A Review of Pathways for Building Fire Spread in the Wildland Urban Interface Part II: Response of Components and Systems and Mitigation Strategies in the United States

Floods are the costliest natural hazard events in the United States in terms of lives and property losses. The financial costs of flood disasters are unsustainable, especially for the national government, which assumes the most costs while state and local governments have the greatest ability to avoid great losses due to their influence over land use, economic policy, and other areas that can help mitigate floods and reduce the high costs of relief and recovery. This article summarizes the types, causes, and occurrence of floods in the United States and their unsustainable economic and social costs. It explains that the growing burden to taxpayers from disaster response and recovery has resulted in increased interest by national decision makers in shifting more disaster responsibilities and costs to state and local governments. The article reviews the broad tool kit of mitigation strategies available to local governments and their residents in taking greater responsibility for the impacts of flood events.

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Outbreak dynamics of COVID-19 in China and the United States

10.1101/2020.04.06.20055863 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Mathias Peirlinck ◽

Kevin Linka ◽

Francisco Sahli Costabal ◽

Ellen Kuhl

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Network Model ◽

Global Economy ◽

The United States ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Global Network ◽

World Health ◽

Infectious Period ◽

Contact Period ◽

Disease Specific

AbstractOn March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease 2019, COVID19, a global pandemic. In an unprecedented collective effort, massive amounts of data are now being collected worldwide to estimate the immediate and long-term impact of this pandemic on the health system and the global economy. However, the precise timeline of the disease, its transmissibility, and the effect of mitigation strategies remain incompletely understood. Here we integrate a global network model with a local epidemic SEIR model to quantify the outbreak dynamics of COVID-19 in China and the United States. For the outbreak in China, in n = 30 provinces, we found a latent period of 2.56±0.72 days, a contact period of 1.47±0.32 days, and an infectious period of 17.82±2.95 days. We postulate that the latent and infectious periods are disease-specific, whereas the contact period is behavior-specific and can vary between different provinces, states, or countries. For the early stages of the outbreak in the United States, in n = 50 states, we adopted the disease-specific values from China, and found a contact period of 3.38±0.69 days. Our network model predicts that–without the massive political mitigation strategies that are in place today–the United states would have faced a basic reproduction number of 5.3±0.95 and a nationwide peak of the outbreak on May 10, 2020 with 3 million infections. Our results demonstrate how mathematical modeling can help estimate outbreak dynamics and provide decision guidelines for successful outbreak control. We anticipate that our model will become a valuable tool to estimate the potential of vaccination and quantify the effect of relaxing political measures including total lock down, shelter in place, and travel restrictions for low-risk subgroups of the population or for the population as a whole.

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Crisis leadership during COVID-19: the role of governors in the United States

International Journal of Public Leadership ◽

10.1108/ijpl-08-2020-0071 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Abdul-Akeem Sadiq ◽

Naim Kapucu ◽

Qian Hu

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Decision Making ◽

New York ◽

Local Governments ◽

The United States ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Communication Strategy ◽

Crisis Leadership ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Content Type

PurposeThe purpose of this viewpoint article is to understand crisis leadership during COVID-19 by examining the decision-making with respect to implementing COVID-19 mitigation measures, collaboration with stakeholders, and communication strategies of the governors of the States of California, Texas, Florida, and New York in the United States.Design/methodology/approachThis viewpoint article employs information from the extant literature on crisis leadership and secondary sources to understand the four governor's crisis leadership strategies during COVID-19.FindingsGovernors Gavin Newsom of California and Andrew Cuomo of New York made quicker decisions regarding implementing COVID-19 mitigation measures (e.g. shutting down the economy, mandating physical distancing, issuing stay-at-home orders, mandating wearing face covering in public and issuing a state of emergency) compared to Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida. In addition, all four governors collaborated with state and local governments, private entities, and nonprofits to address COVID-19. Finally, all four governors held some form of briefing on COVID-19 on a regular basis and used different media to get their information out to the public.Originality/valueThis viewpoint article uses decision-making regarding implementation of mitigation strategies, collaboration with stakeholders, and crisis communication strategy to understand governors' crisis leadership during COVID-19.

