Month Of August Research Articles

The 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season: An Above-Normal Season despite Strong El Niño Conditions

Abstract The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season was above normal, producing 20 named storms, 7 hurricanes, 3 major hurricanes, and seasonal accumulated cyclone energy that exceeded the 1991–2020 average. Hurricane Idalia was the most damaging hurricane of the year, making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in Florida, resulting in eight direct fatalities and 3.6 billion U.S. dollars in damage. The above-normal 2023 hurricane season occurred during a strong El Niño event. El Niño events tend to be associated with increased vertical wind shear across the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic, yet vertical wind shear during the peak hurricane season months of August–October was well below normal. The primary driver of the above-normal season was likely record warm tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs), which effectively counteracted some of the canonical impacts of El Niño. The extremely warm tropical Atlantic and Caribbean were associated with weaker-than-normal trade winds driven by an anomalously weak subtropical ridge, resulting in a positive wind–evaporation–SST feedback. We tested atmospheric circulation sensitivity to SSTs in both the tropical and subtropical Pacific and the Atlantic using the atmospheric component of the Community Earth System Model, version 2.3. We found that the extremely warm Atlantic was the primary driver of the reduced vertical wind shear relative to other moderate/strong El Niño events. The concentrated warmth in the eastern tropical Pacific in August–October may have contributed to increased levels of vertical wind shear than if the warming had been more evenly spread across the eastern and central tropical Pacific.

First Record of the invasive Banded jewel cichlid Hemichromis elongatus (Guichenot, 1861) (Teleostei: Cichlidae) on Bangka Island, Indonesia

Abstract The introduction of non-native species into an ecosystem has been found to have a notable detrimental effect on the environment. Hemichromis elongatus, in particular, is recognized as one of the more problematic invasive species. In fact, Hemichromis elongatus introductions are linked to human activities, primarily associated with the aquarium trade. This study examines the presence of Hemichromis elongatus on Bangka Island, where it was inadvertently introduced into the aquatic environment by the indigenous population. During the field trip that we undertook between the months of August and September 2023, in the Jebus River, West Bangka Regency, we discovered at least one hundred live specimens of Hemichromis elongatus in a single round of sampling using the fish trap. This is a significant number that represents a significant level of invasion. However, invasive alien species are most harmful to freshwater ecosystems, which are prone to biodiversity loss. Due to this fact, it is strongly advised that the foreign fish and the effect they have on the ecology be continuously monitored.

Nursing Care For Patients With Stroke Victims: An Integrative Review

The study aims to analyze the nursing care offered to patients who have suffered a stroke; identify the main risk factors and forms of prevention; describe the main conducts adopted by the nursing team to patients suffering from a stroke. As a method, it is characterized as an integrative literature review study. The search was carried out during the months of July and August 2024, in the databases: Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval Online System (Medline), Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences ( Lilacs ), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Nursing Database (BDENF), National Library of Medicine (NLM/ PubMed ) and ScienceDirect . Using the combination of descriptors contained in the Health Sciences Descriptors ( DeCS ), the following descriptors were used in English, Portuguese and Spanish: “Stroke Vascular Accident” AND “Nursing Care” AND “Cerebrovascular Accident” in conjunction with the Boolean operator OR. Ten articles were selected. As a result, three categories were highlighted according to thematic similarity: Stroke (CVA) and risk factors; nursing care offered to patients who are victims of Stroke and the conduct adopted by the nursing team in the care of patients with Stroke. Finally, it is of great relevance to highlight the assistance to patients affected by Stroke, thus emphasizing that the nursing area is composed of professionals dedicated to offering assistance and care that aim at both the prevention of the disease, treatment, cure, and the rehabilitation of patients, providing quality assistance, applying conducts based on scientific knowledge

Monitoring Changes with Spatiotemporal Resolution in Land Surface Temperature (LST) Impact on Land Cover Around Al-Dora Refinery in Downtown Baghdad, Iraq

