Applying algorithms to national administrative data sets provides a readily available method for estimating the prevalence of a chronic condition such as gout, where diagnosis and drug treatment are relatively specific for this disease. We have demonstrated high gout prevalence in the entire Aotearoa New Zealand population, particularly among Māori and Pacific people.

No abstract

Dendrochronological techniques were used to reconstruct a 433‐yr fire history, and to characterize the historical fire regime (frequency, size, season, severity) of the Teanaway River drainage in the eastern Cascade Mountains of Washington, USA. General Land Office section corner data were used to reconstruct aspects of the late‐19th‐century structure and composition of the forests in the study area. Systematic fire‐scar surveys (∼30 000 ha; 92 sites; 257 fire‐scarred cross‐sections; 1569 individual fire scars) revealed that fire frequency was quite variable spatially; Weibull median probability intervals ranged from seven to 43 years. Fire extent also varied widely; most fires were relatively small (<1000 ha), although several large fires (>4000 ha) were detected. Mean and median fire sizes were 1795 ha and 988 ha, respectively. Large fires occurred every 27 years, on average (every 11 years, on average, between 1708 and 1889), and coincided with periods of annual and seasonal drought (Palmer Drought Severity Index and winter Southern Oscillation Index). Intervals from 1 to 37 years occurred between fires of >4000 ha. Over 80% of fires occurred late in the growing season, or after the onset of cambial dormancy. Sampling locations in dry forest types (dominated by ponderosa pine) yielded fire‐scarred cross‐sections with numerous fire scars leading us to infer that most historical fires were of low intensity, leaving the overstory structure intact. This inference is corroborated by the composition and structure of the historical forest, which was characterized by a preponderance of very large (>100‐cm diameter) ponderosa pines. Mesic forest types (dominated by grand fir and Douglas‐fir) likely exhibited a wider range of fire severities. Moderate and occasional high‐severity understory fires or crown fires did occur within the study area, as indicated by the scarcity or lack of fire‐scar evidence and the presence of relatively even‐aged forests at several mesic forest sites. Historical section corner data indicate that small amounts of these forest types occurred in the study area. Fire frequency and size declined dramatically circa 1900, coincident with the advent of commercial timber harvesting, although most fires, despite their reduced number and size, continued to burn in the late summer or fall.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

OBJECTIVE -To examine associations between A1C concentration and mortality in a New Zealand population. (1999 -2001), participants were offered A1C testing. The participants were anonymously linked to the national mortality collection to 31 December 2004. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs adjusted for age, ethnicity, smoking, and sex were estimated using Cox regression. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -During a HepatitisFoundation screening campaign for hepatitis BRESULTS -There were 47,904 participants (71% Mâori, 12% Pacific, 5% Asian, and 12% other). A1C measurements were categorized as Ͻ4.0% (n ϭ 142), 4.0 to Ͻ5.0% (reference category; n ϭ 12,867), 5.0 to Ͻ6.0% (n ϭ 30,222), 6.0 to Ͻ7.0% (n ϭ 2,669), and Ն7.0% (n ϭ 1,596); there were also 408 participants with a previous diabetes diagnosis. During the follow-up period, 815 individuals died. In those without a prior diabetes diagnosis, there were steadily increasing HRs from the A1C reference category to the highest category (Ն7.0%; HR 2.36 [95% CI 1.72-3.25]). As well as all-cause mortality, A1C was associated with mortality from diseases of the circulatory system; endocrine, nutritional, metabolic, and immunity disorders; and other and unknown causes. Mortality was also elevated in those with a prior diabetes diagnosis (5.19 [3.67-7.35]), but this was only partially explained by their elevated A1C levels.CONCLUSIONS -This is the largest study to date of A1C levels and subsequent mortality risk. It confirms previous findings that A1C levels are strongly associated with subsequent mortality in both men and women without a prior diabetes diagnosis.

A lack of independent, quality-assured data prevents scientists from effectively evaluating predictions and uncertainties in fire models used by land managers. This paper presents a summary of pre-fire and post-fire fuel, fuel moisture and surface cover fraction data that can be used for fire model evaluation and development. The data were collected in the south-eastern United States on 14 forest and 14 non-forest sample units associated with 6 small replicate and 10 large operational prescribed fires conducted during 2008, 2011, and 2012 as part of the Prescribed Fire Combustion and Atmospheric Dynamics Research Experiment (RxCADRE). Fuel loading and fuel consumption averaged 6.8 and 4.1 Mg ha–1 respectively in the forest units and 3.0 and 2.2 Mg ha–1 in the non-forest units. Post-fire white ash cover ranged from 1 to 28%. Data were used to evaluate two fuel consumption models, CONSUME and FOFEM, and to develop regression equations for predicting fuel consumption from ash cover. CONSUME and FOFEM produced similar predictions of total fuel consumption and were comparable with measured values. Simple linear models to predict pre-fire fuel loading and fuel consumption from post-fire white ash cover explained 46 and 59% of variation respectively.