Implementation of a medical command and control team in Switzerland

In case of a major incident or disaster, the advance medical rescue command needs to manage several essential tasks simultaneously. These include the rapid deployment of ambulance, police, fire and evacuation services, and their coordinated activity, as well as triage and emergency medical care on site. The structure of such a medical rescue command is crucial for the successful outcome of medical evacuation at major incidents. However, little data has been published on the nature and structure of the command itself. This study presents a flexible approach to command structure, with two command heads: one emergency physician and one experienced paramedic. This approach is especially suitable for Switzerland, whose federal system allows for different structures in each canton. This article examines the development of these structures and their efficiency, adaptability and limitations with respect to major incident response in the French‐speaking part of the country.     

Epidemiology of centipede exposures reported to Texas poison control centers, 1998–2004

Centipedes are found globally, including the southern United States. Although centipede bites may cause pain, the bite is generally not considered life threatening. The present retrospective investigation studied the epidemiology of centipede exposures reported to Texas poison control centers. Cases were all human exposures reported during 1998–2004 that involved centipedes. There were totally 851 cases. Among the cases with a known patient age, 16% were less than 6 years of age, 19% were 6–19, and 65% were greater than 19 years. Females accounted for 55% of the patients with known gender. The reported centipede exposures were managed on site (outside of a health care facility) in 93% of the cases. Of the 305 cases with a known clinical outcome, 82% had minor effects. Cases exhibited a seasonal trend, with most of the reports occurring during July–September. There was no clear geographic pattern to the reported centipede exposures, although the highest rate occurred in West Texas. Dermal irritation or pain was reported in 73% of cases and the treatment by decontamination via irrigation was reported for 76% of the cases during 2000–2004.     

Long-term reactions of plants and macroinvertebrates to extreme floods in floodplain grasslands

Extreme summertime flood events are expected to become more frequent in European rivers due to climate change. In temperate areas, where winter floods are common, extreme floods occurring in summer, a period of high physiological activity, may seriously impact floodplain ecosystems. Here we report on the effects of the 2002 extreme summer flood on flora and fauna of the riverine grasslands of the Middle Elbe (Germany), comparing pre- and post-flooding data collected by identical methods. Plants, mollusks, and carabid beetles differed considerably in their response in terms of abundance and diversity. Plants and mollusks, displaying morphological and behavioral adaptations to flooding, showed higher survival rates than the carabid beetles, the adaptation strategies of which were mainly linked to life history. Our results illustrate the complexity of responses of floodplain organisms to extreme flood events. They demonstrate that the efficiency of resistance and resilience strategies is widely dependent on the mode of adaptation.     

Plant colonization of ex-arable fields from adjacent species-rich grasslands: The importance of dispersal vs. recruitment ability

Species-rich semi-natural grasslands have declined drastically in Europe over the last century and occur in modern landscapes as small and isolated fragments. Recreation of these species-rich plant communities and increasing connectivity of remaining grasslands are important goals for nature conservation. Ex-arable fields located adjacent to species-rich grasslands have been suggested as targets for such recreation, but we still lack knowledge about the processes determining colonization from grasslands to ex-arable fields. We examined transects from species-rich semi-natural grasslands to ex-arable fields in a nature reserve located in southeast Sweden, and analysed relationships between observed colonization of ex-arable fields and two characteristics of species: dispersal ability and recruitment ability. Colonization of ex-arable fields was not related to dispersal ability, assessed as adhesive potential to animal coat, wind dispersal potential and seed mass (related to seed production), but was positively related to recruitment ability, assessed by sowing experiment. The same relationships appeared when using a performance index from sowing experiments conducted in the UK. We conclude that recruitment ability is a key factor for colonization of ex-arable fields. In our study, around 50% of semi-natural grassland species were able to colonize adjacent ex-arable field margins spontaneously within a time window of less than 50 years. Seed sowing is however needed to increase the speed of the colonization process, because increasing seed density promotes colonization of species with poor recruitment in ex-arable fields. Actions to increase area and connectivity of species-rich grasslands should consider incorporating ex-arable fields.