Snow in the High Atlas Mountains is a major source for freshwater renewal and for water availability in the semi-arid lowlands of southeastern Morocco. Snowfall-and snow-ablation monitoring and modelling is important for estimating potential water delivery from the mountain water towers to the forelands. This study is part of GLOWA-IMPETUS, an integrated management project dealing with scarce water resources in West Africa. The Ameskar study area is located to the south of the High Atlas Mountains, in their rain shadow. As a part of the MGoun river basin within the upper Drâa valley, the study area is characterised by high radiation inputs, low atmospheric humidity and long periods with sub-zero temperatures. Its altitude ranges between 2000 m and 4000 m, with dominant north-and south-facing slopes. Snowfall occurs mainly from November to April but even summit regions can become repeatedly devoid of snow cover. Snow cover maps for the MGoun basin (1240 km²) are derived from calculations of NDSI (Normalized Difference Snow Index) from MODIS satellite images and snow depth is monitored at four automatic weather stations between 20004000 m. Snowfall events are infrequent at lower altitudes. The presence of snow penitentes at altitudes above 3000 m indicates that snow sublimation is an important component of snow ablation. Snow ablation was modelled with the UEB Utah Energy Balance Model (Tarboton and Luce, 1996). This single layer, physically-based, point energy and mass balance model is driven by meteorological variables recorded at the automatic weather stations at Tounza (2960 m) and Tichki (3260 m). Data from snow pillows at Tounza and Tichki are used to validate the models physical performance in terms of energy and water balances for a sequence of two snowfall events in the winter of 2003/4. First UEB modelling results show good overall performance and timing of snowmelt and sublimation compared to field investigations. Up to 44% of snow ablation is attributed to snow sublimation in typical winters with subzero temperatures and low atmospheric humidity at an altitude of 3000 m. At altitudes below 3000 m snowmelt generally dominates over sublimation. Unfortunately, the highest altitude zones suffer long periods with direct water loss into the atmosphere by sublimation in the course of which they cannot contribute to direct runoff or groundwater formation in the southern High Atlas Mountains.

No abstract

Background: Progressive lung injury in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients can lead to chronic colonization with bacteria and fungi. Fungal colonization is obtained from the environment which necessitates locally performed epidemiology studies. We prospectively analyzed respiratory samples of CF patients during a 3-year period, using a uniform fungal culture protocol, focusing on filamentous fungi and azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus. Methods: Over a 3-year period, all respiratory specimens collected from CF patients in 5 Dutch CF centers, were analyzed. Samples were inoculated onto the fungal culture media Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) and Medium B+. All fungal isolates were collected and identified in one centre, using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting, rDNA PCR and ITS, calmodulin and β-tubulin sequencing. Azole resistance was assessed for all A. fumigatus using a qPCR assay followed by phenotypic confirmation. Results: Filamentous fungi were recovered from 699 patients from at least one respiratory sample, corresponding with 3787 cultured fungal species. A. fumigatus was cultured most often with a mean prevalence of 31.7%, followed by Penicillium species (12.6%), non-fumigatus Aspergillus species (5.6%), Scedosporium species (4.5%) and Exophiala dermatitidis and Cladosporium species (1.1% each). In total 107 different fungal species were identified, with 39 Penicillium species and 15 Aspergillus species. Azole resistance frequency in A. fumigatus was 7.1%, with TR 34 /L98H being the dominant resistance mechanism. Conclusion: A vast diversity of filamentous fungi was demonstrated, dominated by Aspergillus and Penicillium species. We observed a mean azole resistance prevalence of 7.1% of A. fumigatus culture positive patients.

Both the initial trauma and the subsequent hemodynamic instability may contribute to intestinal damage, which is of great importance in (immunological) posttrauma complications. This study assesses intestinal damage using the biomarker intestinal Fatty Acid Binding Protein (iFABP) in trauma patients during the first days of their hospital admission and the risk factors involved. Plasma iFABP levels were measured in blood samples obtained from adult multiple trauma patients (n = 93) at the trauma scene by the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services, at arrival at the emergency department (ED), and at days 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 after trauma and related to injury severity and hemodynamic parameters. Plasma iFABP concentrations showed highest levels immediately after trauma at time points Helicopter Emergency Medical Services and ED. Nonsurvivors demonstrated higher iFABP levels at the ED compared with survivors. Furthermore, iFABP values at the ED correlated with Injury Severity Scores, and patients suffering from abdominal trauma demonstrated significantly higher iFABP concentrations in comparison with patients with other types of trauma or healthy controls. Also, patients presenting with a mean arterial pressure (MAP) less than 70 mmHg at the ED demonstrated significantly higher plasma iFABP concentrations in comparison with patients with a normal (70-99 mmHg) or high (>100 mmHg) MAP or healthy controls. Finally, patients with a low hemoglobin (Hb) (<80% of reference value) displayed significantly higher iFABP concentrations in comparison with patients with a normal Hb or healthy controls. Plasma iFABP levels, indicative of intestinal injury, are increased immediately after trauma in patients with abdominal trauma, low MAP, or low Hb and are related to the severity of the trauma. As intestinal injury is suggested to be related to late complications, such as multiorgan dysfunction syndrome or sepsis in trauma patients, strategies to prevent intestinal damage after trauma could be of benefit to these patients.