Misdiagnosing Melioidosis

Melioidosis is endemic in southern and Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Although relatively few indigenous cases are recognized in the Indian subcontinent, a substantial proportion of cases imported into the United Kingdom originate there, probably reflecting patterns of immigration and travel, and underdiagnosis within the Indian subcontinent

Single shot, temporally and spatially resolved measurements of fast electron dynamics using a chirped optical probe

A new approach to rear surface optical probing is presented that permits multiple, time-resolved 2D measurements to be made during a single, ultra-intense ( > 1018 W cm−2) laser-plasma interaction. The diagnostic is capable of resolving rapid changes in target reflectivity which can be used to infer valuable information on fast electron transport and plasma formation at the target rear surface. Initial results from the Astra-Gemini laser are presented, with rapid radial sheath expansion together with detailed filamentary features being observed to evolve during single shots

Melioidosis in South Asia (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan and Afghanistan).

Despite the fact that South Asia is predicted to have the highest number of cases worldwide, melioidosis is a little-known entity in South Asian countries. It has never been heard of by the majority of doctors and has as yet failed to gain the attention of national Ministries of Health and country offices of the World Health Organization (WHO). Although a few centers are diagnosing increasing numbers of cases, and the mortality documented from these institutions is relatively high (nearly 20%), the true burden of the disease remains unknown. In India, most cases have been reported from southwestern coastal Karnataka and northeastern Tamil Nadu, although this probably simply reflects the presence of centers of excellence and researchers with an interest in the disease. As elsewhere, the majority of cases have type 2 diabetes mellitus and occupational exposure to the environment. Most present with community-acquired pneumonia and/or bacteremia, especially during heavy rainfall. The high seropositivity rate (29%) in Karnataka and isolation of B. pseudomallei from the environment in Tamil Nadu and Kerala confirm India as melioidosis-endemic, although the full extent of the distribution of the organism across the country is unknown. There are limited molecular epidemiological data, but, thus far, the majority of Indian isolates have appeared distinct from those from South East Asia and Australia. Among other South Asian countries, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are known to be melioidosis-endemic, but there are no cases that have conclusively proved to have been acquired in Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan or Pakistan. There are no surveillance systems in place for melioidosis in South Asian countries. However, over the past two years, researchers at the Center for Emerging and Tropical Diseases of Kasturba Medical College, University of Manipal, have established the Indian Melioidosis Research Forum (IMRF), held the first South Asian Melioidosis Congress, and have been working to connect researchers, microbiologists and physicians in India and elsewhere in South Asia to raise awareness through training initiatives, the media, workshops, and conferences, with the hope that more patients with melioidosis will be diagnosed and treated appropriately. However, much more work needs to be done before we will know the true burden and distribution of melioidosis across South Asia

До проблеми міжетнічних контактів сарматських племен Північного Причорномор’я перших століть нашої ери (за матеріалами ліпної кераміки)

(uk) Стаття присвячена дослідженню проблем трансформації сарматського ліпного керамічного комплексу як вияву міжетнічної взаємодії племен Північного Причорномор’я І – ІV ст. н.е.(en) The article investigates the problems of transformation of Sarmatian ceramic plastic complex as a manifestation of interethnic interaction of the tribes of Northern Prychornomorya in the I – IV centuries A.D

Scheduling satellite-based SAR acquisition for sequential assimilation of water level observations into flood modelling

Satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has proved useful for obtaining information on flood extent, which, when intersected with a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the floodplain, provides water level observations that can be assimilated into a hydrodynamic model to decrease forecast uncertainty. With an increasing number of operational satellites with SAR capability, information on the relationship between satellite first visit and revisit times and forecast performance is required to optimise the operational scheduling of satellite imagery. By using an Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (ETKF) and a synthetic analysis with the 2D hydrodynamic model LISFLOOD-FP based on a real flooding case affecting an urban area (summer 2007,Tewkesbury, Southwest UK), we evaluate the sensitivity of the forecast performance to visit parameters. We emulate a generic hydrologic-hydrodynamic modelling cascade by imposing a bias and spatiotemporal correlations to the inflow error ensemble into the hydrodynamic domain. First, in agreement with previous research, estimation and correction for this bias leads to a clear improvement in keeping the forecast on track. Second, imagery obtained early in the flood is shown to have a large influence on forecast statistics. Revisit interval is most influential for early observations. The results are promising for the future of remote sensing-based water level observations for real-time flood forecasting in complex scenarios

Global Burden and Challenges of Melioidosis

This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease (ISSN 2414-6366) from 2018 to 2019 (available at: https://www. mdpi.com/journal/tropicalmed/special issues/melioidosis

Robust algorithm for detecting floodwater in urban areas using Synthetic Aperture Radar images

Flooding is a major hazard in both rural and urban areas worldwide, but it is in urban areas that the impacts are most severe. High resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors are able to detect flood extents in urban areas during both day- and night-time. If obtained in near real-time, these flood extents can be used for emergency flood relief management or as observations for assimilation into flood forecasting models. In this paper a method for detecting flooding in urban areas using near real-time SAR data is developed and extensively tested under a variety of scenarios involving different flood events and different images. The method uses a SAR simulator in conjunction with LiDAR data of the urban area to predict areas of radar shadow and layover in the image caused by buildings and taller vegetation. Of the urban water pixels visible to the SAR, the flood detection accuracy averaged over the test examples was 83%, with a false alarm rate of 9%. The results indicate that flooding can be detected in the urban area to reasonable accuracy, but that this accuracy is limited partly by the SAR’s poor visibility of the urban ground surface due to shadow and layover

Fish assemblages associated with artificial reefs assessed using multiple gear types in the northwest Gulf of Mexico

Quantitative surveys of fishes associated with artificial reefs in the northwest Gulf of Mexico were conducted over a 4-yr period (2014-2017). Artificial reefs surveyed were comprised of three types: concrete structures, rig jackets, and decommissioned ships. All reefs were surveyed using vertical long line ( VLL), fish traps, and Adaptive Resolution Imaging Sonar (ARIS 1800). Mean fish abundance did not significantly differ using VLL [1.7 ind set(-1) (SD 2.2)] among the three reef types. However, relative abundance among all fishes collected was significantly highest on rig reefs using traps [6.2 ind soak(-1) (SD 3.8)], while results from sonar surveys indicated that the mean relative fish density was highest on concrete reefs [15.3 fish frame(-1) (SD 26.8)]. Red snapper (n = 792), followed by gray triggerfish (n = 130), pigfish (n = 70), tomtate (n = 69), and hardhead catfish (n = 57) were the most numerically abundant species using VLL and traps; red snapper comprised 90.7% of total catch using VLL and 43.9% using traps. Mean Brillouin\u27s diversity (HB) was highest on ships using VLL [0.41 (SD 0.14)] and highest on rigs using traps [0.87 (SD 0.58)] compared to the lowest diversity found on concrete [VLL 0.07 (SD 0.11); traps 0.36 (SD 0.32)]. Findings from this study can be used to inform the planning of future artificial reefs and their effect on the assemblages of reef-associated fishes. Additionally, these results highlight the value of using multiple gear types to survey reef fish assemblages associated with artificial reefs