Hydrological summary for the United Kingdom: July 2020

The monthly summary of hydrological conditions in the United Kingdom is compiled as part of the National Hydrological Monitoring Programme (a joint UKCEH and BGS enterprise). The report features contemporary data for rainfall, river flow, reservoir and groundwater levels in the form of maps and graphs. A commentary is provided on the status of the nation’s water resources and any notable hydrological events during the month. The National River Flow and National Groundwater Level Archives help provide an historical context for these contemporary assessments. Financial support for the production of the Hydrological Summaries is provided by Defra, the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Rivers Agency in Northern Ireland and the Office of Water Services

Hydrological summary for the United Kingdom: January 2020

The monthly summary of hydrological conditions in the United Kingdom is compiled as part of the National Hydrological Monitoring Programme (a joint UKCEH and BGS enterprise). The report features contemporary data for rainfall, river flow, reservoir and groundwater levels in the form of maps and graphs. A commentary is provided on the status of the nation’s water resources and any notable hydrological events during the month. The National River Flow and National Groundwater Level Archives help provide an historical context for these contemporary assessments. Financial support for the production of the Hydrological Summaries is provided by Defra, the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Rivers Agency in Northern Ireland and the Office of Water Services

Hydrological summary for the United Kingdom: May 2020

The monthly summary of hydrological conditions in the United Kingdom is compiled as part of the National Hydrological Monitoring Programme (a joint UKCEH and BGS enterprise). The report features contemporary data for rainfall, river flow, reservoir and groundwater levels in the form of maps and graphs. A commentary is provided on the status of the nation’s water resources and any notable hydrological events during the month. The National River Flow and National Groundwater Level Archives help provide an historical context for these contemporary assessments. Financial support for the production of the Hydrological Summaries is provided by Defra, the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Rivers Agency in Northern Ireland and the Office of Water Services

Briefing note. Severity of the February 2020 floods - preliminary analysis

The purpose of this Briefing Note is to highlight some of the key points from the monthly Hydrological Summary, and to provide some additional context beyond the space and format constraints of the Summary. Neither the Hydrological Summary nor this Briefing Note provide a fully comprehensive review of the severity of the February 2020 floods

Hydrological summary for the United Kingdom: November 2019

The monthly summary of hydrological conditions in the United Kingdom is compiled as part of the National Hydrological Monitoring Programme (a joint UKCEH and BGS enterprise). The report features contemporary data for rainfall, river flow, reservoir and groundwater levels in the form of maps and graphs. A commentary is provided on the status of the nation’s water resources and any notable hydrological events during the month. The National River Flow and National Groundwater Level Archives help provide an historical context for these contemporary assessments. Financial support for the production of the Hydrological Summaries is provided by Defra, the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Rivers Agency in Northern Ireland and the Office of Water Services

Relationship of television time with accelerometer-derived sedentary time: NHANES

CLARK, B. K., G. N. HEALY, E. A. H. WINKLER, P. A. GARDINER, T. SUGIYAMA, D. W. DUNSTAN, C. E. MATTHEWS, and N. OWEN. Relationship of Television Time with Accelerometer-Derived Sedentary Time: NHANES. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 822-828, 2011. Purpose: To examine the relationship of self-reported television (TV) viewing time with accelerometer-derived total sedentary time and to determine whether it differs by subgroup. Methods: Using data for adults (>= 20 yr) from the 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 nationally representative US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES; n = 5738), linear regression models examined the associations of categories of self-reported TV viewing time (< 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 95 h.d(-1)) with accelerometer-derived sedentary time (< 100 counts per minute; h.d(-1)). Spearman rho assessed the correlation between participants' rankings on the two measures. Analyses were stratified by gender, age, race/ethnicity, and, in the 2003-2004 NHANES cycle, by work status among working-aged adults (20-65 yr, n = 2069). Results: TV viewing time was significantly associated with sedentary time, with positive associations for all gender, age, race/ethnicity groups, and for those not working or working part-time, but not for those in full-time work. However, correlations between rankings of the measures were only "fair" overall (rho = 0.22) and were similar for all gender and racial/ethnic groups and for those of mid- and older age but not for those of younger age (20-39 yr, rho = 0.05). In the working-aged subgroup, there was also a fair correlation between the measures for those not working (rho = 0.22) but no significant correlation for those in part-time (rho = 0.14) or full-time work (rho = 0.03). Conclusions: Associations of TV viewing time with accelerometer-derived total sedentary time were statistically significant, but correlations were of only fair magnitude, and the strength of the relationship was not consistent across all population subgroups. These findings suggest that TV viewing time has an influence on overall sedentary time at a population level; however, measurement of sedentary time in other domains is also important

Adults' past-day recall of sedentary time: reliability, validity and responsiveness

