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The shape and size of planning units (PUs) at the initial stage of regional systematic conservation planning (SCP) can strongly affect the final portfolio. In previous studies, the influence of PU shape and size has typically been considered for single study sites that include mainly natural land cover types. The impacts of PU shape and size in areas dominated by different land cover types have not been compared. We identified and compared the influence of three types of land uses, and shape and size of PUs in the efficiency of final portfolios in SCP. We show that PU shape is not significant for portfolio efficiency in all areas dominated by different land cover types, while smaller size of PUs would be more useful in the heterogeneous landscapes like agricultural and urban areas than the homogeneous landscapes like forest. We also show that the magnitude of the influences of PU shape and size differs depending on the dominant land cover type. Areas dominated by agricultural land cover were the most sensitive to the influence of PU shape and size, whereas areas dominated by forest were the least sensitive. Therefore, we recommend to planners to understand the different impacts of PU shape and size by the dominant land cover type and consider a similar approach with this study.

Background: The health effects of heat are well documented; however, limited information is available regarding the health risks of hot nights. Hot nights have become more common, increasing at a faster rate than hot days, making it urgent to understand the characteristics of the hot night risk. Objectives: We estimated the effects of hot nights on the cause- and location-specific mortality in a nationwide assessment over 43 y (1973-2015) using a unified analytical framework in the 47 prefectures of Japan. Methods: Hot nights were defined as days with a) minimum temperature [greater than or equal to]25[degrees]C (H[N.sub.25]) and b) minimum temperature [greater than or equal to]95th percentile (H[N.sub.95th]) for the prefecture. We conducted a time-series analysis using a two-stage approach during the hot night occurrence season (April-November). For each prefecture, we estimated associations between hot nights and mortality controlling for potential confounders including daily mean temperature. We then used a random-effects meta-analytic model to estimate the pooled cumulative association. Results: Overall, 24,721,226 deaths were included in this study. Nationally, all-cause mortality increased by 9%- 10% [H[N.sub.25] relative risk (RR) = 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08, 1.10; H[N.sub.95th] RR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.11] during hot nights in comparison with non hot nights. All 11 cause-specific mortalities were strongly associated with hot nights, and the corresponding associations appeared to be acute and lasted a few weeks, depending on the cause of death. The strength of the association between hot nights and mortality varied among prefectures. We found a higher mortality risk from hot nights in early summer in comparison with the late summer in all regions. Conclusions: Our findings support the evidence of mortality impacts from hot nights in excess of that explicable by daily mean temperature and have implications useful for establishing public health policy and research efforts estimating the health effects of climate change. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11444, Introduction Due to progressing global warming, the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events have increased, and hot days and nights are expected to be more frequent in the near [...]

Thermal safety guidelines with upper thresholds aim to protect athletes' health, yet evidence-based sport-specific thresholds remain unestablished. Experimenting with athletes in severely hot conditions raises ethical concerns, so we used a thermo-physiological model to validate the thresholds of guidelines for outdoor sports. First, the reproducibility of the joint system thermoregulation model (JOS-3) of core temperature has been validated for 18 sports experiments (n = 213) and 11 general exercise experiments (n = 121) using the Bland – Altman analysis. Then, core temperatures were predicted using the JOS-3 in conditions corresponding to the upper thresholds, and if the 90th–99.7th percentile core temperature value (corresponding to 0.3%–10% of the participants) exceeded 40°C, the thresholds were judged as potentially hazardous. Finally, we proposed revisions for sports with potentially hazardous thresholds. As a result, the JOS-3 could simulate core temperature increases in most experiments (27/29) for six sports and general exercises with an accuracy of 0.5°C. The current upper thresholds for marathons, triathlons, and football are potentially hazardous. Suggested revisions, based on specified percentiles, include: Football: revise from wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) 32°C to 29–31°C or not revise. Marathon: revise from WBGT 28°C to 24–27°C. Triathlon: revise from WBGT 32.2°C to 23–26°C. If conducting sports events under the revised upper thresholds proves difficult, taking measures for a possible high incidence of heat illness becomes crucial, such as placing additional medical resources, assisting heat acclimatization and cooling strategies for participants, and rule changes such as shorter match times and increased breaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]