This study analyses the differences in temperature of the land surface across various land cover types and uses geospatial approaches to explore the changes that are taking place in the Dora refinery and its surrounding areas. Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS made use of Landsat imagery during the months of April and August in the years 2013 and 2023. ArcGIS 10.8 software was used to process the satellite images. The brightness temperature data from a satellite sensor was used to calculate the land surface temperature and the study's land cover classifications were created by applying supervised classification techniques.The aim of the study is to monitor the changes occurring in Dora refinery and its surrounding areas for periods of time 2013-2023 as a result of the influence of urban surface temperature , the growth and expansion that occurring in human activities and represented in the filtering and production of fossil energy and crude oil as well. The results of the investigation indicate an increase in the land surface temperature (LST) during the year 2023, in contrast to the year 2013, while we notice an increase in( NDVI ) in 2013 and a decrease in 2023, and a decrease in (NDBI) in 2013 and an increase in 2023. An inverse relationship was discovered between vegetated area and ( LST) between 2013 and 2023, whereas a positive relationship between (NDBI) and (LST) has been obtained suggesting an expanding surface urban heat island effect, as indicated by the correlation coefficients of statistical significance. It significantly affects how the land surface temperature varies. The main differences in the ways that land cover and use impact (LST) were also emphasized by this study during the whole duration of the inquiry, thus, methods for monitoring, examining, and assessing urban growth trends and their effects on land surface temperature can be achieved through the use of remote sensing and geographic information system tools.

First report of Trypoxylon clavicerum (Crabronidae: Hymenoptera) from the Indian subcontinent: its nesting behaviour and prey preference

Abstract A study was conducted to document the nesting behaviour and prey composition of a crabronid wasp, Trypoxylon sp. The wasp was molecularly characterised as T. clavicerum (NCBI Accession No. OQ913679.1). Nest acceptance rate was significantly higher in the reeds of Ipomea carnea (79.20%) and bamboo (84.80%). The mean number of brood cells (4.40 ± 0.89 cells/nest) and vestibular cells (1.06 cells/nest) built by the wasp was significantly higher in the reeds of I. carnea. Brood parasitisation by the nest parasite Amobia sp. was significantly higher in nests built by the wasp in paper straws (58.57%) compared to the nests built in the reeds of bamboo (23.33%). The mean durations of the egg, larval and pupal stages of T. clavicerum were 2.60 ± 0.55, 6.01 ± 0.71 and 4.80 ± 0.84 days. The number of nests recovered was observed to be the highest during the months of August (3.66 ± 1.53 nests), September (5.00 ± 4.36 nests), October (8.67 ± 2.89 nests) and November (6.00 ± 2.10 nests). The major species of spider from the occupied nests belonged to two families, viz. Salticidae (81%) and Oxyopidae (19%). During the nesting period the adult wasp provisioned a greater number of spiderlings (3.25 to 3.60 spiderlings/cell) than adult spiders (1.20 to 1.60 adult spiders/cell) to her brood. The time taken to complete a single nest provisioned with adult spiders and spiderlings (13.20 ± 6.83 hr/single nest) was significantly less than for the nests provisioned with adult spiders (46.80 ± 14.80 hr/single nest) only. This study is the first ever report of nesting behaviour and prey composition of the spider-hunting wasp T. clavicerum from India.

Analysing the Temporal Variation of \(ET_0\) and Water Requirement of Mustard (Brassica juncea L.) Over Different Agroclimatic Zones of Uttar Pradesh by Using CROPWAT

The agriculture sector is a major consumer of the water resource to fulfill the requirement of irrigation and its dependency on ground water is 70-90%. It is important to understand the crop water requirement to prepare a sustainable management of water resources. The Experiment was conducted for estimation of water requirement of Mustard crop and temporal variability of crop evapotranspiration for different Agroclimatic zones of Uttar Pradesh during time period (1992-2022). In this India Meteorological Department (IMD) Daily Gridded data (Maximum temperature, Minimum temperature and rainfall) is used and converted into Weekly, Monthly, Seasonally and Annually from Weather cock for run in the CROPWAT model which estimate the Reference evapotranspiration (ET0), Effective Rainfall, Crop water requirement and Irrigation water requirement. After that we analyze the trend by using Mann-Kendall test. The result of the experiment revealed that the Average maximum temperature was 32.13±0.37℃ and average minimum temperature was 18.96±0.35℃ average rainfall estimated 638.45±170.92mm. The monthly analysis of maximum temperature for 30 years data revealed that the month of January has lowest maximum temperature while May month observes highest maximum temperature for all the nine Agroclimatic zones of Uttar Pradesh and the lowest minimum temperature was in month of January in all the agroclimatic zones. The monthly analysis of rainfall for time period (1992-2022) showed that for overall Uttar Pradesh region July, August month receives the highest amount of rainfall, while November, December month receives lowest rainfall.

