An evaluation of the ALOS PALSAR L-band backscatter—Above ground biomass relationship Queensland, Australia: Impacts of surface moisture condition and vegetation structure

Focusing on woody vegetation in Queensland, Australia, the study aimed to establish whether the relationship between Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array L-band SAR (PALSAR) HH and HV backscattering coefficients and above ground biomass (AGB) was consistent within and between structural formations (forests, woodlands and open woodlands, including scrub). Across these formations, 2781 plot-based measurements (from 1139 sites) of tree diameters by species were collated, from which AGB was estimated using generic allometric equations. For Queensland, PALSAR fine beam dual (FBD) 50 m strip data for 2007 were provided through the Japanese Space Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Kyoto and Carbon (K&C) Initiative, with up to 3 acquisitions available for each Reference System for Planning (RSP) paths. When individual strips acquired over Queensland were combined, ‘banding’ was evident within the resulting mosaics, with this attributed to enhanced L-band backscatter following rainfall events in some areas. Reference to Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) data indicated that strips with enhanced L-band backscatter corresponded to areas with increased effective vegetation water content kg m and, to a lesser extent, soil moisture g cm . Regardless of moisture conditions, L-band HV topographically normalized backscattering intensities backscatter increased asymptotically with AGB, with the saturation level being greatest for forests and least for open woodlands. However, under conditions of relative maximum surface moisture, L-band HV and HH was enhanced by as much as 2.5 and 4.0 dB respectively, particularly for forests of lower AGB, with this resulting in an overall reduction in dynamic range. The saturation level also reduced at L-band HH for forests and woodlands but remained similar for open woodlands. Differences in the rate of increase in both L-band HH and HV with AGB were observed between forests and the woodland categories (for both relatively wet and dry conditions) with these attributed, in part, to differences in the size class distribution and stem density between non-remnant (secondary) forests and remnant woodlands of lower AGB. The study concludes that PALSAR data acquired when surface moisture and rainfall are minimal allow better estimation of the AGB of woody vegetation and that retrieval algorithms ideally need to consider differences in surface moisture conditions and vegetation structure

Pooled analysis of who surgical safety checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods: In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results: Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89⋅6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60⋅6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0⋅17, 95 per cent c.i. 0⋅14 to 0⋅21, P < 0⋅001) or low (363 of 860, 42⋅2 percent; OR 0⋅08, 0⋅07 to 0⋅10, P < 0⋅001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference −9⋅4 (95 per cent c.i. −11⋅9 to −6⋅9) per cent; P < 0⋅001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+12⋅1 (+7⋅0 to +17⋅3) per cent; P < 0⋅001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0⋅60, 0⋅50 to 0⋅73; P < 0⋅001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low-and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion: Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background: There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low-and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods: Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results: Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion: For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially

Proceedings of the 13th annual conference of INEBRIA

CITATION: Watson, R., et al. 2016. Proceedings of the 13th annual conference of INEBRIA. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 11:13, doi:10.1186/s13722-016-0062-9.The original publication is available at https://ascpjournal.biomedcentral.comENGLISH SUMMARY : Meeting abstracts.https://ascpjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13722-016-0062-9Publisher's versio

Global variation in anastomosis and end colostomy formation following left-sided colorectal resection

Background End colostomy rates following colorectal resection vary across institutions in high-income settings, being influenced by patient, disease, surgeon and system factors. This study aimed to assess global variation in end colostomy rates after left-sided colorectal resection. Methods This study comprised an analysis of GlobalSurg-1 and -2 international, prospective, observational cohort studies (2014, 2016), including consecutive adult patients undergoing elective or emergency left-sided colorectal resection within discrete 2-week windows. Countries were grouped into high-, middle- and low-income tertiles according to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). Factors associated with colostomy formation versus primary anastomosis were explored using a multilevel, multivariable logistic regression model. Results In total, 1635 patients from 242 hospitals in 57 countries undergoing left-sided colorectal resection were included: 113 (6·9 per cent) from low-HDI, 254 (15·5 per cent) from middle-HDI and 1268 (77·6 per cent) from high-HDI countries. There was a higher proportion of patients with perforated disease (57·5, 40·9 and 35·4 per cent; P < 0·001) and subsequent use of end colostomy (52·2, 24·8 and 18·9 per cent; P < 0·001) in low- compared with middle- and high-HDI settings. The association with colostomy use in low-HDI settings persisted (odds ratio (OR) 3·20, 95 per cent c.i. 1·35 to 7·57; P = 0·008) after risk adjustment for malignant disease (OR 2·34, 1·65 to 3·32; P < 0·001), emergency surgery (OR 4·08, 2·73 to 6·10; P < 0·001), time to operation at least 48 h (OR 1·99, 1·28 to 3·09; P = 0·002) and disease perforation (OR 4·00, 2·81 to 5·69; P < 0·001). Conclusion Global differences existed in the proportion of patients receiving end stomas after left-sided colorectal resection based on income, which went beyond case mix alone

