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Objectives:As wildfires and air pollution become more common across the United States, it is increasingly important to understand the burden they place on public health. Previous studies have noted relationships between air quality and use of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), but until now, these studies have focused on day-to-day air quality. The goal of this study is to investigate the effect of sustained periods of poor air quality on EMS call characteristics and volume.Methods:Using a time-stratified case-crossover design, the effect of exposure to periods of poor air quality on number and type of EMS calls in California, USA from 2014-2019 was observed. Poor air quality periods greater than three days were identified at the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Air Quality Index (AQI) levels of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (AQI 100) and Unhealthy (AQI 150). Periods less than three days apart were combined. Each poor air quality period was matched with two one-week controls, the first being the closest preceding week that did not intersect a different case. The second control was the closest week at least three days after the case and not intersecting with a different case. Due to seasonal variation in EMS usage, from the initial cases, cases were used only if it was possible to identify controls within 28 days of the case. A conditional Poisson regression calculated risk ratios for EMS call volume.Results:Comparing the case periods to the controls, significant increases were found at AQI >100 for total number of calls, and the primary impressions categories of emotional state or behavior, level of consciousness, no patient complaint, other, respiratory, and abdominal. At an AQI >150, significance was found for the primary impressions categories of other, pain, respiratory, and digestive.Conclusion:These data demonstrate increased EMS calls during sustained poor air quality, and that several EMS primary impression categories are disproportionately affected. This study is limited by the imprecision of the primary impression’s classification provided by the EMS clinician responding to the EMS call. More research is needed to understand the effects of periods of poor air quality on the EMS system for more efficient deployment of resources.

Key to Diospyros species from New Guinea and the Moluccas with large, chartaceous leaves 1a. Leaf glabrous above and reddish purple beneath, fruit fusiform with caudate apex D. fusicarpa 1b. Character combination not as above _______________________________________________ 2 2a. Mature fruit globose to oblate, lobes of fruiting calyx very large and leafy, young leaves conspicuously hairy _______________________________________________________ D. pulchra 2b. Character combination not as above _______________________________________________ 3 3a. Leaf base subcordate, black pitted glands at leaf base conspicuous ________________ 4 3b. Leaf base acute to narrowly obtuse, black pitted glands inconspicuous to absent ___ 5 4a. Fruit densely colliculate, leaf apex broadly acuminate or acute, black pitted glands at leaf base small and not densely clustered, [Moluccas] _____________________ D. rostrata 4b. Fruit smooth, leaf apex narrowly acuminate, black pitted glands at leaf base densely clustered, [New Guinea] ___________________________________________ D. multimaculata 5a. Petioles D. janowskyi 5b. Petioles> 6 mm long, fruiting calyx 4-merous, fruit apex acute _______________ D. tehno, Published as part of Puglisi, C., Jimbo, T. & Hagwood, A., 2022, Two new species of Diospyros (Ebenaceae) from New Guine, pp. 1-10 in Edinburgh Journal of Botany 79 on page 9, DOI: 10.24823/EJB.2022.1879, http://zenodo.org/record/7374245

Diospyros tehno C.Puglisi, Jimbo & Hagwood, sp.nov. Diospyros tehno is similar to Diospyros fusicarpa Bakh. in the shape of the fruit, the cauliflory and the overall leaf texture. It differs in the leaf being hairy on both sides (vs glabrous above and hairy only along the midrib below in Diospyros fusicarpa), the pronounced midrib on the upper side (vs very slightly so or flat in D. fusicarpa), and the pigmentation which is light green (fresh) or mid-brown (dry) on the lower side (vs reddish when fresh and amaranth brown when dry in D. fusicarpa). – Type: Papua New Guinea, Sandaun (West Sepik) Province, Kwima – Wara John, 125 m a.s.l., 17 v 2018, Jimbo, Hagwood, Sule, Aika, Maharape, Cook LAE 91326 (holotype LAE, isotype K). Figures 3, 4. Small tree to 3 m high, bark black, younger stems densely tomentose; terminal bud c. 0.5 cm long, broadly conical. Leaves simple, alternate; petiole 7–10 mm long, 3–3.5 mm thick, densely tomentose, slightly flat above; lamina dark green above (silver brown when dry), light green beneath (mid-brown when dry), elliptic to obovate, 30–35 × 8–11.5 cm (only three mature leaves seen), base broadly acute, apex acuminate; indumentum simple on both sides, denser along the venation, and including small, widespread, superficial, pale glands which are more noticeable on the lower surface; black pitted glands absent; midrib raised on both sides, secondary veins weakly raised above, more pronounced beneath, visibly anastomosing through serial scalariform tertiary veins, these inconspicuous above and weakly raised beneath. Inflorescences and flowers not seen. Female trees cauliflorous, inflorescences probably multiflorous. Fruiting calyx tetramerous, tube c. 0.6 cm long, conical, lobes spreading, oblong-ovate, apex acute, rigid, c. 1 cm wide at base, at least 1.7 cm long (no entire calyx lobes seen); tube and basal part of the lobes hairy outside and inside, the distal portion glabrescent outside, sparsely hairy inside. Fruit fleshy, turbinate, red, pilose with a fine upright indumentum, c.10.7 × 3.8 cm, narrower at the base and acute at the apex, epicarp smooth, held upright from the trunk. Seeds 2, c. 6.5 cm long, turbinate, dark brown, surface minutely punctate. Distribution. New Guinea (see Figure 2). Etymology. The epithet is the local name of this tree in the Abau language. Other specimen examined. PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Sandaun (West Sepik) Province: Utai Station, Nuya Forest Area, 206 m a.s.l., 19 iii 2018, Jimbo & Magun LAE 91714 (LAE)., Published as part of Puglisi, C., Jimbo, T. & Hagwood, A., 2022, Two new species of Diospyros (Ebenaceae) from New Guine, pp. 1-10 in Edinburgh Journal of Botany 79 on pages 6-9, DOI: 10.24823/EJB.2022.1879, http://zenodo.org/record/7374245

