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Journal articleBouverat C, Badjie J, Samateh T, et al., 2024,
Integrating observational and modelled data to advance the understanding of heat stress effects on pregnant subsistence farmers in the gambia.
, Sci Rep, Vol: 14Studies on the effect of heat stress on pregnant women are scarce, particularly in highly vulnerable populations. To support the risk assessment of pregnant subsistence farmers in the West Kiang district, The Gambia we conducted a study on the pathophysiological effects of extreme heat stress and assessed the applicability of heat stress indices. From ERA5 climate reanalysis we added location-specific modelled solar radiation to datasets of a previous observational cohort study involving on-site measurements of 92 women working in the heat. Associations between physiological and environmental variables were assessed through Pearson correlation coefficient analysis, mixed effect linear models with random intercepts per participant and confirmatory composite analysis. We found Pearson correlations between r-values of 0 and 0.54, as well as independent effects of environmental variables on skin- and tympanic temperature, but not on heart rate, within a confidence interval of 98%. Pregnant women experienced stronger pathophysiological effects from heat stress in their third rather than in their second trimester. Environmental heat stress significantly altered maternal heat strain, particularly under humid conditions above a 50% relative humidity threshold, demonstrating interactive effects. Based on our results, we recommend including heat stress indices (e.g. UTCI or WBGT) in local heat-health warning systems.
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Journal articleGenge M, Laurent V, Mason P, et al., 2024,
Learning and teaching geological field skills in a virtual world:insights from an undergraduate virtual fieldtrip in Kinlochleven, Scotland
, Earth Science, Systems and SocietyVirtual fieldtrips enable the teaching of field geology remotely or in classroom-settings by leveraging video-game technologies. Wedescribe the development of a virtual fieldtrip to Kinlochleven in Scotland to teach undergraduate students geological mapping skillsin a structurally complex, polyphase deformed metamorphic terrain. An area of ~4 km 2 of the Highlands was digitally replicatedwithin the game engine Unity and featured 82 outcrops digitized from field data by photogrammetry. Key concepts in thedevelopment were: (1) usability on low-specification computers, (2) participant communication within-app, (3) multiscalevisualisation of localities, (4) contextualisation of localities within terrain, and (5) a high degree of immersion to replicate theoutdoor fieldwork experience. Technology constraints, however, required compromise between the number of localities used andtheir resolution. Evaluation and assessment data suggests the virtual fieldtrip was effective in delivering the key learningobjectives of the course. Student behavioural indicators, furthermore, suggest that the immersive strategy successfully produceda high degree of engagement with the activity. A major limitation of the virtual fieldtrip was in the development of skillsrequiring spatial visualisation, in particular, the spatial association of features across multiple scales. The virtual fieldtrip hadbenefits for inclusivity, making fieldwork more accessible than its outdoor equivalent. However, a digital divide was observed toexist between groups depending on experience with gaming and virtual worlds. In addition, neurodiverse group of studentsrequired adaptations to assist with spatial awareness in virtual environments. The data obtained suggests that virtual fieldtripscannot fully replace their outdoor equivalents, however, they are valuable in supplementing and supporting outdoor fieldtrips, inparticular by increasing inclusivity and enabling field time to be used optimally.
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ReportJennings N, Lawrance E, Dorigatti I, 2024,
How does climate change affect people's health in the UK?
, Grantham Institute background briefing, Publisher: Imperial Grantham InstituteKey points• Climate change is already impacting the physical and mental health of people in the UK.• Health impacts include an increase in deaths during periods of extreme heat, an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder for people affected by flooding and an increased risk of certain infectious diseases including Lyme disease.• People aged over 65 years old, those on lower incomes, ethnic minorities and people with preexisting health conditions (e.g. heart disease) are at greater risk of these health impacts.• The health impacts of climate change will increase in the absence of sufficient mitigation of greenhouse gases and adaptation to a warming climate.This briefing outlines how people’s health is directly and indirectly affected by climate change and what can be done to reduce these impacts.
