Learning lessons from the 2011 Van Earthquake to enhance healthcare surge capacity in Turkey

Historically, Turkey has adopted a reactive approach to natural hazards which resulted in significant losses. However, following the 1999 Kocaeli Earthquake, a more proactive approach has been adopted. This study aims to explore the way this new approach operates on the ground. A multinational and multidisciplinary team conducted a field investigation following the 2011 Van Earthquake to identify lessons to inform healthcare emergency planning in Turkey and elsewhere. The team interviewed selected stakeholders including, healthcare emergency responders, search and rescue services, ambulance services, and health authority representatives, in addition to conducting a focus group. Data were analysed according to an open coding process and SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat) analysis. The findings suggest that the approach succeeded in developing a single vision by consolidating official efforts in a more structured way, mobilising many governmental and non-governmental organisations, securing significant amounts of resources including physical and human, and increasing the resilience and flexibility of infrastructure to expand its capacity. However, more attention is required to the development of stronger management procedures and acquisition of further resources.     

Climate change in mountain regions: a marginal issue?

Summary Mountain regions comprise one-fifth of the world's land surface. They are home to a tenth and important in the lives of half of humankind. Yet mountains are often regarded as physically, politically and economically marginal; their importance has only recently been globally recognized. The potential impacts of climate change in mountain regions will vary considerably between different types of regions. These are briefly described, as an introduction to an evaluation of the potential impacts with regard to agriculture, forestry, water resources, tourism, energy, transport and health. It is concluded that climate change cannot be considered a marginal issue and that the ability of mountain and downstream people to adapt and respond in the long term will require attention to the maintenance and use of local knowledge and cooperative social networks, as well as considerable scientific research.Dr Martin Price obtained his Ph.D from the University of Colorado at Boulder, following a first degree at the University of Sheffield and an MSc from the University of Calgary, Canada. He is currently the Programme Leader for the Mountain Regions Programme at the Environmental Change Unit at the University of Oxford. This paper was presented at the Global Forum '94 Academic Conference and it represents a revision of an article by the author in Beniston (1994).     

Soybean production and conversion of tropical forest in the Brazilian Amazon: the case of Vilhena, Rondônia

The recent rise in Brazilian soybean production has generated concern among the environmental community and some authors that natural tropical environments of the Amazon Basin are being converted to soybean fields. Proponents of soybean production counter that soybeans represent a viable agricultural commodity for the region; environmental concern is unwarranted, because new soybean fields are replacing already deforested or otherwise transformed lands. Both arguments have been made without comprehensive study and measure of land-use/land-cover (LULC) in areas undergoing expansion of soybean production. This case study, conducted in the municipality of Vilhena, Rond?nia, Brazil, in the southwestern Amazon Basin, uses remote sensing to evaluate the LULC accompanying this municipality's large growth in soybean production from 1996 to 2001. Forests are being converted for soybean production, but most of the production increase appears attributable to slight expansion of already existing fields, conversion of already deforested land, and higher yields.     

The consequences of failure should be considered in siting geologic carbon sequestration projects

Geologic carbon sequestration is the injection of anthropogenic CO₂ into deep geologic formations where the CO₂ is intended to remain indefinitely. If successfully implemented, geologic carbon sequestration will have little or no impact on terrestrial ecosystems aside from the mitigation of climate change. However, failure of a geologic carbon sequestration site, such as large-scale leakage of CO₂ into a potable groundwater aquifer, could cause impacts that would require costly remediation measures. Governments are attempting to develop regulations for permitting geologic carbon sequestration sites to ensure their safety and effectiveness. At present, these regulations focus largely on decreasing the probability of failure. In this paper we propose that regulations for the siting of early geologic carbon sequestration projects should emphasize limiting the consequences of failure because consequences are easier to quantify than failure probability.     