Ecological impacts on the distribution of Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica) in the lower Gangetic plains and its conservation challenges

Despite threatened status, the Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica) received insufficient attention in many habitats including the lower Ganges. In this study, through standardised monitoring programmes, we recorded the population and distribution of the species from a 100-km long stretch of the lower Ganges between January and December 2023. Important ecological parameters (e.g. fish abundance and water quality parameters) were also monitored to understand their effects on dolphin population in the river. Number of Ganges River dolphin varied over time (ANOVA: F11,88 = 10.9, p < 0.001) and space (F8,88 = 24.1, p < 0.001). Maximum number of dolphin was sighted in the month of August; whereas, the minimum was in February. Population of Ganges River dolphin was affected positively by fish abundance (LMM: F = 19.7, p < 0.001) and water transparency (F = 4.4, p = 0.042) and negatively by total dissolved solids (TDS; LMM: F = 13.5, p = 0.001). A range of challenges related to fishermen’s knowledge and attitude towards the Ganges River dolphin were identified. These include lack of awareness, high market demand and price for the species and negative attitude towards the species. Illegally harvested Vulnerable dolphins were sold only to produce dolphin oil to catch another Endangered fish species Clupisoma garua. The results of this study have conservation management applications and implications.

Assessing the Antibacterial Activity of Tridox Procumbens in Ethanol Extract

Introduction: An impressive number of modern drugs have been already isolated from these natural resources particularly of plant origin. The name Tridax refers to the three lobes of the ray flowers while procumbens refers to the prostrate, trailing habit of the stems. It is one of the essential ingredients in the most of the compound preparations of Ayurvedic literature. Tridax procumbens belongs to the Asteraceae family have been used from ancient times to treat wounds, skin diseases and to stop blood clotting in folk medicine. Objective: The current theme of this work is to estimate of the bacterial property of Tridaxprocumbent using agar well diffusion method. Method: Leaf extract of Tridax procumbens obtained by cold maceration process. Plants were collected from Madhavaram, Chennai, Tamilnadu in the month of august 2023. It is authenticated by Botanist and herbarium was prepared and deposited in the college museum. The ethanolic extract was examined against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas vulgaris by agar well diffusion method. The ethanol is used as control. The ofloxacin is used as standard. Conclusion: Tridax procumbens leaf extract terminates most propitious source. A systematic correlation between ethno pharmacological relevance and scientific evidence to provide proof of the importance of the plant to indigenous people as well as pharmaceutical industries.

Heat wave resilience in open Spaces: A case study of a Self-Sufficient cooling shelter

Climate change intensifies urban uninhabitability due to increasingly frequent heat waves. To alleviate it, climatic shelters emerge as an initiative for the research community, which should deepen the integration of technologies that use natural resources for cooling. This work aims to evaluate a novel climatic shelter by characterizing its thermal behavior through an experimental study at a bus stop. It has the capacity to alleviate the thermal stress of its occupants thanks to cooling modules. The results allow to determine the capacity of the natural water-cooling system and the level of thermal storage, allowing to quantify the impact on the citizen by means of the COMFA comfort index. It is corroborated that the chilled water temperature reduces the surface temperature by 15 °C. The installation reduces overheating caused by solar radiation by 75 % compared to traditional shelters. It also demonstrates energy and electrical self-sufficiency even during high intensity heat waves. The shelter maintains daytime water temperature between 18 and 25 °C, even in heat waves exceeding 7 days and 45 °C air temperature. The COMFA index has been reduced to values between 70 and 120 W/m2 in 90 % of the worst weather conditions in Csa climates by Köppen Geiger, for the months of July and August 2023.