Lethrinus nebulosus Forsskal, n. sp.

Lethrinus nebulosus (Forsskål) Cope: Hats: Hatschekia gracilis Yamaguti, 1954 (gills) [0] (NHR) Cope: Hats: Hatschekia n. sp. 13 (gills) [0] Cope: Hats: Hatschekia n. sp. 15 (gills) [0] Mono: Ancy: Haliotrema sp. 1 (gills) [13] Mono: Caps: Encotyllabe sp. (pharyngeal teeth) [0] Mono: Dipl: Calydiscoides difficilis (gills) [13] Mono: Dipl: Calydiscoides duplicostatus (gills) [13] Mono: Dipl: Calydiscoides terpsichore (gills) [13] Poly: Micr: unidentified immature (gills) [6] Dige: Opec: Macvicaria macassarensis (digestive tract) [0] (NHR) Leca: Unid: unidentified larva (gills) [0] Remarks: 14 specimens examined (8 for gills, 14 for abdominal organs). HPCs: 11; SLIP-HPCs: 5.Published as part of Justine, Jean-Lou, Beveridge, Ian, Boxshall, Geoffrey A. & Bray, Rod A., 2010, An annotated list of fish parasites (Copepoda, Monogenea, Digenea, Cestoda and Nematoda) collected from Emperors and Emperor Bream (Lethrinidae) in New Caledonia further highlights parasite biodiversity estimates on coral reef fish, pp. 1-40 in Zootaxa 2691 on page 33, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19956

Lethrinus obsoletus Forsskal

Lethrinus obsoletus (Forsskål) Isop: Gnat: unidentified Praniza larvae (gills) [0] Cope: Hats: Hatschekia gracilis (gills) [0] (NHR) Mono: Ancy: Haliotrema sp. (gills) [0] Mono: Caps: Encotyllabe sp. (pharyngeal teeth) [0] Mono: Dipl: Calydiscoides difficilis (gills) [13] Remarks: 3 specimens examined (3 for gills, 3 for abdominal organs). HPCs: 5; SLIP-HPCs: 2.Published as part of Justine, Jean-Lou, Beveridge, Ian, Boxshall, Geoffrey A. & Bray, Rod A., 2010, An annotated list of fish parasites (Copepoda, Monogenea, Digenea, Cestoda and Nematoda) collected from Emperors and Emperor Bream (Lethrinidae) in New Caledonia further highlights parasite biodiversity estimates on coral reef fish, pp. 1-40 in Zootaxa 2691 on page 33, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19956

Lethrinus atkinsoni Seale

Lethrinus atkinsoni Seale Isop: Gnat: unidentified Praniza larvae (gills) [0] Mono: Dipl: Calydiscoides rohdei Oliver, 1984 (gills) [6] Dige: Opec: Macvicaria macassarensis (Yamaguti, 1953) Bray & Cribb, 1989 (digestive tract) [0] (NHR) Dige: Opec: Neolebouria sp. A (digestive tract) [0] Dige: Zoog: Zoogonus pagrosomi Yamaguti, 1939 (digestive tract) [2] Tetr: Unid: larvae (digestive tract) [0] Remarks: 24 specimens examined (21 for gills, 14 for abdominal organs). HPCs: 6; SLIP-HPCs: 3.Published as part of Justine, Jean-Lou, Beveridge, Ian, Boxshall, Geoffrey A. & Bray, Rod A., 2010, An annotated list of fish parasites (Copepoda, Monogenea, Digenea, Cestoda and Nematoda) collected from Emperors and Emperor Bream (Lethrinidae) in New Caledonia further highlights parasite biodiversity estimates on coral reef fish, pp. 1-40 in Zootaxa 2691 on page 31, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19956