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Journal articleNathwani C, Blundy J, Large S, et al., 2024,
A zircon case for super-wet arc magmas
, Nature Communications, Vol: 15, ISSN: 2041-1723Arc magmas have higher water contents (2-6 wt.% H2O) than magmas generated in other tectonic environments, with a growing body of evidence suggesting that some deep arc magmas may be ‘super-wet’ (>6 wt.% H2O). Here, we use thermodynamic modelling to show that the behaviour of zirconium during magmatic differentiation is strongly sensitive to melt water contents. We demonstrate that super-wet magmas crystallise zircon with low, homogeneous titanium concentrations (75th percentile <10 ppm) due to a decrease in zircon saturation temperatures with increasing melt H2O. We find that zircon titanium concentrations record a transition to super-wet magmatism in Central Chile immediately before the formation of the world’s largest porphyry copper deposit cluster at Río Blanco-Los Bronces. Broader analysis shows that low, homogeneous zircon titanium concentrations are present in many magmatic systems. Our study suggests that super-wet magmas are more common than previously envisaged and are fundamental to porphyry copper deposit mineralisation.
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Journal articleAuestad H, Spensberger C, Marcheggiani A, et al., 2024,
Spatio-temporal averaging of jets obscures the reinforcement of baroclinicity by latent heating
, Weather and Climate Dynamics, Vol: 5, Pages: 1269-1286, ISSN: 2698-4016Latent heating modifies the jet stream by modifying the vertical geostrophic wind shear, thereby altering the potential for baroclinic development. Hence, correctly representing diabatic effects is important for modelling the mid-latitude atmospheric circulation and variability. However, the direct effects of diabatic heating remain poorly understood. For example, there is no consensus on the effect of latent heating on the cross-jet temperature contrast. We show that this disagreement is attributable to the choice of spatio-temporal averaging. Jet representations relying on averaged wind tend to have the strongest latent heating on the cold flank of the jet, thus weakening the cross-jet temperature contrast. In contrast, jet representations reflecting the two-dimensional instantaneous wind field have the strongest latent heating on the warm flank of the jet. Furthermore, we show that latent heating primarily occurs on the warm flank of poleward directed instantaneous jets, which is the case for all storm tracks and seasons.
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Journal articleSangkaew S, Tumviriyakul H, Cheranakhorn C, et al., 2024,
Unveiling post-COVID-19 syndrome: incidence, biomarkers, and clinical phenotypes in a Thai population
, BMC Infectious Diseases, Vol: 24, ISSN: 1471-2334BackgroundPost-COVID- 19 syndrome (PCS) significantly impacts the quality of life of survivors. There is, however, a lack of a standardized approach to PCS diagnosis and management. Our bidirectional cohort study aimed to estimate PCS incidence, identify risk factors and biomarkers, and classify clinical phenotypes for enhanced management to improve patient outcomes.MethodsA bidirectional prospective cohort study was conducted at five medical sites in Hatyai district in Songkhla Province, Thailand. Participants were randomly selected from among the survivors of COVID-19 aged≥18 years between May 15, 2022, and January 31, 2023. The selected participants underwent a scheduled outpatient visit for symptom and health assessments 12 to 16 weeks after the acute onset of infection, during which PCS was diagnosed and blood samples were collected for hematological, inflammatory, and serological tests. PCS was defined according to the World Health Organization criteria. Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify biomarkers associated with PCS. Moreover, three clustering methods (agglomerative hierarchical, divisive hierarchical, and K-means clustering) were applied, and internal validation metrics were used to determine clustering and similarities in phenotypes.FindingsA total of 300 survivors were enrolled in the study, 47% of whom developed PCS according to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition. In the sampled cohort, 66.3% were females, and 79.4% of them developed PCS (as compared to 54.7% of males, p-value <0.001). Comorbidities were present in 19% (57/300) of all patients, with 11% (18/159) in the group without PCS and 27.7% (39/141) in the group with PCS. The incidence of PCS varied depending on the criteria used and reached 13% when a quality of life indicator was added to the WHO definition. Common PCS symptoms were hair loss (22%) and fatigue (21%), while mental health symptoms were less frequent (insomnia 3%, dep
