Synoptic analysis of a decade of daily measurements of SO2 emission in the troposphere from volcanoes of the global ground-based Network for Observation of Volcanic and Atmospheric Change

Volcanic plumes are common and far-reaching manifestations of volcanic activity during and between eruptions. Observations of the rate of emission and composition of volcanic plumes are essential to recognize and, in some cases, predict the state of volcanic activity. Measurements of the size and location of the plumes are important to assess the impact of the emission from sporadic or localized events to persistent or widespread processes of climatic and environmental importance. These observations provide information on volatile budgets on Earth, chemical evolution of magmas, and atmospheric circulation and dynamics. Space-based observations during the last decades have given us a global view of Earth's volcanic emission, particularly of sulfur dioxide (SO2). Although none of the satellite missions were intended to be used for measurement of volcanic gas emission, specially adapted algorithms have produced time-averaged global emission budgets. These have confirmed that tropospheric plumes, produced from persistent degassing of weak sources, dominate the total emission of volcanic SO2. Although space-based observations have provided this global insight into some aspects of Earth's volcanism, it still has important limitations. The magnitude and short-term variability of lower-atmosphere emissions, historically less accessible from space, remain largely uncertain. Operational monitoring of volcanic plumes, at scales relevant for adequate surveillance, has been facilitated through the use of ground-based scanning differential optical absorption spectrometer (ScanDOAS) instruments since the beginning of this century, largely due to the coordinated effort of the Network for Observation of Volcanic and Atmospheric Change (NOVAC). In this study, we present a compilation of results of homogenized post-analysis of measurements of SO2 flux and plume parameters obtained during the period March 2005 to January 2017 of 32 volcanoes in NOVAC. This inventory opens a window into the short-term emission patterns of a diverse set of volcanoes in terms of magma composition, geographical location, magnitude of emission, and style of eruptive activity. We find that passive volcanic degassing is by no means a stationary process in time and that large sub-daily variability is observed in the flux of volcanic gases, which has implications for emission budgets produced using short-term, sporadic observations. The use of a standard evaluation method allows for intercomparison between different volcanoes and between ground- and space-based measurements of the same volcanoes. The emission of several weakly degassing volcanoes, undetected by satellites, is presented for the first time. We also compare our results with those reported in the literature, providing ranges of variability in emission not accessible in the past. The open-access data repository introduced in this article will enable further exploitation of this unique dataset, with a focus on volcanological research, risk assessment, satellite-sensor validation, and improved quantification of the prevalent tropospheric component of global volcanic emission

Illness severity and risk of mental morbidities among patients recovering from COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in the Icelandic population.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadObjective: To test if patients recovering from COVID-19 are at increased risk of mental morbidities and to what extent such risk is exacerbated by illness severity. Design: Population-based cross-sectional study. Setting: Iceland. Participants: A total of 22 861 individuals were recruited through invitations to existing nationwide cohorts and a social media campaign from 24 April to 22 July 2020, of which 373 were patients recovering from COVID-19. Main outcome measures: Symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder Scale) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; modified Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5) above screening thresholds. Adjusting for multiple covariates and comorbidities, multivariable Poisson regression was used to assess the association between COVID-19 severity and mental morbidities. Results: Compared with individuals without a diagnosis of COVID-19, patients recovering from COVID-19 had increased risk of depression (22.1% vs 16.2%; adjusted relative risk (aRR) 1.48, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.82) and PTSD (19.5% vs 15.6%; aRR 1.38, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.75) but not anxiety (13.1% vs 11.3%; aRR 1.24, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.64). Elevated relative risks were limited to patients recovering from COVID-19 that were 40 years or older and were particularly high among individuals with university education. Among patients recovering from COVID-19, symptoms of depression were particularly common among those in the highest, compared with the lowest tertile of influenza-like symptom burden (47.1% vs 5.8%; aRR 6.42, 95% CI 2.77 to 14.87), among patients confined to bed for 7 days or longer compared with those never confined to bed (33.3% vs 10.9%; aRR 3.67, 95% CI 1.97 to 6.86) and among patients hospitalised for COVID-19 compared with those never admitted to hospital (48.1% vs 19.9%; aRR 2.72, 95% CI 1.67 to 4.44). Conclusions: Severe disease course is associated with increased risk of depression and PTSD among patients recovering from COVID-19. Keywords: COVID-19; epidemiology; mental health; public health.Icelandic government NordFors

