Kerala floods in consecutive years - Its association with mesoscale cloudburst and structural changes in monsoon clouds over the west coast of India

Kerala, located at the southwest tip of India, witnessed disastrous floods during the monsoon seasons of two consecutive years, 2018 and 2019. This paper provides a detailed analysis of these two flood events using data from multiple sources. The unusually unstable and convective nature of the 2019 event, as detectable in its higher cloud tops and evidently fuelled by anomalously warm local sea temperatures, raises concerns regarding the changing patterns of rainfall over the southern parts of the west coast of India. Specifically, our analysis reveals that the flood of 2019 in Kerala satisfies the criteria for a mesoscale cloudburst (MsCB) event, more common in the north but a very rare and never before reported phenomenon in the Kerala region. Rainfall exceeding 50 mm in 2 h has been reported from many places between 8.00 and 22.00 UTC on the August 8, 2019. Satellite-derived rainfall and cloud microphysical parameters further reveal the uniqueness of the 2019 MsCB event. If 2019 is a harbinger of how global warming may continue to affect this region, transformations of the cloud structure and the recurrence and character of intense rainfall events could pose a major threat to the highly vulnerable Western Ghats ecosystems

What should be known prior to performing EUS?

Direct referral of patients for EUS - instead of preprocedural consultation with the endosonographer - has become standard practice (like for other endoscopic procedures) as it is time- and cost-effective. To ensure appropriate indications and safe examinations, the endosonographer should carefully consider what information is needed before accepting the referral. This includes important clinical data regarding relevant comorbidities, the fitness of the patient to consent and undergo the procedure, and the anticoagulation status. In addition, relevant findings from other imaging methods to clarify the clinical question may be necessary. Appropriate knowledge and management of the patients' anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy, antibiotic prophylaxis, and sedation issues can avoid unnecessary delays and unsafe procedures. Insisting on optimal preparation, appropriate indications, and clear clinical referral questions will increase the quality of the outcomes of EUS. In this paper, important practical issues regarding EUS preparations are raised and discussed from different points of view

Two new hemiurine species (Digenea : Hemiuridae) from Spratelloides robustus Ogilby (Clupeiformes : Clupeidae) off south-western Australia and records of Parahemiurus merus (Linton, 1910) from Australian and New Caledonian waters

Two new species of hemiurine hemiurid are described from Spratelloides robustus off Woodman Point in southern Western Australia. Hemiurus lignator n. sp. differs from its congeners by a combination of similar-sized suckers, long sinus-sac, tandem testes, relatively elongate shape and unthickened seminal vesicle wall. Parahemiurus xylokopos n. sp. differs from its congeners in a combination of its squat form, its distinctly lobed vitellarium and the proximity of the gonads to the ventral sucker. P. merus (Linton, 1910) is reported from Acanthopagrus australis, Pomatomus saltatrix and Trachinotus coppingeri off northern New South Wales, Caranx sexfasciatus, Scorpis lineolata, Siganus nebulosus, Thunnus tonggol and T. coppingeri off southern Queensland, Cephalopholis boenak and Euthynnus affinis off Heron Island, southern Great Barrier Reef, P. saltatrix off southern Western Australia and Priacanthus hamrur off New Caledonia

What should be known prior to performing EUS?

Direct referral of patients for EUS - instead of preprocedural consultation with the endosonographer - has become standard practice (like for other endoscopic procedures) as it is time- and cost-effective. To ensure appropriate indications and safe examinations, the endosonographer should carefully consider what information is needed before accepting the referral. This includes important clinical data regarding relevant comorbidities, the fitness of the patient to consent and undergo the procedure, and the anticoagulation status. In addition, relevant findings from other imaging methods to clarify the clinical question may be necessary. Appropriate knowledge and management of the patients' anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy, antibiotic prophylaxis, and sedation issues can avoid unnecessary delays and unsafe procedures. Insisting on optimal preparation, appropriate indications, and clear clinical referral questions will increase the quality of the outcomes of EUS. In this paper, important practical issues regarding EUS preparations are raised and discussed from different points of view