Purpose: Past-day recall rather than recall of past week or a usual/typical day may improve the validity of self-reported sedentary time measures. This study examined the test-retest reliability, criterion validity, and responsiveness of the seven-item questionnaire, Past-day Adults' Sedentary Time (PAST). Methods: Participants (breast cancer survivors, n = 90, age = 33-75 yr, body mass index = 25-40 kg.m(-2)) in a 6-month randomized controlled trial of a lifestyle-based weight loss intervention completed the interviewer-administered PAST questionnaire about time spent sitting/lying on the previous day for work, transport, television viewing, nonwork computer use, reading, hobbies, and other purposes (summed for total sedentary time). The instrument was administered at baseline, 7 d later for test-retest reliability (n = 86), and at follow-up. ActivPAL3-assessed sit/lie time in bouts of >= 5 min during waking hours on the recall day was used as the validity criterion measure at both baseline (n = 72) and follow-up (n = 68). Analyses included intraclass correlation coefficients, Pearson's correlations (r), and Bland-Altman plots and responsiveness index. Results: The PAST had fair to good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.32-0.64). At baseline, the correlation between PAST and activPAL sit/lie time was r = 0.57 (95% CI = 0.39-0.71). The mean difference between PAST at baseline and retest was -25 min (5.2%), 95% limits of agreement = -5.9 to 5.0 h, and the activPAL sit/lie time was -9 min (1.8%), 95% limits of agreement = -4.9 to 4.6 h. The PAST showed small but significant responsiveness (-0.44, 95% CI = -0.92 to -0.04); responsiveness of activPAL sit/lie time was not significant. Conclusion: The PAST questionnaire provided an easy-to-administer measure of sedentary time in this sample. Validity and reliability findings compare favorably with other sedentary time questionnaires. Past-day recall of sedentary time shows promise for use in future health behavior, epidemiological, and population surveillance studies

Measuring older adults' sedentary time: Reliability, validity, and responsiveness

GARDINER, P. A., B. K. CLARK, G. N. HEALY, E. G. EAKIN, E. A. H. WINKLER, and N. OWEN. Measuring Older Adults' Sedentary Time: Reliability, Validity, and Responsiveness. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 43, No. 11, pp. 2127-2133, 2011. Purpose: With evidence that prolonged sitting has deleterious health consequences, decreasing sedentary time is a potentially important preventive health target. High-quality measures, particularly for use with older adults, who are the most sedentary population group, are needed to evaluate the effect of sedentary behavior interventions. We examined the reliability, validity, and responsiveness to change of a self-report sedentary behavior questionnaire that assessed time spent in behaviors common among older adults: watching television, computer use, reading, socializing, transport and hobbies, and a summary measure (total sedentary time). Methods: In the context of a sedentary behavior intervention, nonworking older adults (n = 48, age = 73 +/- 8 yr (mean +/- SD)) completed the questionnaire on three occasions during a 2-wk period (7 d between administrations) and wore an accelerometer (ActiGraph model GT1M) for two periods of 6 d. Test-retest reliability (for the individual items and the summary measure) and validity (self-reported total sedentary time compared with accelerometer-derived sedentary time) were assessed during the 1-wk preintervention period, using Spearman (rho) correlations and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Responsiveness to change after the intervention was assessed using the responsiveness statistic (RS). Results: Test-retest reliability was excellent for television viewing time (rho (95% CI) = 0.78 (0.63-0.89)), computer use (rho (95% CI) = 0.90 (0.83-0.94)), and reading (rho (95% CI) = 0.77 (0.62-0.86)); acceptable for hobbies (rho (95% CI) = 0.61 (0.39-0.76)); and poor for socializing and transport (rho < 0.45). Total sedentary time had acceptable test-retest reliability (rho (95% CI) = 0.52 (0.27-0.70)) and validity (rho (95% CI) = 0.30 (0.02-0.54)). Self-report total sedentary time was similarly responsive to change (RS = 0.47) as accelerometer-derived sedentary time (RS = 0.39). Conclusions: The summary measure of total sedentary time has good repeatability and modest validity and is sufficiently responsive to change suggesting that it is suitable for use in interventions with older adults

Evaluating model outputs using integrated global speleothem records of climate change since the last glacial

Although quantitative isotopic data from speleothems has been used to evaluate isotope-enabled model simulations, currently no consensus exists regarding the most appropriate methodology through which to achieve this. A number of modelling groups will be running isotope-enabled palaeoclimate simulations in the framework of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6, so it is timely to evaluate different approaches to use the speleothem data for data-model comparisons. Here, we illustrate this using 456 globally-distributed speleothem δ18O records from an updated version of the Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and Analysis (SISAL) database and palaeoclimate simulations generated using the ECHAM5-wiso isotope-enabled atmospheric circulation model. We show that the SISAL records reproduce the first-order spatial patterns of isotopic variability in the modern day, strongly supporting the application of this dataset for evaluating model-derived isotope variability into the past. However, the discontinuous nature of many speleothem records complicates procuring large numbers of records if data-model comparisons are made using the traditional approach of comparing anomalies between a control period and a given palaeoclimate experiment. To circumvent this issue, we illustrate techniques through which the absolute isotopic values during any time period could be used for model evaluation. Specifically, we show that speleothem isotope records allow an assessment of a model’s ability to simulate spatial isotopic trends. Our analyses provide a protocol for using speleothem isotopic data for model evaluation, including screening the observations to take into account the impact of speleothem mineralogy on 18O values, the optimum period for the modern observational baseline, and the selection of an appropriate time-window for creating means of the isotope data for palaeo time slices

Ebola virus epidemiology, transmission, and evolution during seven months in Sierra Leone

The 2013-2015 Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic is caused by the Makona variant of Ebola virus (EBOV). Early in the epidemic, genome sequencing provided insights into virus evolution and transmission and offered important information for outbreak response. Here, we analyze sequences from 232 patients sampled over 7 months in Sierra Leone, along with 86 previously released genomes from earlier in the epidemic. We confirm sustained human-to-human transmission within Sierra Leone and find no evidence for import or export of EBOV across national borders after its initial introduction. Using high-depth replicate sequencing, we observe both host-to-host transmission and recurrent emergence of intrahost genetic variants. We trace the increasing impact of purifying selection in suppressing the accumulation of nonsynonymous mutations over time. Finally, we note changes in the mucin-like domain of EBOV glycoprotein that merit further investigation. These findings clarify the movement of EBOV within the region and describe viral evolution during prolonged human-to-human transmission