Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on public surfaces in a densely populated urban area of Brazil

Abstract Importance The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more than 3.5 million cases and 245 thousand deaths worldwide as of May 6, 2020. Determining the extent of the presence of the virus on public surfaces is critical for understanding the potential risk of infection in these areas. Objective To evaluate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on public surfaces in a densely populated urban area in Brazil. Design and Setting A total of 101 samples were collected from different surfaces in public places in the region of Belo Horizonte with the highest number of COVID-19 cases. Samples were collected near the hospital and public transportation areas using sterile swabs, and then submitted to nucleic acid extraction and genomic detection and quantification by one-step qPCR. Results Seventeen of the 101 samples tested positive (16.8%) for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, including samples from bus stations/terminals, public squares, and sidewalks, including those near hospitals. Conclusions and Relevance Our data indicated the contamination of public surfaces by SARS-CoV-2, especially near hospital areas, highlighting the risk of infection for the population. Constant monitoring of the virus in urban areas is required as a strategy to fight the pandemic and prevent further infections. Key points Question Can SARS-CoV-2 be detected on surfaces in public areas used by a large proportion of the population? Findings SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in different locations, including bus stations/terminals, squares, and sidewalks, especially those near hospitals, in a densely populated area of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Meaning This study highlights the need for constant monitoring for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in urban areas to support better strategies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent further infections.

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Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Mobile Sources in Jombang Urban Area during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Jurnal Ilmu Lingkungan ◽

10.14710/jil.19.3.582-587 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 582-587

Author(s):

Achmad Chusnun Niam ◽

Rachmanu Eko Handriyono ◽

Indah Puji Hastuti ◽

Maritha Nila Kusuma

Keyword(s):

Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Urban Area ◽

Public Transportation ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Primary Data ◽

Tier 2 ◽

Public Places ◽

Gas Emissions ◽

Mobile Sources

Pada Desember 2019, wabah penyakit pneumonia yang disebabkan oleh coronaviruse ditemukan Wuhan, China. Penyakit ini telah menyebar ke seluruh dunia hingga saat ini. Pemerintah Indonesia mengeluarkan kebijakan agar masyarakat tidak berkegiatan di tempat umum. Beberapa kawasan perkotaan mengalami penurunan jumlah kendaraan secara signifikan. Penelitian ini menganalisis emisi gas rumah kaca (GRK) dari sumber bergerak di Kabupaten Jombang ketika penerapan kebijakan PSBB di masa pandemi COVID-19. Metode analisis emisi gas rumah kaca menggunakan metode Tier 2 (Vehicle Kilometer Traveled) yang menggunakan pendekatan berdasarkan panjang perjalanan. Data primer diambil dengan traffic counting pada wilayah adminsitrasi kawasan perkotaan Jombang. Hasil penelitian menujukkan terdapat pengurangan kendaraan terutama angkutan umum seperti bus baik bus antar kota maupun antar provinsi. Berdasarkan wilayah administratif, Kecamatan Jombang memiliki emisi gas rumah kaca CO2eq tertinggi sebesar 119372,29 ton/tahun, diikuti oleh Kecamatan Perak sebesar 46.679,04 ton/tahun dan Kecamatan Diwek 52799,15 ton/tahun. Ruas jalan nasional di kawasan perkotaan jombang menjadi penyumbang emisi gas rumah kaca CO2eq tertinggi yaitu 113877,99 ton/tahun. ABSTRACTIn December 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus was found in Wuhan, China. This disease has spread throughout the world until this time. The Indonesian government issued a policy so that people do not carry out activities in public places. Several urban areas have experienced a significant decrease in the number of vehicles. This study analyzes greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from mobile sources in Jombang urban area during the implementation of the PSBB policy in COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzing greenhouse gas emissions method uses the Tier 2 (Vehicle Kilometer Traveled) method that uses an approach based on the length of the trip. Primary data was taken by traffic counting on the administration area of Jombang urban area. The results depicted that there was a reduction in vehicles, especially public transportation such as buses, both inter-city, and inter-provincial buses. Jombang District has the highest CO2eq greenhouse gas emissions of 119372.29 tons/year, followed by Perak District at 46679.04 tons/year and Diwek District 52799.15 tons/year. National roads in the Jombang urban area are the highest contributor to CO2eq greenhouse gas emissions, namely 113877.99 tons/year.

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Sustainable Site System

10.32920/ryerson.14657196.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jorden J. S. Lefler

Keyword(s):

Urban Area ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Architectural Design ◽

Heat Island ◽

Rating Systems ◽

Island Effect ◽

Key Points ◽

Site Design ◽

The Impact ◽

The City

This thesis discusses a method of analysing the input of interventions in a building's site design, all of which affect the heat island effect, bio-diversity and hydrology of urban areas. Existing standards from Toronto, Vancouver and Berlin have been researched and analysed. This paper presents an evolution of a method called biotope area factor used in Berlin, Germany. A synthesis of the approach of all three systems was considered and distilled into the key points which were then incorporated into the proposed method. In addition to the impact of an individual building, it also includes the impact from the adjacent street area. The final components of this thesis are the application of the method developed to an urban area in the city of Toronto and results showing the impacts on architectural design from site rating systems.