Ionospheric signatures from 2 years continuous monitoring of the equatorial ionosphere over Nigeria with HF Doppler sounder

A receiver that measures and logs Doppler shifts of high frequency (HF) radio signals reflected from the ionosphere was installed in Lagos (geographic: 6.48°N, 3.27°E; dip latitude −4.66°), Nigeria in March 2011. However, continuous monitoring of the ionosphere was facilitated by the installation of a transmitter in Abuja (geographic: 8.99°N, 7.39°E; dip latitude 1.01°), Nigeria in July 2019, dedicated to transmitting HF signals for this remote sensing system. This provided the opportunity to study ionospheric signatures in HF Doppler data obtained from an equatorial location. This paper presents a summary of key findings from analysis of data from the instrument during the first 28 months of operation from July 2019 to November 2021. In this work, a statistical analysis of two main daytime features in the Doppler data is presented. The first feature is irregularities that appear as spreading of the Doppler trace, while the second feature is wave structures consistent with travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs). In order to highlight trends in the data, the events were separated into morning (occurring from sunrise to 1159 LT) and afternoon (occurring from 1200 LT to sunset) events. The results showed that occurrences of either type of features were more frequent during the afternoon compared with morning hours. The occurrences of irregularities that appeared as a spread in the Doppler trace peaked in the month of July in the morning, while, in the afternoon these occurrences peaked in the month of March. The duration of most of these irregularities was ≥60 min. A peak in occurrences of TIDs was observed in the morning and afternoon epochs during the March equinox. It was also observed that over 80 % of occurrences of spreading in the Doppler trace during the equinoxes were associated with the occurrences of TIDs. In the month of July, despite a paucity of TIDs, there was a peak in occurrences of spreading in the Doppler trace. Overall, the lowest number of occurrences of both types of features was recorded in the month of August. Detailed analysis of selected events showed that the morning occurrences of spreading in the Doppler trace were mostly remnants of post-midnight spread F, while the afternoon occurrences were due to either TIDs or severe E-layer irregularities. The results from this study show the potential of the low-cost HF Doppler instrument as a real-time monitor of space weather activity at equatorial latitudes. However, further work will be required to establish what percentage of daytime spreading in the F-layer is caused by the remnants of nocturnal plasma bubbles, TIDs, or irregularities in the E-layer.

Optimization of the Prehospital Model to Improve the Quality of Care in Patients Transferred between Hospitals

The objective was evaluate the effectiveness of the management of a prehospital model in improving the quality of care for interhospital patients, Metropolitan Lima-2023. Material and Methods: Retrospective observational study. It used secondary data from the national emergency and emergency center. In the population, 4,500 data from patients seen in the month of August 2023 and the sample of 354 patients seen in the month of August 2023 were considered, selected in a simple random manner. The technique was a documentary review of the data provided by the health center. Results. Conclusion: the management of the hospital model is significantly associated with the basic priority in the quality of care and with the conclusion of the quality of care; However, it is not associated with the response time of the quality of care.

Demographic Dividend and Life Skills in India

Abstract: The current population of India is 1,430,662,911 in the month of August, 2023 based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. India population is equivalent to 17.76% of the total world population. In India, almost 41% of the population was below the age of 20 years. They can utilize their potential to contribute to the economy’s growth by having a better primary, secondary and higher education system. Skill knowledge is very important to utilize their potential effects and it also increases productivity, which further helps in economy’s growth. Youth has a potential and power to change the world for the better. Harnessing the potential of youth for burgeoning economic opportunities is the role of key stakeholders. India has the largest youth population in the world; it becomes a dire need to focus on their development in this 76th year of India’s independence. The cut-throat competition, unemployment, lack of job security, etc. are some of the major concerns for the educated and as a result, they are caught in the mad race. Skill development is a crucial sector relevant to economic growth and reaping India’s demographic dividend. This new challenge requires immediate and effective responses from a socially responsible system of education. Education is important, but education to support and live life better is important, but life skills education bridges the gap between basic functioning and capabilities. Imparting life skill training through inculcating life skill education will help youth to overcome such difficulties in life. Keyword – Demographic dividend, Life skills

The Relationship Between Feeding Patterns and Stunting Incidents in Toddlers Aged 12-59 Months in the Working Area of the Jelbuk Jember Community Health Center

