Spatial co-localisation of extreme weather events: a clear and present danger

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this recordExtreme weather events have become a dominant feature of the narrative surrounding changes in global climate. with large impacts on ecosystem stability, functioning and resilience, however, understanding of their risk of co-occurrence at the regional scale is lacking. Based on the UK Met Office’s long-term temperature and rainfall records, we present the first evidence demonstrating significant increases in the magnitude, direction of change and spatial co-localization of extreme weather events since 1961. Combining this new understanding with land use datasets allowed us to assess the likely consequences on future agricultural production and conservation priority areas. All land uses are impacted by the increasing risk of at least one extreme event and conservation areas were identified as hotspots of risk for the cooccurrence of multiple event types. Our findings provide a basis to regionally guide land use optimisation, land management practices and regulatory actions preserving ecosystem services against multiple climate threats.Welsh GovernmentHigher Education Funding Council for Wale

The benefits of fertiliser application on tree growth are transient in restored jarrah forest

The application of fertiliser, to both replace nutrients lost during mining and facilitate rapid vegetation re-establishment, is viewed as a key step in the restoration of post-mining landscapes. However, few studies have examined the long-term effects of a single initial fertiliser application on tree growth in restored sites. We report on a large-scale, fully replicated study that investigated the effect of an initial N and P fertiliser application (0, 80 and 120 kg ha−1 elemental N and P) on sites restored after bauxite mining. Growth of the two main jarrah forest tree species (jarrah - Eucalyptus marginata and marri - Corymbia calophylla) was monitored 9 and 20 years after the completion of restoration. After 20 years, soil NO3− and NH4+ were unaffected by N-application, although soil Colwell-P concentrations remained elevated following P-application. N-application had no effect on marri growth at either time interval, but increased jarrah diameter at breast height over bark (DBHOB), height and stand basal area at 9 years and DBHOB at 20 years. Applied-P increased height and DBHOB of jarrah after 9 years, but these effects did not continue. In contrast, applied-P benefitted marri growth (DBHOB and stand basal area) at both 9 and 20 years. Tree growth rates in the fertilised treatments declined more between the two-time intervals (0 – 9 years and 9 – 20 years) than the unfertilised plots, particularly for jarrah, suggesting that resource limits were reached more rapidly in the fertilised treatments. Further, for both N and P there was no additional benefit from application rates above 80 kg ha−1. These results demonstrate that while fertiliser addition may benefit initial growth in restored jarrah forest, the effects reduce with restoration age and may have limited practical benefit after 20 years

Feasibility of preoperative chemotherapy for locally advanced, operable colon cancer: The pilot phase of a randomised controlled trial

Summary: Background Preoperative (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy and radiotherapy are more eff ective than similar postoperative treatment for oesophageal, gastric, and rectal cancers, perhaps because of more eff ective micrometastasis eradication and reduced risk of incomplete excision and tumour cell shedding during surgery. The FOxTROT trial aims to investigate the feasibility, safety, and effi cacy of preoperative chemotherapy for colon cancer. Methods In the pilot stage of this randomised controlled trial, 150 patients with radiologically staged locally advanced (T3 with ≥5 mm invasion beyond the muscularis propria or T4) tumours from 35 UK centres were randomly assigned (2:1) to preoperative (three cycles of OxMdG [oxaliplatin 85 mg/m², l-folinic acid 175 mg, fl uorouracil 400 mg/m² bolus, then 2400 mg/m² by 46 h infusion] repeated at 2-weekly intervals followed by surgery and a further nine cycles of OxMdG) or standard postoperative chemotherapy (12 cycles of OxMdG). Patients with KRAS wild-type tumours were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive panitumumab (6 mg/kg; every 2 weeks with the fi rst 6 weeks of chemotherapy) or not. Treatment allocation was through a central randomisation service using a minimised randomisation procedure including age, radiological T and N stage, site of tumour, and presence of defunctioning colostomy as stratifi cation variables. Primary outcome measures of the pilot phase were feasibility, safety, and tolerance of preoperative therapy, and accuracy of radiological staging. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered, number ISRCTN 87163246. Findings 96% (95 of 99) of patients started and 89% (85 of 95) completed preoperative chemotherapy with grade 3–4 gastrointestinal toxicity in 7% (seven of 94) of patients. All 99 tumours in the preoperative group were resected, with no signifi cant diff erences in postoperative morbidity between the preoperative and control groups: 14% (14 of 99) versus 12% (six of 51) had complications prolonging hospital stay (p=0·81). 98% (50 of 51) of postoperative chemotherapy patients had T3 or more advanced tumours confi rmed at post-resection pathology compared with 91% (90 of 99) of patients following preoperative chemotherapy (p=0·10). Preoperative therapy resulted in signifi cant downstaging of TNM5 compared with the postoperative group (p=0·04), including two pathological complete responses, apical node involvement (1% [one of 98] vs 20% [ten of 50], p<0·0001), resection margin involvement (4% [ four of 99] vs 20% [ten of 50], p=0·002), and blinded centrally scored tumour regression grading: 31% (29 of 94) vs 2% (one of 46) moderate or greater regression (p=0·0001). Interpretation Preoperative chemotherapy for radiologically staged, locally advanced operable primary colon cancer is feasible with acceptable toxicity and perioperative morbidity. Proceeding to the phase 3 trial, to establish whether the encouraging pathological responses seen with preoperative therapy translates into improved long-term oncological outcome, is appropriate

From Romantic Gothic to Victorian Medievalism: 1817 and 1877

&quot;The Cambridge History of the Gothic was conceived in 2015, when Linda Bree, then Editorial Director at Cambridge University Press, first suggested the idea to us