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TRANSPORTATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE

PLANNING MALAYSIA JOURNAL ◽

10.21837/pm.v18i13.774 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (13) ◽

Author(s):

Abdul Ghapar Othman ◽

Kausar Hj. Ali

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Urban Area ◽

Public Transportation ◽

Traffic Congestion ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Transportation ◽

Potential Threat ◽

Private And Public ◽

Negative Impacts

Transportation is one of the key indicators used to measure the Quality of Life of people especially those living in the urban area. Many aspects of transportation are very significant as they have the power to directly influence our way of life in search for a better Quality of Life. Many Malaysians depend on private vehicle transportations to cater their daily travel needs which inevitably leads to an over infiltration of vehicles into the urban area. Automobile dependency has always been viewed as a potential threat to Malaysia’s urban areas, as it contributes to the increase in traffic congestion, higher accidents rate, inefficient usage of urban land, environmental pollution, adverse economic impacts, urban sprawling and reduces the overall quality of public transportation. All these negative impacts deteriorate the quality of life of urban dwellers. This chapter will discuss Malaysia's urban transportation in general, focusing on the struggle between private and public transportation usage and the impacts of automobile dependency towards the urban dwellers’ Quality of Life; as well as putting forward possible strategies and measures in an attempt to provide a balanced urban transportation system.

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Public Health: Smoking Ban Exceeds Board of Health's Authority

The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics ◽

10.1111/j.1748-720x.2003.tb00072.x ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 163-165

Author(s):

Sam Lockner

Keyword(s):

Public Transportation ◽

General Public ◽

Health District ◽

Smoking Ban ◽

Regional Health ◽

Public Places ◽

Public Areas ◽

Local Board ◽

Open Window ◽

Lucas County

In D.A.B.E., Inc., v. Toledo-Lucas County Board of Health, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that the Ohio Revised Code does not grant a local board of health the power to proscribe smoking in all public places as defined by the Lucas County Regional Health District Clean Indoor Air Regulation.On May 24, 2001, the Board of Health of the Lucas County Regional Health District adopted the regulation in question, prohibiting smoking in all public areas in Lucas County, which were defined as “every enclosed, indoor area to which members of the general public are invited or in which members of the general public are normally permitted.” In addition, the regulation prohibited smoking within twenty feet of any entrance or open window of these public areas and in all vehicles of public transportation.

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Mask Using Practice among Bangladeshi Population During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Video-Based Observational Study

Journal of Health and Medical Sciences ◽

10.31014/aior.1994.04.04.193 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Chowdhury Farheen ◽

◽

Md Maruf Haque Khan ◽

Muhammad Ibrahim Ibne Towhid ◽

Sabrina Mousum ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Transportation ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Vaccination Campaign ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

P Value ◽

Public Places ◽

Rural And Urban Areas ◽

Rural And Urban ◽

The Government

Background: Although the government of Bangladesh made the use of masks mandatory in public settings during COVID-19, individuals have been reluctant to follow. We intended to know how many people used face masks in public settings during COVID-19. Methodology: This study was conducted in several public settings in Shahbag, an urban sub-district of Dhaka; and Sirajdikhan, a rural sub-district of Munshiganj in Bangladesh on November 2020. A total of 4011 people were identified from the video-graphic data captured from 20 public places for monitoring the use of masks. Finding: More than two-thirds of those observed had no face masks or did not utilize them properly. People in urban regions (43%) used mask more in an appropriate manner than those in rural areas (26%). Females wore masks comparatively more than males (53% vs. 35%, p-value <0.001). People used masks more in the morning than in the afternoon (39% vs. 34%, p-value <0.001). People were seen to use a mask more in hospital areas (60%) than in other places. However, in public transportation stands only one-fourth (25%) of the people wore a mask in an appropriate manner. In binary logistic regression male sex, rural area, public places and time of observation (afternoon) were found as risk factors for not wearing a mask. Interpretation: The general population of both rural and urban areas of Bangladesh is reluctant to wear face masks. Along with the ongoing vaccination campaign, people of Bangladesh need to wear masks for the prevention of COVID-19. Funding: This research has been partially supported by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.

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Mask Use Depends on the Individual, Situation, and Location—Even Without COVID-19 Transmission: An Observational Study in Shanghai

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.754102 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Alexander S. English ◽

Xiaoyuan Li

Keyword(s):

Observational Study ◽

Older People ◽

Social Norms ◽

Human Behavior ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Public Places ◽

The World ◽

Public Areas ◽

The Individual ◽

Enforcement Policies

COVID-19 has drastically altered people’s mask-wearing behaviors around the world. What is unknown is how long these mask behaviors will last post-COVID-19? To investigate how individual, situational, and locational factors influence mask use in the absence of community spread of COVID-19, we conducted an observational study in public areas in the megacity of Shanghai, China. Researchers coded people’s mask use in various suburban and urban districts and outdoor and indoor locations with and without mask requirements. Firstly, even without any local transmissions in more than 40days, 62% of the sample (N=1,282) still wore masks in public places. The data showed that people in more urban areas wore masks more often and that people wore masks in places where it was mandated. Women also wore masks more than men, and older people complied more with mask enforcement policies. We found that more densely populated districts and areas with more inflow of non-locals also predicted more mask use. We argue that the pandemic has long-lasting effects on human behavior like mask usage and reflects individuals’ continual conformity to new social norms.