Kompetenzbasiertes Projektmanagement (PM4)

Das Lehr- und Fachbuch „Kompetenzbasiertes Projektmanagement (PM4) – Handbuch für Praxis und Weiterbildung im Projektmanagement“ baut auf der Individual Competence Baseline der IPMA (ICB 4) auf. Als Standardwerk für jeden Projektmanager bildet es den Status quo für das Projektmanagement im deutschsprachigen Raum ab und ist zugleich Grundlagenwerk, Nachschlagewerk, Referenzwerk, Leitfaden und Erfahrungssammlung. Das Werk besteht aus zwei Bänden mit 1.700 Seiten in 39 Kapiteln, die von 42 Experten im Projektmanagement geschrieben wurden. Der umfangreichere erste Band umfasst die Kompetenzen für das Gesamtverständnis. Im zweiten Band werden vor allem Anleitungen, Prozesse, Methoden, Werkzeuge etc. vorgestellt. Die 28 Kompetenzelemente der ICB 4 bilden die Grundstruktur des Fachbuches. Die relevanten Normen des DIN und der ISO zum Projektmanagement sowie weitere Standards werden ebenso berücksichtigt wie die wichtigsten Vorgehensmodelle. Sowohl die planbasierten als auch die agilen und hybriden Projektmanagementansätze werden bedacht. Sonderthemen wie Digitalisierung, internationales Projektmanagement, virtuelle Arbeit etc. runden die Inhalte ab. Das Werk ist als digitale Publikation und als Printversion erhältlich

Blood donors in Iceland: a nationwide population-based study from 2005 to 2013.

To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink at the bottom of the pageDemographic information of blood donors is important to formulate strategies for recruitment and maintenance of the donor group. Factors like aging population, increasingly advanced medical treatments, and growing safety initiatives to protect donors and recipients of blood components are likely to affect the size of the donor group in the future. The purpose of this study was to determine the size of the donor group in Iceland and describe the demographic and donation characteristics.The size of the Icelandic donor group was determined and the demographic and donation characteristics described, particularly of all newly registered and whole blood donors in the country from 2005 to 2013.Overall the prevalence of whole blood donors per population decreased by 24.2% between 2005 and 2013 or by 3.4% per year. Females and males were almost equally represented as newly registered donors (44.7%/55.3%) but males were better represented as whole blood donors (26.7%/73.3%). Only 57.5% of newly registered donors in 2005 to 2006 returned to donate blood in the period 2005-2013.In parallel with a period of decreased demand for red blood cells, the number of whole blood donors and donations declined in Iceland between 2005 and 2013 but still with adequate supply. A smaller retention among females than males gives the opportunity to focus on increasing the share of women among regular blood donors. Strategic work toward effective recruitment and retention of newly registered donors is needed to ensure a sufficiently large group of blood donors in Iceland in the near future

Monitoring referral and treatment in soft tissue sarcoma: study based on 1,851 patients from the Scandinavian Sarcoma Group Register

This report is based on 1.851 adult patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS) of the extremities or trunk wall diagnosed between 1986 and 1997 and reported from all tertiary referral centers in Norway and Sweden. The median age at diagnosis was 65 years and the male-to-female ratio was 1.1:1. One third of the tumors were subcutaneous, one third deep, intramuscular and one third deep, extramuscular. The median size was 7 (1-35) cm and 75% were high grade (III-IV). Metastases at presentation were diagnosed in 8% of the patients. Two thirds of STS patients were referred before surgery and the referral practices have improved during the study. The preoperative morphologic diagnosis was made with fine-needle aspiration cytology in 81%, core-needle biopsy in 9% and incisional biopsy in 10%. The frequency of amputations has decreased from 15% in 198688 to 9% in 1995-1997. A wide surgical margin was achieved in 77% of subcutaneous and 60% of deep-seated lesions. Overall, 24% of operated STS patients had adjuvant radiotherapy. The use of such therapy at sarcoma centers increased from 20% 1986-88 to 30% in 1995-97. Follow-up has been reported in 96% of the patients. The cumulative local recurrence rate was 0.20 at 5 years and 0.24 at 10 years. The 5-year metastasis-free survival rate was 0.70