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Impact of COVID-19 Second Wave on Healthcare Networks in the United States

10.1101/2020.07.11.20151217 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Emad M. Hassan ◽

Hussam Mahmoud

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Healthcare System ◽

The United States ◽

Healthcare Systems ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

County Level ◽

Protective Measures ◽

The Impact ◽

Second Wave ◽

The U.S

The risk of overwhelming healthcare systems from a second wave of COVID-19 is yet to be quantified. Here, we investigate the impact of different reopening scenarios of states around the U.S. on COVID-19 hospitalized cases and the risk of overwhelming the healthcare system while considering resources at the county level. We show that the second wave might involve an unprecedented impact on the healthcare system if an increasing number of the population becomes susceptible and/or if the various protective measures are discontinued. Furthermore, we explore the ability of different mitigation strategies in providing considerable relief to the healthcare system. The results can aid healthcare planners, policymakers, and state officials in making decisions on additional resources required and on when to return to normalcy.

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Analysis of freight train collision risk in the United States

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part F Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit ◽

10.1177/0954409718811742 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 233 (8) ◽

pp. 817-830 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tejashree Turla ◽

Xiang Liu ◽

Zhipeng Zhang

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Value At Risk ◽

The United States ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Conditional Value At Risk ◽

Collision Risk ◽

Worst Case ◽

Freight Train ◽

The Us ◽

Traffic Exposure

Rail transportation is pivotal for the national economy. Despite being rare, a train accident can potentially result in severe consequences, such as infrastructure damage costs, casualties, and environmental impacts. An understanding of accident frequency, severity, and risk is important for rail safety management. In the United States, extensive prior research has focused on risk analyses of train derailments and highway–rail grade crossing accidents. Relatively less work has been conducted regarding train collision risk. The US Federal Railroad Administration identifies various accident causes, among which the authors of this study have analyzed the major collision causes. For each major accident cause, the authors have analyzed its resultant collision frequency, severity (in terms of damage cost or casualties), and correspondingly the risk, which is the combination of the frequency and severity. The analysis was based on train collision data in the United States from 2001 to 2015. This analysis focuses on freight trains in the United States, due to their immense traffic exposure. On the temporal scale, collision rate (the number of collisions normalized by traffic exposure) has an approximately 5% annual reduction. In terms of collision cause, failures to obey signals, overspeeds, and violations of mainline operating rules accounted for more collisions than other causes. Two alternative risk measures, namely the expected consequence and conditional value at risk, were used to evaluate the freight train collision risk on main tracks, accounting for both the average and worst-case scenarios. This collision risk analysis methodology may provide the US Department of Transportation and railroad industry with information and decision support for identifying, evaluating, and implementing cost-effective risk mitigation strategies.

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In the Line of Fire: Consequences of Human-Ignited Wildfires to Homes in the U.S. (1992–2015)

Fire ◽

10.3390/fire3030050 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 50

Author(s):

Nathan Mietkiewicz ◽

Jennifer K. Balch ◽

Tania Schoennagel ◽

Stefan Leyk ◽

Lise A. St. Denis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Confidence Interval ◽

The United States ◽

Land Area ◽

Wildland Urban Interface ◽

Residential Homes ◽

Annual Basis ◽

The U.S

With climate-driven increases in wildfires in the western U.S., it is imperative to understand how the risk to homes is also changing nationwide. Here, we quantify the number of homes threatened, suppression costs, and ignition sources for 1.6 million wildfires in the United States (U.S.; 1992–2015). Human-caused wildfires accounted for 97% of the residential homes threatened (within 1 km of a wildfire) and nearly a third of suppression costs. This study illustrates how the wildland-urban interface (WUI), which accounts for only a small portion of U.S. land area (10%), acts as a major source of fires, almost exclusively human-started. Cumulatively (1992–2015), just over one million homes were within human-caused wildfire perimeters in the WUI, where communities are built within flammable vegetation. An additional 58.8 million homes were within one kilometer across the 24-year record. On an annual basis in the WUI (1999–2014), an average of 2.5 million homes (2.2–2.8 million, 95% confidence interval) were threatened by human-started wildfires (within the perimeter and up to 1-km away). The number of residential homes in the WUI grew by 32 million from 1990–2015. The convergence of warmer, drier conditions and greater development into flammable landscapes is leaving many communities vulnerable to human-caused wildfires. These areas are a high priority for policy and management efforts that aim to reduce human ignitions and promote resilience to future fires, particularly as the number of residential homes in the WUI grew across this record and are expected to continue to grow in coming years.

