scholarly journals Modeling the Environmental Suitability for Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti and Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Contiguous United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1605-1614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tammi L Johnson ◽  
Ubydul Haque ◽  
Andrew J Monaghan ◽  
Lars Eisen ◽  
Micah B Hahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sensitivity Threshold ◽  
Growing Degree Days ◽  
Degree Days ◽  
Maximum Entropy Modeling ◽  
Environmental Suitability ◽  
Suitability Maps ◽  
Number Percentage ◽  
County Scale

Abstract The mosquitoes Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (L.)(Diptera:Culicidae) and Ae. (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera:Culicidae) transmit dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses and represent a growing public health threat in parts of the United States where they are established. To complement existing mosquito presence records based on discontinuous, non-systematic surveillance efforts, we developed county-scale environmental suitability maps for both species using maximum entropy modeling to fit climatic variables to county presence records from 1960–2016 in the contiguous United States. The predictive models for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus had an overall accuracy of 0.84 and 0.85, respectively. Cumulative growing degree days (GDDs) during the winter months, an indicator of overall warmth, was the most important predictive variable for both species and was positively associated with environmental suitability. The number (percentage) of counties classified as environmentally suitable, based on models with 90 or 99% sensitivity, ranged from 1,443 (46%) to 2,209 (71%) for Ae. aegypti and from 1,726 (55%) to 2,329 (75%) for Ae. albopictus. Increasing model sensitivity results in more counties classified as suitable, at least for summer survival, from which there are no mosquito records. We anticipate that Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus will be found more commonly in counties classified as suitable based on the lower 90% sensitivity threshold compared with the higher 99% threshold. Counties predicted suitable with 90% sensitivity should therefore be a top priority for expanded mosquito surveillance efforts while still keeping in mind that Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus may be introduced, via accidental transport of eggs or immatures, and potentially proliferate during the warmest part of the year anywhere within the geographic areas delineated by the 99% sensitivity model.

Spatial Analysis of Climate-Viticulture Indices for the Eastern United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalyn Francine MacCracken ◽  
Paul R. Houser
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Spatial Analysis ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Climate Indices ◽  
Growing Degree Days ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Degree Days ◽  
The Us ◽  
Resolution Dataset ◽  
Effective Degree

This study characterizes the climate structure in the Eastern United States for suitability of winegrape growth. For this study, the Eastern US is defined as the 44 contiguous Eastern most states. This excludes the premium wine growing states of California, Washington, Oregon and Idaho. For this characterization, a comparative study is performed on the four commonly used climate-viticulture indices (i.e., Average Growing Season Temperature, Growing Degree Days, Heliothermal Index and Biologically Effective Degree Days), and a new climate-viticulture index, the Modified-GSTavg (Mod-GSTavg). This is accomplished using the 1971 – 2000 PRISM 800-meter resolution dataset of climate temperature normal for the study area of 44 states and 62 American Viticultural Areas across the Eastern United States. The results revealed that all the climate indices have similar spatial patterns throughout the US with varying magnitudes and degrees of suitability.

scholarly journals Ecological Niche Modeling to Calculate Ideal Sites to Introduce a Natural Enemy: The Case of Apanteles opuntiarum (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to Control Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in North America

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 454
Author(s):  
Nidia Bélgica Pérez-De la O ◽  
Saúl Espinosa-Zaragoza ◽  
Víctor López-Martínez ◽  
Stephen D. Hight ◽  
Laura Varone
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
Natural Enemy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Actual Distribution ◽  
Cactoblastis Cactorum ◽  
Environmental Suitability ◽  
Bioclimatic Variables ◽  
Lepidoptera Pyralidae ◽  
Cactus Moth

The cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is an invasive species in North America where it threatens Opuntia native populations. The insect is expanding its distribution along the United States Gulf Coast. In the search for alternative strategies to reduce its impact, the introduction of a natural enemy, Apanteles opuntiarum Martínez and Berta (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), is being pursued as a biological control option. To identify promising areas to intentionally introduce A. opuntiarum for the control of C. cactorum, we estimated the overlap of fundamental ecological niches of the two species to predict their common geographic distributions using the BAM diagram. Models were based on native distributional data for both species, 19 bioclimatic variables, and the Maxent algorithm to calculate the environmental suitability of both species in North America. The environmental suitability of C. cactorum in North America was projected from Florida to Texas (United States) along the Gulf coastal areas, reaching Mexico in northern regions. Apanteles opuntiarum environmental suitability showed a substantial similarity with the calculations for C. cactorum in the United States. Intentional introductions of A. opuntiarum in the actual distribution areas of the cactus moth are predicted to be successful; A. opuntiarum will find its host in an environment conducive to its survival and dispersal.

