still expected under a changing climate. The aim of this study was to identify past flash flood events on the island of Crete (Greece) to (i) create a regional chronology of flash floods using dendrogeomorphic dating and (ii) describe climate triggers responsible for the most distinct events. The sampling of 398 trees and shrubs from eight catchments enabled the reconstruction of 76 flash flood events over 43 different years. The length of the chronologies ranged from 27 to 125 years, and the most distinct events were recorded in the 1993–94, 2000–01, and 2006–07. Significant differences (p < 0.00001) in the ages of sampled trees and the bark thickness among the catchments resulted in different lengths of chronologies and numbers of identified events. Records from selected rain gauges were used to identify precipitation patterns associated with flash floods. The low propagation velocities of cyclones originating south and west of Crete characterised the most distinct flash flood events, based on synoptic scale analyses.

Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme Annual Report, 2018.

The Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme (AGSP) has continuously monitored antimicrobial resistance in clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from all states and territories since 1981. In 2018, there were 9,006 clinical isolates of gonococci from public and private sector sources tested for in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility by standardised methods. This was the highest annual total of isolates tested since the inception of the AGSP. The current treatment recommendation for gonorrhoea, for the majority of Australia, remains dual therapy with ceftriaxone and azithromycin. Decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value ≥0.06 mg/L) was found nationally in 1.73% of isolates. The highest proportions were reported from Tasmania and non-remote Western Australia (7.3% and 2.1% respectively). In 2018 two extensively drug-resistant isolates were reported from Queensland patients. These two isolates, with ceftriaxone MIC values of 0.50 mg/L, high-level resistance to azithromycin (MIC ≥ 256 mg/L), and resistance to penicillin and ciprofloxacin were identified and reported to the World Health Organization as isolates of international significance. Resistance to azithromycin (MIC value ≥1.0 mg/L) was found nationally in 6.2% of isolates, lower than the 9.3% reported in 2017, but more than double the proportion reported in 2015 (2.6%). The highest proportions were reported from the Australian Capital Territory (8.7%), Victoria (8.3%), and New South Wales (6.5%). High-level resistance to azithromycin (MIC value ≥256 mg/L) was reported in nine isolates nationally in 2018: four from New South Wales, three from Victoria, and two from Queensland. The proportion of isolates resistant to penicillin in non-remote Australia ranged from 8.8% in non-remote Northern Territory to 44.1% in South Australia. In remote Northern Territory penicillin resistance rates remain low (1.9%), and higher in remote Western Australia (6.5%). The proportion of isolates resistant to ciprofloxacin in non-remote Australia ranged from 10.3% in non-remote Northern Territory to 48.3% in South Australia. Ciprofloxacin resistance rates remain comparatively low in remote Northern Territory (1.9%) and remote Western Australia (4.6%).

European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) and International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS) position statement on managing the menopause after gynecological cancer: focus on menopausal symptoms and osteoporosis

Worldwide, it is estimated that about 1.3 million new gynecological cancer cases are diagnosed each year. For 2018, the predicted annual totals were cervix uteri 569 847, corpus uteri 382...