Lived experiences of ‘peak water’ in the high mountains of Nepal and Peru

Peak water describes the hydrological response of glacier-fed rivers to climate change, indicating that warming first drives increasing discharge until a glacier mass loss threshold is surpassed and discharge falls below values observed prior to contemporary climate warming. Although the physical principles of peak water are well understood and accepted, there remains little empirical work evaluating how hydrological dynamics associated with peak water are experienced by residents of high mountain communities at the frontlines of glacial change. In response, this study—drawing on 160 household interviews, 34 key informant interviews, and 4 focus groups—uses a contextual vulnerability approach to characterize lived experiences of peak water in communities of the upper Manaslu region of the Nepal Himalaya and the Cordillera Huayhuash region of the Peruvian Andes. It problematizes characteristics of vulnerability postulated in the glacio-hydrological modelling literature by revealing unanticipated experiences of peak water dynamics on both the rising and falling limb of the peak water profile. The study complements existing glacio-hydrology literature, demonstrates the importance of social theoretical perspectives in the evaluation of human vulnerability to peak water, and provides insights that can help appropriately target scarce adaptation resources

Ice–ocean interaction and calving front morphology at two west Greenland tidewater outlet glaciers

Warm, subtropical-originating Atlantic water (AW) has been identified as a primary driver of mass loss across the marine sectors of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS), yet the specific processes by which this water mass interacts with and erodes the calving front of tidewater glaciers is frequently modelled and much speculated upon but remains largely unobserved. We present a suite of fjord salinity, temperature, turbidity versus depth casts along with glacial runoff estimation from Rink and Store glaciers, two major marine outlets draining the western sector of the GrIS during 2009 and 2010. We characterise the main water bodies present and interpret their interaction with their respective calving fronts. We identify two distinct processes of ice–ocean interaction which have distinct spatial and temporal footprints: (1) homogenous free convective melting which occurs across the calving front where AW is in direct contact with the ice mass, and (2) localised upwelling-driven melt by turbulent subglacial runoff mixing with fjord water which occurs at distinct injection points across the calving front. Throughout the study, AW at 2.8 ± 0.2 °C was consistently observed in contact with both glaciers below 450 m depth, yielding homogenous, free convective submarine melting up to ~200 m depth. Above this bottom layer, multiple interactions are identified, primarily controlled by the rate of subglacial fresh-water discharge which results in localised and discrete upwelling plumes. In the record melt year of 2010, the Store Glacier calving face was dominated by these runoff-driven plumes which led to a highly crenulated frontal geometry characterised by large embayments at the subglacial portals separated by headlands which are dominated by calving. Rink Glacier, which is significantly deeper than Store has a larger proportion of its submerged calving face exposed to AW, which results in a uniform, relatively flat overall frontal geometry

Feasibility study of ultrasound-guided resection of tongue cancer with immediate specimen examination to improve margin control - Comparison with conventional treatment

Objectives: Squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (SCCT) is preferably treated by surgery. Free resection margins (> 5 mm) provide local control and disease-free survival. However, close (1-5 mm) and positive margins (< 1 mm) are frequently encountered. We present our first experience of in-vivo ultrasound (US) guided SCCT resections followed by ex-vivo US control on the resection specimen to obtain free margins. We compare the results with those from a hisorical cohort of 91 conventionally treated SCCT patients. Materials and methods: Ten patients with SCCT were included in a consecutive US-cohort. We aimed for a 5-10 mm margin during surgery, while we visualized the resection plane on US. Ex-vivo US measurements on the resection specimen determined whether there was any need for an immediate re-resection. US measurements were then compared with histopathology. Histopathological margins were compared with a consecutive cohort of 91 patients who had undergone conventional surgery for a SCCT. Results: In the US cohort, 70% of the margins were free. In the conventional cohort, this figure was 17% (P = 0.005). US predicted minimal histopathological margin distance with a mean +/- SD error of 1.9 +/- 1.8 mm. The mean +/- SD of the histopathological overall submucosal/deep margin distance was 7.9 +/- 2.1 mm in the US cohort and 7.0 +/- 2.2 mm in the conventional cohort (P = 0.188). Ex-vivo examination through use of US indicated an immediate re-resection, which prevented local adjuvant treatment. Conclusion: Use of US-guided SCCT resection is feasible and improves margin control

Nationwide implementation of a decision aid on vaginal birth after cesarean:a before and after cohort study

Woman with a history of a previous cesarean section (CS) can choose between an elective repeat CS (ERCS) and a trial of labor (TOL), which can end in a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) or an unplanned CS. Guidelines describe women's rights to make an informed decision between an ERCS or a TOL. However, the rates of TOL and vaginal birth after CS varies greatly between and within countries. The objective of this study is to asses nation-wide implementation of counselling with a decision aid (DA) including a prediction model, on intended delivery compared to care as usual. We hypothesize that this may result in a reduction in practice variation without an increase in cesarean rates or complications. In a multicenter controlled before and after cohort study we evaluate the effect of nation-wide implementation of a DA. Practice variation was defined as the standard deviation (SD) of TOL percentages. A total of 27 hospitals and 1,364 women were included. A significant decrease was found in practice variation (SD TOL rates: 0.17 control group vs. 0.10 intervention group following decision aid implementation, p=0.011). There was no significant difference in the ERCS rate or overall CS rates. A 21% reduction in the combined maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes was seen. Nationwide implementation of the DA showed a significant reduction in practice variation without an increase in the rate of cesarean section or complications, suggesting an improvement in equality of care