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ReportClarke B, Barnes C, Sparks N, et al., 2024,
Climate change key driver of catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Helene that devastated both coastal and inland communities
, Publisher: Centre for Environmental Policy -
Journal articleAliaga-Samanez A, Romero D, Murray K, et al., 2024,
Climate change is aggravating dengue and yellow fever transmission risk
, Ecography, Vol: 2024, ISSN: 0906-7590Dengue and yellow fever have complex cycles, involving urban and sylvatic mosquitoes, and non-human primate hosts. To date, efforts to assess the effect of climate change on these diseases have neglected the combination of such crucial factors. Recent studies only considered urban vectors. This is the first study to include them together with sylvatic vectors and the distribution of primates to analyse the effect of climate change on these diseases. We used previously published models, based on machine learning algorithms and fuzzy logic, to identify areas where climatic favourability for the relevant transmission agents could change: 1) favourable areas for the circulation of the viruses due to the environment and to non-human primate distributions; 2) the favourability for urban and sylvatic vectors. We obtained projections of future transmission risk for two future periods and for each disease, and implemented uncertainty analyses to test for predictions reliability. Areas currently favourable for both diseases could keep being climatically favourable, while global favourability could increase a 7% for yellow fever and a 10% increase for dengue. Areas likely to be more affected in the future for dengue include West Africa, South Asia, the Gulf of Mexico, Central America and the Amazon basin. A possible spread of dengue could take place into Europe, the Mediterranean basin, the UK and Portugal; and, in Asia, into northern China. For yellow fever, climate could become more favourable in Central and Southeast Africa; India; and in north and southeast South America, including Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. In Brazil, favourability for yellow fever will probably increase in the south, the west and the east. Areas where the transmission risk spread is consistent to the dispersal of vectors are highlighted in respect of areas where the expected spread is directly attributable to environmental changes. Both scenarios could involve different prev
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Journal articleCastrillejo M, Hansman RL, Graven HD, et al., 2024,
Comparability of radiocarbon measurements in dissolved inorganic carbon of seawater produced at ETH-Zurich
, Radiocarbon: an international journal of cosmogenic isotope research, Vol: 66, Pages: 1054-1063, ISSN: 0033-8222Radiocarbon observations (Δ14C) in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) of seawater provide useful information about ocean carbon cycling and ocean circulation. To deliver high-quality observations, the Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics (LIP) at ETH-Zurich developed a new simplified method allowing the rapid analysis of radiocarbon in DIC of small seawater samples, which is continually assessed by following internal quality controls. However, a comparison with externally produced 14C measurements to better establish an equivalency between methods was still missing. Here, we make the first intercomparison with the National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (NOSAMS) facility based on 14 duplicate seawater samples collected in 2020. We also compare with prior deep-water observations from the 1970s to 1990s. The results show a very good agreement in both comparisons. The mean Δ14C of 12 duplicate samples measured by LIP and NOSAMS were statistically identical within one sigma uncertainty while two other duplicate samples agreed within two sigma. Based on this small number of duplicate samples, LIP values appear to be slightly lower than the NOSAMS values, but more measurements will be needed for confirmation. We also comment on storage and preservation techniques used in this study, including the freezing of samples collected in foil bags.
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Journal articleMills MB, Both S, Jotan P, et al., 2024,
From tree to plot: investigating stem CO<sub>2</sub> efflux and its drivers along a logging gradient in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo
, NEW PHYTOLOGIST, Vol: 244, Pages: 91-103, ISSN: 0028-646X
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