Current knowledge on the Cuvette Centrale peatland complex and future research directions

CongoPeat Early Careers Researchers Group is a group of early career researchers who work directly or in partnership with the NERC funded CongoPeat project (NERC reference no.: NE/R016860/1; https://congopeat.net), which has provided the authors with full or partial financial and academic support.The Cuvette Centrale is the largest tropical peatland complex in the world, covering approximately 145,000 km2 across the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It stores ca. 30.6 Pg C, the equivalent of three years of global carbon dioxide emissions and is now the first trans-national Ramsar site. Despite its size and importance as a global carbon store, relatively little is known about key aspects of its ecology and history, including its formation, the scale of greenhouse gas flows, its biodiversity and its history of human activity. Here, we synthesise available knowledge on the Cuvette Centrale, identifying key areas for further research. Finally, we review the potential of mathematical models to assess future trajectories for the peatlands in terms of the potential impacts of resource extraction or climate change.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Current knowledge on the Cuvette Centrale peatland complex and future research directions

The Cuvette Centrale is the largest tropical peatland complex in the world, covering approximately 145,000 km2 across the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It stores ca. 30.6 Pg C, the equivalent of three years of global carbon dioxide emissions and is now the first trans-national Ramsar site. Despite its size and importance as a global carbon store, relatively little is known about key aspects of its ecology and history, including its formation, the scale of greenhouse gas flows, its biodiversity and its history of human activity. Here, we synthesise available knowledge on the Cuvette Centrale, identifying key areas for further research. Finally, we review the potential of mathematical models to assess future trajectories for the peatlands in terms of the potential impacts of resource extraction or climate change

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level.

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale. Objectives: To report the retinoblastoma stage at diagnosis in patients across the world during a single year, to investigate associations between clinical variables and national income level, and to investigate risk factors for advanced disease at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 278 retinoblastoma treatment centers were recruited from June 2017 through December 2018 to participate in a cross-sectional analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age at presentation, proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, and tumor stage and metastasis. Results: The cohort included 4351 new patients from 153 countries; the median age at diagnosis was 30.5 (interquartile range, 18.3-45.9) months, and 1976 patients (45.4%) were female. Most patients (n = 3685 [84.7%]) were from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, the most common indication for referral was leukocoria (n = 2638 [62.8%]), followed by strabismus (n = 429 [10.2%]) and proptosis (n = 309 [7.4%]). Patients from high-income countries (HICs) were diagnosed at a median age of 14.1 months, with 656 of 666 (98.5%) patients having intraocular retinoblastoma and 2 (0.3%) having metastasis. Patients from low-income countries were diagnosed at a median age of 30.5 months, with 256 of 521 (49.1%) having extraocular retinoblastoma and 94 of 498 (18.9%) having metastasis. Lower national income level was associated with older presentation age, higher proportion of locally advanced disease and distant metastasis, and smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma. Advanced disease at diagnosis was more common in LMICs even after adjusting for age (odds ratio for low-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 17.92 [95% CI, 12.94-24.80], and for lower-middle-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 5.74 [95% CI, 4.30-7.68]). Conclusions and Relevance: This study is estimated to have included more than half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017. Children from LMICs, where the main global retinoblastoma burden lies, presented at an older age with more advanced disease and demonstrated a smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, likely because many do not reach a childbearing age. Given that retinoblastoma is curable, these data are concerning and mandate intervention at national and international levels. Further studies are needed to investigate factors, other than age at presentation, that may be associated with advanced disease in LMICs

Past and present spatial patterning in the newly-discovered peat swamp forests of the central Congo Basin

Abstract redacte

Dissolved Inorganic and Organic Carbon in an Ephemeral Fresh Water Stream in Southern Arizona

We report on an initial long-term study of dissolved inorganic and organic carbon (DIC) from Sabino Creek, located in Sabino Canyon, Pima County, Arizona. The purpose of this study was to monitor changes in dissolved radiocarbon (14C) with time and to understand the processes contributing to these variations. Our results span the period 2009–2016 and show a mixing trend between dissolved inorganic and organic carbon modern end-members with an older component. This study provides preliminary information for more detailed research on recycling of organic components in this stream system.NSFNational Science Foundation (NSF) [EAR1313588]; European UnionEuropean Union (EU); State of Hungary; European Regional Development FundEuropean Union (EU) [GINOP-2.3.2.-15-2016-00009]Open access articleThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Measurements of I-129 in the Pacific Ocean at Scripps Pier and Pacific Northwest sites: A search for effects from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident and Hanford

Radionuclides from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were released directly into the ocean as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. This material became entrained in surface ocean currents and subsequently transported for great distances. In June 2011, a few months after the disaster, we began a surface ocean 129I monitoring program, with samples from Scripps Pier, La Jolla, California, USA, with the expectation that surface currents originating off the east coast of Japan would eventually carry radionuclides to the La Jolla site. After 7 years of ocean transport, a distinct signal has not yet arrived at Scripps Pier. We have however, recorded an interesting systematic seasonal 129I time series record that stems from surface circulation variations along the California coast. To provide a more comprehensive picture of the 129I budget in coastal surface waters off the west coast of the U.S., we also include 129I data from the Columbia River, and offshore sites along the coast of Washington State. Anthropogenic nuclides are carried by the Columbia River into the Pacific Ocean from the vicinity of the decommissioned Hanford nuclear facility. We find highly elevated 129I/127I values in the Columbia River, downstream from the Hanford site, but this anthropogenic 129I becomes significantly diluted once it reaches the Pacific Ocean. Nonetheless, its imprint persists in surface seawater off the west coast of the U.S. that has significantly higher 129I/127I levels than other surface sites in the Pacific Ocean.NSF [EAR1313588]; Taiwan, MOST [107-2116-M-002-001-MY3]; European Union; State of Hungary; European Regional Development Fund [GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00009]Open access articleThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]