Diospyros multimaculata C.Puglisi, sp. nov. Diospyros multimaculata is vegetatively most similar to Diospyros rostrata (Merr.) Bakh. and D. pulchra Bakh. It differs from the former in the fruit with a nearly smooth epicarp (markedly colliculate in Diospyros rostrata) and in lacking the pronounced apical projection, and from the latter in the trimerous calyx and the prolate to fusiform fruit (calyx tetramerous and fruit globose to oblate in D. pulchra). It also resembles D. janowskyi Bakh. in the overall habit and fruit shape but differs in the conspicuously glandular and subcordate base of mature leaves (leaf base inconspicuously to not glandular and obtuse in D. janowskyi). Diospyros multimaculata is characterised by the large, mature leaves with subcordate base and acuminate apex; numerous dark glands at the leaf base and alongside the midrib; the hairy leaves; and the prolate to fusiform fruit subtended by a small, trimerous calyx. – Type: Papua New Guinea, Sandaun (West Sepik) Province, Vanimo District, Ossima, 30 m a.s.l., 30 i 1969, Streimann & Kairo NGF 39283 (holotype K [K00618534]; isotypes E [E01014580], L [L.2667453]). Figure 1. Small tree 6–8 m tall; bark black, stems hairy. Leaves simple, alternate; petiole 6–8 mm long, hairy, terete; lamina dark green above, paler beneath, ovate, elliptic or slightly obovate, 11–20 × 3.5–8.5 cm, base subcordate (obtuse to rounded in younger leaves), apex acuminate; indumentum simple on both sides, adaxially denser (although brittle and caducous) and more abundant along the midrib, abaxially also including T-shaped hairs on the lamina, young leaves with ciliate margin; black (at least in herbarium specimens) pitted glands along the midrib throughout its length, densely clustered at the leaf base and peculiarly visible on the adaxial side; on the adaxial side midrib raised at the base and then becoming sulcate, secondary veins flat or slightly raised, tertiary veins almost inconspicuous, on the abaxial side midrib raised throughout, secondary veins raised and visibly anastomosing near the margin in loops, tertiary veins raised and scalariform. Male inflorescences and flowers not seen. Remnants of female inflorescences axillary, to 2.5 cm long, 4- to 10-flowered. Flowers not seen, reported as yellow for both sexes. Fruiting calyx very small, tube reduced, lobes 3, divided almost to base, broadly acute, 1–2 mm long, spreading or slightly reflexed, hairy outside, glabrous inside. Fruit fleshy, prolate to fusiform, light green when immature, orange to red when ripe, sparsely hairy to nearly glabrous, 3.5–5.6 × 2–2.5 cm, acute at the base and acute at the apex, epicarp smooth to slightly irregular. Seeds up to 6, usually 5 or 6, dark brown, smooth. Distribution. New Guinea (Figure 2). Habitat and ecology. Lowland swampy or seasonally inundated primary forest, on clay soil. Etymology. This species is named after the numerous glands at the leaf base and throughout the lamina alongside the midrib. Vernacular name. Usrapai (Kemtuik [Kamtuk] language). Other specimens examined. INDONESIA. Papua Province: Jayapura, Sekoli, South of Lake Sentani, 110 m a.s.l., 7 viii 1957, Kalkman BW 3767 (K, L). PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Sandaun (West Sepik) Province: Vanimo District, near Poar River, 30 m a.s.l., 22 vi 1975, Katik LAE 62262 (E, K, L); Madang Province: Wanang Village, 115 m a.s.l., 29 x 2008, Ctvrtecka 2971 (K); Josephstaal FMA area, 160 m a.s.l., 5 viii 1999, Takeuchi et al. 13764 (K, L)., Published as part of Puglisi, C., Jimbo, T. & Hagwood, A., 2022, Two new species of Diospyros (Ebenaceae) from New Guine, pp. 1-10 in Edinburgh Journal of Botany 79 on pages 3-4, DOI: 10.24823/EJB.2022.1879, http://zenodo.org/record/7374245

