Survey data of a traditional communal water irrigation system in Northern Thailand.

This data article contains a description of a dataset collected by a survey on a traditional communal water irrigation system. This is the , a 700-years old communal irrigation system in Northern Thailand. The is managed through a series of regulations that are close to Ostrom's principles of effective common property resources (Ostrom, 1990).

The impact of the 1952 London smog event and its relevance for current wood-smoke abatement strategies in Australia.

There is a certain complacency about air pollution in rural towns in Australia. An image of crystal clear skies seems to dominate general perceptions, and few locations actually monitor air pollution levels. Nevertheless, where measurements have been made, particulates have been shown to be the major type of air pollution, and they do reach levels expected to impact on human health.

The impact of summer temperatures and heatwaves on mortality and morbidity in Perth, Australia 1994-2008.

Climate change projections have drawn attention to the risks of extreme heat and the importance of public health interventions to minimise the impact. The city of Perth, Western Australia, frequently experiences hot summer conditions, with recent summers showing above average temperatures. Daily maximum and minimum temperatures, mortality, emergency department (ED) presentations and hospital admissions data were acquired for Perth for the period 1994 to 2008.

Heat and health in Adelaide, South Australia: assessment of heat thresholds and temperature relationships.

Background: Climate change projections have highlighted the need for public health planning for extreme heat. In Adelaide, South Australia, hot weather is characteristic of summer and heatwaves can have a significant health burden. This study examines the heat thresholds and temperature relationships for mortality and morbidity outcomes in Adelaide.

Weather and notified Campylobacter infections in temperate and sub-tropical regions of Australia: an ecological study.

Background: The relationship between weather and food-borne diseases has been of great concern recently. However, the impact of weather variations on food-borne disease may vary in different areas with various geographic, weather and demographic characteristics. This study was designed to quantify the relationship between weather variables and Campylobacter infections in two Australian cities with different local climatic conditions.

Temperature and direct effects on population health in Brisbane, 1986-1995.

To assess the impact of weather on human mortality, particularly among elderly people and people with diseases, the authors conducted an ecological study in Brisbane, Australia. Correlation and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) regression analyses assessed the relationship between weather and mortality in the general population and the elderly population (65 years of age and older) over the period 1986-1995. In the summer, both cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality in the elderly population had significant positive correlations with monthly temperatures.

Effect of climate change on Australian rural and remote regions: what do we know and what do we need to know?

This paper addresses a very important issue in Australian rural and remote regions: the effects of climate change on various aspects including natural resources, agricultural activity, population health, and social and economic development. The objective is to briefly characterise the consequences of climate change in rural Australia and what we can do to prevent further impact in our rural communities.

Weather variables and Japanese encephalitis in the metropolitan area of Jinan city, China.

Objective: To identify weather-related risk factors and their roles in Japanese encephalitis transmission and to provide policy implications for local health authorities and communities.

Methods: Data on notified cases of Japanese encephalitis and weather variables over the period 1959-1979 were collected from Jinan city, a temperate city in China. Due to seasonality of the disease, the data analysis was restricted to five months from June to October each year.

El Nino-Southern Oscillation and vector-borne diseases in Anhui, China.

This paper examines the relationship between monthly Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and monthly incidences of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and malaria in Anhui Province, China, over the periods 1971-1992 and 1966-1987, respectively. On the basis of monthly data over a 22-year period, results indicated that there were positive and negative relationships, respectively, between the SOI and monthly incidences of malaria and HFRS. The results suggest that the SOI could be used as an index in the study of the association of climate variability with the transmission of such diseases, particularly over larger areas, such as at a provincial or even state level, where averaging rainfall or temperature data across regions is inappropriate.

Secular trends in mortality rates for diabetes in Australia, 1907-1998.

Aims: To characterise long-term mortality trends for diabetes in Australia during the 20th century, and to provide suggestions to health policy-makers.

Methods: A descriptive study was conducted using existing dataset. Deaths due to diabetes, as underlying cause of death, from 1907 to 1998 were tallied, according to the ICD-9.

Co-existing conditions for deaths from infectious and parasitic diseases in Australia.

Objective: To examine the frequency distribution of co-existing conditions for deaths where the underlying cause was infectious and parasitic diseases.

Materials And Methods: Besides the underlying cause of death, the distributions of co-existing conditions for deaths from infectious and parasitic diseases were examined in total and by various age and sex groups, at individual and chapter levels, using 1998 Australian mortality data.

Results: In addition to the underlying cause of death, the average number of reported co-existing conditions for a single infectious and parasitic death was 1.

Climate variability and transmission of Japanese encephalitis in eastern China.

A time-series analysis was conducted to study the impact of climate variability on the transmission of Japanese encephalitis in eastern China. Correlation and regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between monthly climatic variables and monthly incidence of Japanese encephalitis in Jieshou County, China over the period 1980-96. Spearman's correlation analysis showed that maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall were all associated with the transmission of Japanese encephalitis in the county.

Climatic variables and transmission of malaria: a 12-year data analysis in Shuchen County, China.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the impact of climate variability on the transmission of malaria, a vector-borne disease, in a county of China and provide suggestions to similar regions for disease prevention.

Methods: A time-series analysis was conducted using data on monthly climatic variables and monthly incidence of malaria in Shuchen County, China, for the period 1980-1991.

Results: Spearman's correlation analysis showed that monthly mean maximum and minimum temperatures, two measures of monthly mean relative humidity, and monthly amount of precipitation were positively correlated with the monthly incidence of malaria in the county.