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Biomonitoring of atmospheric heavy metals pollution using dust deposited on date palm leaves in southwestern Iran

Atmósfera ◽

10.20937/atm.2016.29.02.04 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 141 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Zeinab Naderizadeh ◽

Hossein Khademi ◽

Shamsollah Ayoubi

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Urban Area ◽

Public Transportation ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Date Palm ◽

Principal Component ◽

Industrial Area ◽

Atmospheric Dust ◽

Pollution Levels ◽

Southwestern Iran

Heavy metals in dust are causing health problems in humans and other organisms. The main objectives of this study were to determine (1) the concentrations and the sources of heavy metals including Zn, Cu, Pb, Fe, Ni, Cr, Co and Mn, and (2) the contamination levels of metals in the dust of Bushehr (an urban area) and Assaluyeh (an industrial area) located in the province of Bushehr, southwestern Iran. Also, the transect between the two cities was investigated as a non-urban area. Fifty dust samples deposited on date palm leaves and 50 surface soil samples were collected. The mean concentrations of heavy metals in dust from the three areas were found to be higher than those of the nearby soils except for Co in Assaluyeh and Pb in Bushehr. Zn, Cu and Pb concentrations in dust samples from industrial and urban areas were higher than those in samples taken from the non-urban area. The results indicated minimal pollution levels of Mn, Fe and Cr, minimal to moderate levels of Co, moderate levels of Ni, moderate to significant levels of Cu, significant levels of Zn, and significant to very high levels of Pb in dust. The two main sources of different heavy metals in atmospheric dust deposited on date palm leaves were identified based on principal component analysis, cluster analysis and correlation analysis. Zn, Cu, and Pb seem to have anthropogenicsources, whereas Fe, Ni, Cr, Co, and Mn in atmospheric dust presumably derive from non-anthropogenic sources.In general, the implementation of environmental standards and improvement of the public transportation system are required to reduce the hazardous pollutants released into the atmosphere.

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Estimating the Impact of Ride-Hailing App Company Entry on Public Transportation Use in Major US Urban Areas

The B E Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy ◽

10.1515/bejeap-2018-0151 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Erik Nelson ◽

Nicole Sadowsky

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Urban Area ◽

Event Study ◽

Public Transportation ◽

Urban Areas ◽

The United States ◽

The Impact

Abstract Since 2011, the private ride-hailing (RH) app companies Uber and Lyft have expanded into more and more US urban areas. We use a dynamic entry event study to examine the impact of Uber and Lyft’s entry on public transportation (PT) use in the United States’ largest urban areas. In most cases, entry into urban areas was staggered: Uber entered first, followed several months later by Lyft. We generally find that PT use increased in the representative urban area, all else equal, immediately following first RH app company entry. However, this spike in PT use largely disappeared following the entry of the second RH app company. Slightly different RH app company–PT use relationships emerge when we estimate the PT use model over various subsets of urban areas and PT modes.

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Sustainable Site System

10.32920/ryerson.14657196 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jorden J. S. Lefler

Keyword(s):

Urban Area ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Architectural Design ◽

Heat Island ◽

Rating Systems ◽

Island Effect ◽

Key Points ◽

Site Design ◽

The Impact ◽

The City

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Brand loyalty: are black urban area consumers’ more loyal?

Corporate Ownership and Control ◽

10.22495/cocv11i1c6art2 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 548-555

Author(s):

Michael Colin Cant ◽

Melanie Gopaul ◽

Leanne Manley

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Urban Area ◽

Public Transportation ◽

Brand Loyalty ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Social Setting ◽

Retail Development ◽

Considerable Portion ◽

Retail Outlets

Black urban area consumers’ are a major economic force in the South African economy and represent a considerable portion of the economic and social setting of South Africa (Hummel, M, In: McCann World group, 2008). However this segment has long been neglected by marketers due to the segregation that was experienced within the country pre-1994. Prior to independence, black urban area communities were mostly catered for by ‘spaza’ shops, or informal retailers run from inside a home that presented residents with a limited variety of products. Residents in traditional black urban areas mostly purchased at these retailers due to financial constraints and limited accessibility to other larger retail outlets as well as due to security fears, and in so doing formed a loyalty towards brands offered by spaza shops. Post-1994 however has seen a dramatic increase in black urban area income, enhanced public transportation and greater retail development within these areas, which has allowed for many residents to become more exposed to alternative brands. The primary aim of this study therefore was to examine the degree of brand loyalty consumers’ of black urban areas of Tshwane, South Africa hold today in relation to retail brands. In order to satisfy the research objective of the study, a self-administered location based survey was distributed to the residents of Shoshanguve, Mamelodi and Attridgeville; black urban areas within the Tshwane region of South Africa.

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