Children’s understanding of natural hazards in Te Anau, New Zealand, following the 2003 earthquake.

A survey was undertaken at Te Anau Primary School seven months after the Mw 7.2 Fiordland earthquake of August 2003. The questionnaire was designed to assess children’s level of awareness, risk perceptions, factual knowledge and physical preparedness for hazards and mass emergencies (i.e. floods, earthquakes, snow and wind storms, and fires). It also assessed children’s prior exposure to specific hazards and to education programmes about hazards. Their responses were compared with those of children in other regions taking part in similar studies. Children identified earthquakes and building fires as the hazards most likely to affect them, with earthquakes most likely to occur in the future. About a half of the children reported some level of fear when talking or thinking about earthquakes and around 30% believed it would upset their parents. Parents, teachers and friends were only “somewhat” able to help children feel less upset. Almost all the children had felt the August 2003 earthquake or its aftershocks, with many also reporting seeing a house on fire or a wind-storm. The actions they took during the earthquake show that two thirds know the recommended safety actions for this situation. Most also know the correct actions to take if floods, house fires and wind-storms occur. Most of the children have participated in hazard education at school and have discussed it with parents, and many have practiced for an emergency at home. Recommended preparedness measures were variably reported by children, with most saying their households have items such as torches, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and first aid kits but fewer reporting strapping of water cylinders, correct storage of breakable items and stored food/water for three days. Te Anau children have reported similar to higher numbers of earthquake preparedness plans and practices compared with children from other regions

Earthquake history at the eastern boundary of the South Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

<p>At the eastern boundary of the south Taupo Rift, the NE-striking, rift-bounding Rangipo and the ENE-striking Wahianoa active normal faults intersect. We investigate their intersection at the Upper Waikato Stream to understand the kinematics of a rift termination in an active volcanic area. The Upper Waikato Stream Fault is a previously unrecognised seismogenic source also at the eastern boundary, capable of producing a <i>M</i>_W6.5 and up to <i>M</i>_W7.1 earthquake if it ruptures in conjunction with the Rangipo or Wahianoa faults. We found a minimum of 12 surface-rupturing earthquakes in the last 45.16 ka on the Upper Waikato Stream Fault (mean slip-rate c. 0.5 mm/yr), and a minimum of nine surface-rupturing earthquakes in the last 133 ka on the Wahianoa Fault (mean slip-rate c. 0.2 mm/yr). Periods of highest slip-rate on these faults may coincide in time with Taupo, Ruapehu or Tongariro eruptions, but, despite their intersection, movement was not coincident across all faults. The Upper Waikato Stream Fault responded to a major Taupo Volcano eruption, the Wahianoa to a major eruptive sequence from Mt Tongariro and the Rangipo to major explosive events from Mt Ruapehu.</p

ICORG 10-14: NEOadjuvant trial in adenocarcinoma of the oEsophagus and oesophagoGastric junction international study (Neo-AEGIS)

Background: Neoadjuvant therapy is increasingly the standard of care in the management of locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus and junction (AEG). In randomised controlled trials (RCTs), the MAGIC regimen of pre- and postoperative chemotherapy, and the CROSS regimen of preoperative chemotherapy combined with radiation, were superior to surgery only in RCTs that included AEG but were not powered on this cohort. No completed RCT has directly compared neoadjuvant or perioperative chemotherapy and neoadjuvant chemoradiation. The Neo-AEGIS trial, uniquely powered on AEG, and including comprehensive modern staging, compares both these regimens. Methods: This open label, multicentre, phase III RCT randomises patients (cT2-3, N0-3, M0) in a 1:1 fashion to receive CROSS protocol (Carboplatin and Paclitaxel with concurrent radiotherapy, 41.4Gy/23Fr, over 5 weeks). The power calculation is a 10% difference in favour of CROSS, powered at 80%, two-sided alpha level of 0.05, requiring 540 patients to be evaluable, 594 to be recruited if a 10% dropout is included (297 in each group). The primary endpoint is overall survival, with a minimum 3-year follow up. Secondary endpoints include: disease free survival, recurrence rates, clinical and pathological response rates, toxicities of induction regimens, post-operative pathology and tumour regression grade, operative in-hospital complications, and health-related quality of life. The trial also affords opportunities for establishing a bio-resource of pre-treatment and resected tumour, and translational research. Discussion: This RCT directly compares two established treatment regimens, and addresses whether radiation therapy positively impacts on overall survival compared with a standard perioperative chemotherapy regimen Sponsor: Irish Clinical Research Group (ICORG). Trial registration: NCT01726452 . Protocol 10-14. Date of registration 06/11/2012.</p

Additional file 1 of ICORG 10-14: NEOadjuvant trial in Adenocarcinoma of the oEsophagus and oesophagoGastric junction International Study (Neo-AEGIS)

Appendix A: Description of data: copy of consent form (DOCX 60 kb