Background: The prevalence of stunting in Jember Regency according to SSGI in 2022 is still at 34.9%, which is the highest figure in East Java. From the results of a preliminary study conducted by researchers, it was found that 356 children (17.8%) were stunted in the weighing month of February 2023 and 381 children (18.46%) were stunting in the weighing month of August 2023. The diet of toddlers plays a very important role in the process. growth in toddlers, because food contains many nutrients. Objective: The aim of this research is to analyze the relationship between feeding patterns and the incidence of stunting in toddlers aged 12-59 months in the Jelbuk Community Health Center working area, Jember Regency. Method: The method in this research is quantitative correlational with an observational approach and a cross-sectional research design. The total sample was 95 respondents using cluster sampling techniques with the Slovin formula. The measurement instrument for this research uses the CFQ (Child Feeding Questionnaire) questionnaire, then assesses stunting in toddlers using microtoise measurements and converts it into a standardized value (Zscore) using the WHO-2005 anthropometric standards for toddlers. Results: The results of this study show that the majority of respondents have inappropriate eating patterns, 61 (64.2%) respondents, and the majority of respondents experience stunting, 65 (68.4%) respondents. The results of the Spearman's Rho statistical test show that the p-value value = 0.000 so there is a significant relationship between feeding patterns and the incidence of stunting in toddlers aged 12-59 months. Discussion: When mothers adopt an appropriate diet, the incidence of stunting in toddlers is lower, whereas when mothers adopt an inappropriate diet, the incidence of stunting in toddlers has the potential to increase.

The Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Pressure Injury among Adults at King Saud Medical City, Riyadh

Background: Pressure injuries rank among the top five most frequent causes of patient injury worldwide. Usually, these ulcers develop in the body's bony regions where there is a higher chance of pressure and tissue deformation. Pressure injuries are still a common and severely incapacitating ailment, even with advances in medical understanding and the development of efficient therapies and preventative measures. They result in large socioeconomic consequences since they place a heavy load on the healthcare system and the affected individuals. Objectives: To assess the occurrence rate, identify correlated risk factors, and analyze additional indicators related to pressure injuries diagnosed within the care units of King Saud Medical City throughout the study period. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken at King Saud Medical City in Riyadh during the months of August and September 2023. The study focused on patients with newly identified pre-existing pressure injury lesions. Demographic information and associated risk factors were recorded in the study's data extraction sheet after obtaining participants' consent to engage in the research. The study commenced following approval from the institutional review board of king Saud medical city research and Innovation center, Riyadh. The gathered data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 26. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were computed to assess the statistical association, using odds ratio. Significance of statistical association was assured and tested using 95% confidence interval and P-Value of < 0.05 is considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 250 patients with pressure ulcers were identified during the study period. Most of the study participants were male, and the mean age of the participants was 59.2 years. The prevalence of pressure injuries in the hospital units included in the study was 18.8%. The sacral region was the most affected site, with 121 patients (48%) having pressure injuries in that area, while 83 patients (33%) had pressure injuries in the gluteal area. The most frequently associated comorbidities were hypertension, present in 140 patients (56%), and diabetes mellitus, present in 123 patients (49.2%). Conclusion: The prevalence of pressure ulcers was high among admitted patients at King Saud Medical City, Riyadh. Primary prevention health promotion programs should be implemented to prevent the occurrence of pressure injuries in our healthcare facilities and the community at large.

Grass curing-driven fire danger index in a protected mountainous grassland using fused MODIS and Sentinel-2