Variable blood processing procedures contribute to plasma proteomic variability

Background Plasma is a potentially rich source of protein biomarkers for disease progression and drug response. Large multi-center studies are often carried out to increase the number of samples analyzed in a given study. This may increase the chances of variation in blood processing and handling, leading to altered proteomic results. This study evaluates the impact of blood processing variation on LC–MS/MS proteomic analysis of plasma. Methods Initially two batches of patient plasma samples (120 and 204 samples, respectively) were analyzed using LC–MS/MS shotgun proteomics. Follow-up experiments were designed and carried out on healthy donor blood in order to examine the effects of different centrifugation conditions, length of delay until first centrifugation, storage temperature and anticoagulant type on results from shotgun proteomics. Results Variable levels of intracellular proteins were observed in subsets of patient plasma samples from the initial batches analyzed. This observation correlated strongly with the site of collection, implicating variability in blood processing procedures. Results from the healthy donor blood analysis did not demonstrate a significant impact of centrifugation conditions to plasma proteome variation. The time delay until first centrifugation had a major impact on variability, while storage temperature and anticoagulant showed less pronounced but still significant effects. The intracellular proteins associated with study site effect in patient plasma samples were significantly altered by delayed processing also. Conclusions Variable blood processing procedures contribute significantly to plasma proteomic variation and may give rise to increased intracellular proteins in plasma. Accounting for these effects can be important both at study design and data analysis stages. This understanding will be valuable to incorporate in the planning of protein-based biomarker discovery efforts in the future

Moderate alcohol consumption lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis of prospective observational studies

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Meta-analysis of the relationship between alcohol consumption and coronary heart disease and mortality in type 2 diabetic patients

Aims/hypothesis: This systematic review examines the relationship between alcohol consumption and long-term complications of type 2 diabetes. Meta-analyses could only be performed for total mortality, mortality from CHD, and CHD incidence, because the availability of articles on other complications was too limited. Materials and methods: A PubMed search through to September 2005 was performed and the reference lists of relevant articles examined. Among the relevant articles there were six cohort studies reporting on the risk of total mortality and/or fatal and/or incident CHD in alcohol non-consumers and in at least two groups of alcohol consumers. Results: Statistical pooling showed lower risks in alcohol consumers than in non-consumers (the reference category). The relative risk (RR) of total mortality was 0.64 (95% CI 0.49-0.82) in the <6 g/day category. In the higher alcohol consumption categories (6 to <18, and ≥18 g/day), the RRs of total mortality were not significant. Risks of fatal and total CHD were significantly lower in all three categories of alcohol consumers (<6, 6 to <18 and ≥18 g/day) than in non-consumers, with RRs ranging from 0.34 to 0.75. Conclusions/interpretation: This meta-analysis shows that, as with findings in the general population, moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of mortality and CHD in type 2 diabetic populations. © Springer-Verlag 2006.

In situ ¹⁰Be modeling and terrain analysis constrain subglacial quarrying and abrasion rates at Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Isbræ), Greenland

Glacial erosion creates diagnostic landscapes and vast amounts of sediment. However, knowledge about the rate at which glaciers erode and sculpt bedrock and the proportion of quarried (plucked) versus abraded material is limited. To address this, we quantify subglacial erosion rates and constrain the ratio of quarrying to abrasion during a recent, ∼ 200-year long overriding of a bedrock surface fronting, Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Isbræ), Greenland, by combining 10Be analyses, a digital terrain model, and field observations. Cosmogenic 10Be measurements along a 1.2 m tall quarried bedrock step reveal a triangular wedge of quarried rock. Using individual 10Be measurements from abraded surfaces across the study area, we derive an average abrasion rate of 0.13 ± 0.08 mm yr−1. By applying this analysis across a ∼ 1.33 km2 study area, we estimate that the Greenland Ice Sheet quarried 378 ± 45 m3 and abraded 322 ± 204 m3 of material at this site. These values result in an average total erosion rate of 0.26 ± 0.16 mm yr−1, with abrasion and quarrying contributing in roughly equal proportions within uncertainty. Additional cosmogenic 10Be analysis and surface texture mapping indicate that many lee steps are relicts from the prior glaciation and were not re-quarried during the recent overriding event. These new observations of glacier erosion in a recently exposed landscape provide one of the first direct measurements of quarrying rates and indicate that quarrying accounts for roughly half of the total glacial erosion in representative continental shield lithologies.</p