资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

There are concerns that recent climate change is altering the frequency and magnitude of river floods in an unprecedented way(1). Historical studies have identified flood-rich periods in the past half millennium in various regions of Europe(2). However, because of the low temporal resolution of existing datasets and the relatively low number of series, it has remained unclear whether Europe is currently in a flood-rich period from a long-term perspective. Here we analyse how recent decades compare with the flood history of Europe, using a new database composed of more than 100 high-resolution (sub-annual) historical flood series based on documentary evidence covering all major regions of Europe. We show that the past three decades were among the most flood-rich periods in Europe in the past 500 years, and that this period differs from other flood-rich periods in terms of its extent, air temperatures and flood seasonality. We identified nine flood-rich periods and associated regions. Among the periods richest in floods are 1560-1580 (western and central Europe), 1760-1800 (most of Europe), 1840-1870 (western and southern Europe) and 1990-2016 (western and central Europe). In most parts of Europe, previous flood-rich periods occurred during cooler-than-usual phases, but the current flood-rich period has been much warmer. Flood seasonality is also more pronounced in the recent period. For example, during previous flood and interflood periods, 41 per cent and 42 per cent of central European floods occurred in summer, respectively, compared with 55 per cent of floods in the recent period. The exceptional nature of the present-day flood-rich period calls for process-based tools for flood-risk assessment that capture the physical mechanisms involved, and management strategies that can incorporate the recent changes in risk.

Analysis of thousands of historical documents recording floods in Europe shows that flooding characteristics in recent decades are unlike those of previous centuries.

After severe brain injury, it can be difficult to determine the state of consciousness of a patient, to determine whether the patient is unresponsive or perhaps minimally conscious(1), and to predict whether they will recover. These diagnoses and prognoses are crucial, as they determine therapeutic strategies such as pain management, and can underlie end-of-life decisions(2,3). Nevertheless, there is an error rate of up to 40% in determining the state of consciousness in patients with brain injuries(4,5). Olfaction relies on brain structures that are involved in the basic mechanisms of arousal(6), and we therefore hypothesized that it may serve as a biomarker for consciousness(7). Here we use a non-verbal non-task-dependent measure known as the sniff response(8-11) to determine consciousness in patients with brain injuries. By measuring odorant-dependent sniffing, we gain a sensitive measure of olfactory function(10-15). We measured the sniff response repeatedly over time in patients with severe brain injuries and found that sniff responses significantly discriminated between unresponsive and minimally conscious states at the group level. Notably, at the single-patient level, if an unresponsive patient had a sniff response, this assured future regaining of consciousness. In addition, olfactory sniff responses were associated with long-term survival rates. These results highlight the importance of olfaction in human brain function, and provide an accessible tool that signals consciousness and recovery in patients with brain injuries.

Odorant-dependent sniff responses predicted the long-term survival rates of patients with severe brain injury, and discriminated between individuals who were unresponsive and in minimally conscious states.

Early analyses suggest that female academics are posting fewer preprints and starting fewer research projects than their male peers.

How female academics are losing ground during the pandemic Early analyses suggest that female academics are posting fewer preprints and starting fewer research projects than their male peers.