ABSTRACT This study assessed the spatio-temporal variation of the degree of curing (DoC) in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park (GGHNP) from 2016 to 2020. The estimation of the degree of grass curing was carried out with the high spatial resolution fused remotely sensed data of MODIS and Sentinel-2 employing Index-then-Blend (IB) data fusion methods on Google Earth Engine (GEE) to compute Grassland Curing Index (GCI) using soil and vegetation moisture content indices-based grassland curing algorithm. Grassland curing indices were computed on Google Earth Engine and converted into Grassland Curing Maps (GCMs), which were then synthesized into fire danger maps. The study showed that all selected indices have the highest DoC in the month of September, with the minor time variation observed in MODIS and Sentinel 2-derived GCI estimated using Shortwave Infrared Water Stress (GCI_SIWSI) in the months of August and March, respectively. The analysis further revealed that GCI_SIWSI (44%) derived from Sentinel-2 data yielded the highest area of extremely high fire danger, followed by GCI estimated using Normalized Difference Moisture Index (GCI_NDMI) (25%) derived from fused data, MODIS-derived GCI_SIWSI and fused-derived GCI estimated using Global Vegetation Monitoring Index (GCI_GVMI) (both 16%). The GCI_SIWSI derived from Sentinel-2 data also showed that more than 95% of the entire landmass of the study area was within a high to extremely high fire danger zone, making the park’s vegetation susceptible to fire. Among all the four selected indices correlated against fire point, only SIWSI revealed a positive relationship across MODIS, Sentinel-2 and Fused data. It is also evident from the study that GCMs derived from Fused data outperformed MODIS and Sentinel-2 with the highest R2 and F values of 0.65 and 380, respectively. These results indicate that GCI derived from fused remotely sensed data is a promising GCI for accurately assessing the DoC over mountainous grassland environments. The study paved the way for increasing the spatial resolution for estimating the DoC for fire and fuel management of parks and other fire agencies within mountainous grassland environments.

Hypertension: An Instagram analysis

Background Hypertension (HTN) or high blood pressure exerts a significant public health burden on cardiovascular health status and healthcare systems in India. With the internet now being used to search for information about medical conditions and treatment, the aim of the study was to review the posts and videos related to hypertension on Instagram and to check their authenticity.Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional observational study was conducted over a period of one month in August 2022, in which posts under different hashtags related to hypertension were analyzed. Information related to the type of post, number of likes and comments, the type of information provided, and information about the uploaders were collected. The information provided in the posts was cross-checked according to WHO guidelines for hypertension.Results: Out of 600 posts only 404 posts (67.3%) were related to hypertension.Our study revealed that 311 posts (76.98%) regarding Hypertension on Instagram are true and 242 posts (59.9%) were posted by the healthcare and welfare Industry. Majority of the posts are related to prevention of hypertension.Conclusions: According to our research, 30% of Instagram posts are unrelated to the category they are under. People will become aware that not everything they see on Instagram is true or pertinent to the issue by recognizing such posts and statistics regarding the misinformation that is present there.

Impact of ambient temperature on light-duty gasoline vehicle fuel consumption under real-world driving conditions

The widening gap between real-world vehicle energy consumption and modeled predictions can be attributed to discrepancies between actual ambient temperatures and assumptions made in laboratory tests. This study collected a detailed, extensive dataset comprising 25,640,666 records of real-world vehicle operating (speed, acceleration, etc.) and fuel consumption data alongside 124,938 hourly meteorological profiles (temperature, relative humidity, etc.). High-resolution fuel consumption rates (FCRs) based on ambient temperature were developed, and adjustment factors were introduced based on ambient temperature and vehicle specific power (VSP) binning. Fuel consumption factors (FCFs) were compared across different temperatures by incorporating VSP distributions and the adjusted FCRs, revealing larger FCFs at extreme temperatures compared to moderate ones. Fuel consumption inventories, both with and without temperature adjustments, were evaluated. The results indicated a 6% underestimation of annual fuel consumption in Beijing when disregarding temperature adjustments. The variation was observed across months (in July and August, underestimations can reach 11%) and across VSP bins (larger impact in low VSP bins). The relationship between FCR and ambient temperature is similar to a quadratic curve, with the lowest consumption occurring at 10 °C–20 °C. The FCF adjustment factor does not vary across speed intervals in cold weather and remains stable at approximately 1.15 at −10 °C, but it drops from 1.25 to 1 as speed increases from 5 to 100 km/h in hot weather. This study underscores the importance of considering ambient temperature in vehicle energy consumption modeling and the necessity of temperature-adjusted approaches for accurate fuel consumption estimations.