Puglisi, C., Jimbo, T., Hagwood, A. (2022): Two new species of Diospyros (Ebenaceae) from New Guine. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 79: 1-10, DOI: 10.24823/EJB.2022.1879

Introduction The internet presents a rich milieu of multimedia options relating to pituitary and endoscopic skull base surgery (ESBS). Misinformation can create discordance between patient and provider expectations. The purpose of this study is to analyze the understandability and actionability of available ESBS and pituitary surgery audiovisual information on YouTube and Google. Methods The top 50 videos generated by searching “pituitary surgery/transsphenoidal surgery” and “endoscopic skull base surgery” in both YouTube and Google were sorted by relevance. Two independent reviewers evaluated each for understandability and actionability based on the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for audiovisual material (PEMAT-A/V). Source, authorship, audience, and education/advertisement variables were collected. Chi-square test followed by univariate and multivariate regression analyses assessed the association between these variables and quality. Results A total of 85 videos (52 YouTube and 33 Google) met inclusion criteria for analysis. There was no significant difference in the presence of the aforementioned variables between YouTube and Google (p Conclusion Understandability and actionability of YouTube and Google audiovisual patient information on ESBS and pituitary surgery is poor. Consideration should be given to the formation of a standardized patient information resource.

Three new species from Begonia sect. Petermannia (Klotzsch) A.DC., Begonia fractalifolia H.P.Wilson & Jimbo, Begonia aikrono H.P.Wilson & Jimbo, and Begonia sandaunensis H.P.Wilson & Jimbo, are described from Sandaun Province in Papua New Guinea. Begonia fractalifolia is known from the type locality and a site c. 130 km further south, whereas the other two species are only known from their type localities. The IUCN conservation status of each is assessed as Data Deficient.

The computation of the elastic registration of two simple curves in higher dimensions and therefore of the elastic shape distance between them has been investigated by Srivastava et al. Assuming the first curve has one or more starting points, and the second curve has only one, they accomplish the computation, one starting point of the first curve at a time, by minimizing an L2 type distance between them based on alternating computations of optimal diffeomorphisms of the unit interval and optimal rotation matrices that reparametrize and rotate, respectively, one of the curves. We recreate the work by Srivastava et al., but in contrast to it, again for curves in any dimension, we present a Dynamic Programming algorithm for computing optimal diffeomorphisms that is linear, and justify in a purely algebraic manner the usual algorithm for computing optimal rotation matrices, the Kabsch-Umeyama algorithm, which is based on the computation of the singular value decomposition of a matrix. In addition, we minimize the L2 type distance with a procedure that alternates computations of optimal diffeomorphisms with successive computations of optimal rotation matrices for all starting points of the first curve. Carrying out computations this way is not only more efficient all by itself, but, if both curves are closed, allows applications of the Fast Fourier Transform for computing successively in an even more efficient manner, optimal rotation matrices for all starting points of the first curve.

Latinos are less likely to have an advance care plan, use hospice or palliative care services, and have conversations about end of life than the general population. This article describes processes and outcomes of a Latino lay health advisor advance care planning training program in eastern North Carolina. An exploratory case study was used to understand the perspectives of Latino leaders. Two Latino leaders completed an advance care planning training in 2016. Data were generated from field notes, interviews, and observations. A description of the social and contextual conditions in the study setting facilitated data analysis. The primary finding, "planting the seeds," was the strategy that began the conversation of advance care planning. "Planting the seeds" meant introducing the topic carefully to ensure the person is ready to listen, the information will be accepted, and capacity will be gained to make informed decisions. Training Latino lay health advisors in advance care planning has the potential to eliminate health disparities.

Recently, this journal published an article (Peacock et al. in Fire Technol 53:845–871, 2017) describing a study done by the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Engineering Laboratory. That article provides a description of data collected during fire drill evacuations of 11 office buildings and 3 residential buildings throughout the United States. A total of 32 stairs were observed. These data were analyzed with two goals in mind: to present the self-exciting Hawkes point process as a means to capture occupant interactions in stair exit processes, and to use this point process representation to derive a minimum stair width determination that compensates for human interaction. By way of accomplishing these goals, it is shown by modeling occupant exit times as a point process more information than flow rate is extracted. This additional information resides in the process’s intensity function, i.e., the instantaneous exit rate of occupants through a stair exit, which has units of persons per unit time. For example, it is shown that the following behavior is captured by a Hawkes intensity. When a slow moving occupant on a stair is met, occupants behind either decrease their speed and follow that occupant or move to pass the occupant. Our results indicate that a larger minimum stair width would help accommodate movement in stairs caused by these types of interactions. By modeling the exit process as a Hawkes point process and using hydraulic model equations, we derived a point estimate 1.308 m for minimum stair width and a 95% confidence interval [1.193 m, 1.334 m] bounding minimum stair width, whereas the normative minimum stair width value set by the U.S. building code is 1.12 m.