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Genomic Analysis of Emerging Florfenicol-Resistant Campylobacter coli Isolated from the Cecal Contents of Cattle in the United States

mSphere ◽

10.1128/msphere.00367-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Shaohua Zhao ◽

Sampa Mukherjee ◽

Chih-Hao Hsu ◽

Shenia Young ◽

Cong Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Risk Assessment ◽

Antimicrobial Resistance ◽

The United States ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Virulence Plasmid ◽

Campylobacter Coli ◽

Content Type ◽

Gram Positive Bacteria ◽

Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance

ABSTRACT Genomic analyses were performed on florfenicol-resistant (FFNr) Campylobacter coli isolates recovered from cattle, and the cfr(C) gene-associated multidrug resistance (MDR) plasmid was characterized. Sixteen FFNr C. coli isolates recovered between 2013 and 2018 from beef cattle were sequenced using MiSeq. Genomes and plasmids were found to be closed for three of the isolates using the PacBio system. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the genome and the structures of MDR plasmids were investigated. Conjugation experiments were performed to determine the transferability of cfr(C)-associated MDR plasmids. The spectrum of resistance encoded by the cfr(C) gene was further investigated by agar dilution antimicrobial susceptibility testing. All 16 FFNr isolates were MDR and exhibited coresistance to ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, clindamycin, and tetracycline. All isolates shared the same resistance genotype, carrying aph (3′)-III, hph, ΔaadE (truncated), blaOXA-61, cfr(C), and tet(O) genes plus a mutation of GyrA (T86I). The cfr(C), aph (3′)-III, hph, ΔaadE, and tet(O) genes were colocated on transferable MDR plasmids ranging in size from 48 to 50 kb. These plasmids showed high sequence homology with the pTet plasmid and carried several Campylobacter virulence genes, including virB2, virB4, virB5, VirB6, virB7, virB8, virb9, virB10, virB11, and virD4. The cfr(C) gene conferred resistance to florfenicol (8 to 32 μg/ml), clindamycin (512 to 1,024 μg/ml), linezolid (128 to 512 μg/ml), and tiamulin (1,024 μg/ml). Phylogenetic analysis showed SNP differences ranging from 11 to 2,248 SNPs among the 16 isolates. The results showed that the cfr(C) gene located in the conjugative pTet MDR/virulence plasmid is present in diverse strains, where it confers high levels of resistance to several antimicrobials, including linezolid, a critical drug for treating infections by Gram-positive bacteria in humans. This report highlights the power of genomic antimicrobial resistance surveillance to uncover the intricacies of transmissible coresistance and provides information that is needed for accurate risk assessment and mitigation strategies. IMPORTANCE Campylobacter is a leading cause of foodborne diarrheal illness worldwide, with more than one million cases each year in the United States alone. The global emergence of antimicrobial resistance in this pathogen has become a growing public health concern. Florfenicol-resistant (FFNr) Campylobacter has been very rare in the United States. In this study, we employed whole-genome sequencing to characterize 16 multidrug-resistant Campylobacter coli isolates recovered from cattle in the United States. A gene [cfr(C)] was found to be responsible for resistance not only to florfenicol but also to several other antimicrobials, including linezolid, a critical drug for treating infections by Gram-positive bacteria in humans. The results showed that cfr(C) is located in a conjugative pTet MDR/virulence plasmid. This report highlights the power of antimicrobial resistance surveillance to uncover the intricacies of transmissible coresistance and provides information that is needed for accurate risk assessment and mitigation strategies.

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The Effect of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Mitigation Strategies on Seasonal Respiratory Viruses: A Tale of 2 Large Metropolitan Centers in the United States

Clinical Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/cid/ciaa1704 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Amy C Sherman ◽

Ahmed Babiker ◽

Andrew J Sieben ◽

Alexander Pyden ◽

James Steinberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

United States ◽

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽

The United States ◽

Respiratory Viruses ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

The Public ◽

Health Measures ◽

Reproductive Rates ◽

The Impact

Abstract To assess the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic on seasonal respiratory viruses, absolute case counts and viral reproductive rates from 2019–2020 were compared against previous seasons. Our findings suggest that the public health measures implemented to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission significantly reduced the transmission of other respiratory viruses.

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