Human Orthohantavirus disease prevalence and genotype distribution in the U.S., 2008–2020: a retrospective observational study

In the United States (U.S.), hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and non-HPS hantavirus infection are nationally notifiable diseases. Criteria for identifying human cases are based on clinical symptoms (HPS or non-HPS) and acute diagnostic results (IgM+, rising IgG+ titers, RT-PCR+, or immunohistochemistry (IHC)+). Here we provide an overview of diagnostic testing and summarize human Hantavirus disease occurrence and genotype distribution in the U.S. from 2008 to2020. Epidemiological data from the national hantavirus registry was merged with laboratory diagnostic testing results performed at the CDC. Residual hantavirus-positive specimens were sequenced, and the available epidemiological and genetic data sets were linked to conduct a genomic epidemiological study of hantavirus disease in the U.S. From 1993 to 2020, 833 human hantavirus cases have been identified, and from 2008 to 2020, 335 human cases have occurred. Among New World (NW) hantavirus cases detected at the CDC diagnostic laboratory (representing 29.2% of total cases), most (85.0%) were detected during acute disease, however, some convalescent cases were detected in states not traditionally associated with hantavirus infections (Connecticut, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Vermont). From 1993 to 2020, 94.9% (745/785) of U.S. hantaviruses cases were detected west of the Mississippi with 45.7% (359/785) in the Four Corners region of the U.S. From 2008 to 2020, 67.7% of NW hantavirus cases were detected between the months of March and August. Sequencing of RT-PCR-positive cases demonstrates a geographic separation of Orthohantavirus sinnombreense species [Sin Nombre virus (SNV), New York virus, and Monongahela virus]; however, there is a large gap in viral sequence data from the Northwestern and Central U.S. Finally, these data indicate that commercial IgM assays are not concordant with CDC-developed assays, and that "concordant positive" (i.e., commercial IgM+ and CDC IgM+ results) specimens exhibit clinical characteristics of hantavirus disease. Hantaviral disease is broadly distributed in the contiguous U.S, viral variants are localised to specific geographic regions, and hantaviral disease infrequently detected in most Southeastern states. Discordant results between two diagnostic detection methods highlight the need for an improved standardised testing plan in the U.S. Hantavirus surveillance and detection will continue to improve with clearly defined, systematic reporting methods, as well as explicit guidelines for clinical characterization and diagnostic criteria. This work was funded by core funds provided to the Viral Special Pathogens Branch at CDC.

The month of August - an Annales approach to the history of the Kowie: August 1881 to August 1914

The Annales is an internationally renowned French school of historical analysis founded by Lucien Febvre and Marc Bloch and brilliantly expounded by Fernand Braudel in his classic work on rhe Mediterranean and the Mediterranean world (first published in 1949). By its emphasis on history that happened off the beaten track, the' Annales lends itself particularly well to rhe study of a local community. Its aim is inter alia to capture a community's mentalité, namely its peculiar attitudes and ethos as shaped by even the most elemental facts of its existence, including its pattern of weather. This article is an effort to analyse the mentalité of the Eastern Cape coastal community of the Kowie (Port Alfred) over a period of more than thirty years.

Spawning migration and habitat characteristics of Labeobarbus species in the Gumara River and its tributaries, Lake Tana subbasin, Ethiopia

Information on the spawning migration and habitat use of migratory fish is critical to protect and restore threatened or endangered populations. Twenty-two individuals of three species, namely Labeobarbus platydorsus, L. megastoma, and L. truttiformis, were implanted with radio tags to study their spawning migration in the Gumara River and its tributaries between July and October of 2018 to 2021. Fourteen individuals were found at least twice throughout their migration, eleven moved upstream up to 41.0 and 44.4 river kilometers (rkm), and three were tracked when moving downstream. The upstream spawning movement of the tagged fish lasted 9 to 27 days, and their ground speeds ranged from 0.07 to 1.50 km h-1. The habitat use of untagged Labeobarbus specimens in the spawning sites was also assessed using fyke nets, cast net fishing, and data from fishermen’s catches. Labeobarbus truttiformis mainly exploited the Kizen tributary stream with gravel substrates and less turbid water for spawning. Several small-sized individuals of L. megastoma spawned in the Wonzuma and Dukalit tributaries. By contrast, larger-sized specimens of L. platydorsus and L. megastoma spawned in the main river channel at the riffles and the gravel/pebble size substrate. Destructive fishing using gillnet dragging, filtering, and damming/fencing has recently intensified at the spawning areas (~ 41.0 rkm to 45.0 rkm), which likely affects spawning populations. Therefore, we recommend that fishing in the main river channel and tributaries must be banned during the months of August, September, and October to safeguard and conserve the threatened Labeobarbus species.