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome in association with a balanced reciprocal translocation involving chromosomes 3 and 5

We present a case report on a fetus with multiple malformations, diagnosed by ultrasound at 20 weeks' gestation. From the combination of intrauterine growth retardation and limb abnormalities that were observed, the most likely diagnosis was considered to be Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS). Following counselling, the mother opted to terminate the pregnancy. Chromosome analysis of cultured amniotic fluid cells showed a karyotype of 46,XX,t(3;5)(q21;p13). Postmortem examination of the baby confirmed the presence of features consistent with a diagnosis of CdLS. This case provides a report of a definitive diagnosis of Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, suspected on the basis of ultrasound imaging and confirmed by amniocentesis findings. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Omnivorous feeding behavior of the Antarctic krill Euphausia superba

Feeding experiments were conducted at Palmer Station from December 1985 to February 1986 to examine the potential role of copepod prey as an alternative food source for Euphausia superba. Copepod concentration, copepod size, phytoplankton concentration, the duration of krill starvation and the volume of experimental vessels were altered to determine effects on ingestion and clearance rates. Krill allowed to feed on phytoplankton and copepods in 50-litre tubs showed greatly increased feeding rates relative to animals feeding in the much smaller volumes of water traditionally used for krill-feeding studies. Clearance rates on copepods remained constant over the range of concentrations offered, but clearance rates on phytoplankton increased linearly with phytoplankton concentration. Feeding rates increased when larger copepods were offered and when krill were starved for two weeks prior to experiments. Clearance rates of krill feeding on copepods were higher than, but not correlated with, their clearance rates on phytoplankton in the same vessel. E. superba may have a distinct mechanism for capturing copepods, perhaps through mechanoreception. Although our observed clearance rate of 1055 ml krill^-1 h^-1 indicates that krill can feed very efficiently on copepod prey, such feeding would meet less than 10% of their minimum metabolic requirements at the typical copepod concentrations reported for Antarctic waters. However, substantial energy could be gained if krill fed on the patches of high copepod concentrations occasionally reported during the austral summer, or if krill and copepods were concentrated beneath the sea ice during the winter or spring months. Our results, indicating efficient feeding on zooplankton and higher clearance rates on phytoplankton than previously believed, represent a step towards balancing the energy budget of E. superba in Antarctic waters.     

Metabolism of 2-chloro-N-isopropylacetanilide (propachlor) in the rat.

Eleven urinary metabolites from [14C]propachlor were either identified or characterized by mass spectrometry. Those identified were 2-[S-(N-acetyl)cysteinyl]-N-isopropylacetanilide, 2-(methylsulfonyl)-acetanilide, 4'-hydroxy-2-(methylsulfonyl)-acetanilide, and 4'-hydroxyacetanilide. Those characterized were N-(1-hydroxyisopropyl)-2-(methylsulfonyl) acetanilide and its glucuronide, the glucuronides of 4'-hydroxy-N-isopropyl-2-(methylsulfonyl)acetanilide, N-(1-hydroxyisopropyl) aniline, 4'-hydroxy-2-(methylsulfonyl)acetanilide, and either N-(1-hydroxy-isopropyl) acetanilide or 2-hydroxy-N-isopropylacetanilide.     

Physical and Chemical Connectivity of Streams and Riparian Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Synthesis

Streams, riparian areas, floodplains, alluvial aquifers, and downstream waters (e.g., large rivers, lakes, and oceans) are interconnected by longitudinal, lateral, and vertical fluxes of water, other materials, and energy. Collectively, these interconnected waters are called fluvial hydrosystems. Physical and chemical connectivity within fluvial hydrosystems is created by the transport of nonliving materials (e.g., water, sediment, nutrients, and contaminants) which either do or do not chemically change (chemical and physical connections, respectively). A substantial body of evidence unequivocally demonstrates physical and chemical connectivity between streams and riparian wetlands and downstream waters. Streams and riparian wetlands are structurally connected to downstream waters through the network of continuous channels and floodplain form that make these systems physically contiguous, and the very existence of these structures provides strong geomorphologic evidence for connectivity. Functional connections between streams and riparian wetlands and their downstream waters vary geographically and over time, based on proximity, relative size, environmental setting, material disparity, and intervening units. Because of the complexity and dynamic nature of connections among fluvial hydrosystem units, a complete accounting of the physical and chemical connections and their consequences to downstream waters should aggregate over multiple years to decades.