Professional values and career choice of nursing students

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sultan Ayaz Alkaya ◽  
Şengül Yaman ◽  
Joyce Simones
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Career Choice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Professional Values ◽  
Upper Midwest ◽  
American Students ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
Number Percentage ◽  
Emotional Loyalty

Background and aim: Professional values are abstract and general behavioral principles that provide basic standards to judge aims and actions, and these principles are formed by strong emotional loyalty of members of the profession. Research was conducted to compare the career choice and professional values of nursing students at two universities in the upper Midwest of the United States and in the middle of Turkey. Materials and Methods: A descriptive and comparative design was used. The participants of the study were comprised nursing students from a university in the upper Midwest of United States and a university in the middle of Turkey. The sample consisted of 728 students in all grades. Data were collected by a questionnaire, The Nurses Professional Values Scale–Revised and Vocational Choices in Entering Nursing Scale. Number, percentage distribution, mean, standard deviation, t test, and one-way variance analysis were used in the analysis of data. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Commission. Informed consent was received from the students. Results: The students’ mean age for American students was 24.3 ± 5.6 years, while the mean age for Turkish students was 19.8 ± 1.7 years. Mean score of American students on The Vocational Congruency (a subgroup of the Vocational Choices in Entering Nursing Scale) was 38.5 ± 5.9 and Turkish students was 29.6 ± 8.9 (p < 0.05). Mean score of American students on The Nurses Professional Values Scale–Revised was 109.2 ± 12.3 and that of Turkish students was 101.6 ± 17.0. Conclusion: This study concluded that the majority of nursing students had high professional values, and when students’ scores were compared, American students had higher professional values, and in career choice, they considered primarily fitness of the profession to themselves and their goals, while Turkish students primarily thought of their living conditions.

scholarly journals Gulf of Mexico Coastal County Resilience to Natural Hazards

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 67-78
Author(s):  
Kevin Summers ◽  
Linda Harwell ◽  
Andrea Lamper ◽  
Courtney McMillon ◽  
Kyle Buck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
The United States ◽  
County Level ◽  
Coastal County ◽  
County Scale ◽  
The U.S

Using a Cumulative Resilience Screening Index (CRSI) that was developed to represent resilience to natural hazards at multiple scales for the United States, the U.S. coastal counties of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) region of the United States are compared for resilience for these types of natural hazards. The assessment compares the domains, indicators and metrics of CRSI, addressing environmental, economic and societal aspects of resilience to natural hazards at county scales. The index was applied at the county scale and aggregated to represent states and two regions of the U.S. GOM coastline. Assessments showed county—level resilience in all GOM counties was low, generally below the U.S. average. Comparisons showed higher levels of resilience in the western GOM region while select counties in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama exhibited the lowest resilience (<2.0) to natural hazards. Some coastal counties in Florida and Texas represented the highest levels of resilience seen along the GOM coast. Much of this increased resilience appears to be due to higher levels of governance and broader levels of social, economic and ecological services.

Development of Suitability Maps with Examples for the United States and China

2015 ◽  
pp. 31-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Hannaway ◽  
Christopher Daly ◽  
Michael D. Halbleib ◽  
Daniel James ◽  
Charles P. West ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Suitability Maps

scholarly journals Characterizing the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the COVID-19 vaccination landscape

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Tiu ◽  
Zachary Susswein ◽  
Alexes Merritt ◽  
Shweta Bansal
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Vaccination Coverage ◽  
Vaccination Campaign ◽  
The United States ◽  
County Level ◽  
Spatial Clusters ◽  
Southern Us ◽  
The Us ◽  
Target Locations ◽  
County Scale

AbstractIt is critical that we maximize vaccination coverage across the United States so that SARS-CoV-2 transmission can be suppressed, and we can sustain the recent reopening of the nation. Maximizing vaccination requires that we track vaccination patterns to measure the progress of the vaccination campaign and target locations that may be undervaccinated. To improve efforts to track and characterize COVID-19 vaccination progress in the United States, we integrate CDC and state-provided vaccination data, identifying and rectifying discrepancies between these data sources. We find that COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the US exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity at the county level and statistically identify spatial clusters of undervaccination, all with foci in the southern US. Vaccination progress at the county level is also variable; many counties stalled in vaccination into June 2021 and few recovered by July, with transmission of the Delta variant rapidly rising. Using a comparison with a mechanistic growth model fitted to our integrated data, we classify vaccination dynamics across time at the county scale. Our findings underline the importance of curating accurate, fine-scale vaccination data and the continued need for widespread vaccination in the US, especially in the wake of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

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