scholarly journals Translator Exposure APIs: Open Access to Data on Airborne Pollutant Exposures, Roadway Exposures, and Socio-Environmental Exposures and Use Case Application

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (14) ◽  
pp. 5243
Author(s):  
Alejandro Valencia ◽  
Lisa Stillwell ◽  
Stephen Appold ◽  
Saravanan Arunachalam ◽  
Steven Cox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Environmental Exposures ◽  
Environmental Health Sciences ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Us ◽  
Airborne Pollutant ◽  
Public Repositories ◽  
Access To Data ◽  
Us Census ◽  
The Impact

Environmental exposures have profound effects on health and disease. While public repositories exist for a variety of exposures data, these are generally difficult to access, navigate, and interpret. We describe the research, development, and application of three open application programming interfaces (APIs) that support access to usable, nationwide, exposures data from three public repositories: airborne pollutant estimates from the US Environmental Protection Agency; roadway data from the US Department of Transportation; and socio-environmental exposures from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Three open APIs were successfully developed, deployed, and tested using random latitude/longitude values and time periods as input parameters. After confirming the accuracy of the data, we used the APIs to extract exposures data on 2550 participants from a cohort within the Environmental Polymorphisms Registry (EPR) at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and we successfully linked the exposure estimates with participant-level data derived from the EPR. We then conducted an exploratory, proof-of-concept analysis of the integrated data for a subset of participants with self-reported asthma and largely replicated our prior findings on the impact of select exposures and demographic factors on asthma exacerbations. Together, the three open exposures APIs provide a valuable resource, with application across environmental and public health fields.

scholarly journals Evaluating Satellite Imagery‐Based Land Use Data for Describing Forestland Development in Western Washington

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 214-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey D. Kline ◽  
Alissa Moses ◽  
David Azuma ◽  
Andrew Gray
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Econometric Model ◽  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
Forest Inventory And Analysis ◽  
The Us ◽  
Western Washington ◽  
Us Census ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Density Development

Abstract Forestry professionals are concerned about how forestlands are affected by residential and other development. To address those concerns, researchers must find appropriate data with which to describe and evaluate rates and patterns of forestland development and the impact of development on the management of remaining forestlands. We examine land use data gathered from Landsat imagery for western Washington and evaluate its usefulness for characterizing low-density development of forestland. We evaluate the accuracy of the satellite imagery‐based land use classifications by comparing them with other data from US Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis inventories and the US census. We then use the data to estimate an econometric model describing development as a function of socioeconomic and topographic factors and project future rates of development and forestland loss to 2020. We conclude by discussing how best to meet the land use data needs of researchers, forestry policymakers, and managers.

scholarly journals 469. The Mental Health Implications of Job Loss for Never-married Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S337-S337
Author(s):  
Katherine Kricorian
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Job Loss ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Adult Women ◽  
Never Married ◽  
The Us ◽  
Mental Health Programs ◽  
Us Census ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an array of social and economic events, influencing how the pandemic affected people of all genders. In particular, job losses surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among women. We analyzed how the pandemic and rising job losses affected the mental health of unmarried women with and without children in order to identify possible health disparities, potential causal factors and opportunities for interventions. Methods Data were collected from Wave 3 (January 6-February 15, 2021) of the US Census COVID-19 Household Pulse online survey designed to measure the impact of COVID-19. Microdata files were downloaded from the Census website and included N=13,940 never-married female respondents aged 25-54 years old. Data were analyzed using χ2 tests, with z-tests for more granular between-group comparisons. Results When asked if they had felt anxiety in the past week, 31% of respondents without children in the household and 28% of those with children reported feeling anxiety nearly every day (p< .05). Among those who did not lose work during the pandemic, 24% of those without children felt anxiety nearly every day vs. 20% of those with children (p< .05). Among those who did experience pandemic-related job loss, 33% of those with children and 42% of those without children reported daily anxiety (p< .05). Conclusion Overall, COVID-19 job loss was associated with higher levels of anxiety for never-married adult women. Notably, respondents without children expressed significantly higher levels of anxiety than respondents with children, and this difference was even greater when comparing those who had lost jobs during the pandemic. Reasons are being further researched but may be related to mothers’ greater opportunities for social and community support, particularly when encountering difficult circumstances. These results have implications for the development of mental health programs serving women experiencing environmental stressors such as job loss, especially women without children who may not have the same mental health and community support. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

scholarly journals Cigarettes smoked among daily and non-daily smokers following CVS Health’s tobacco-free pharmacy policy

2020 ◽  
pp. tobaccocontrol-2020-055976
Author(s):  
Aryn Z Phillips ◽  
Jennifer A Ahern ◽  
William C Kerr ◽  
Hector P Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Market Share ◽  
Rate Ratio ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Census Bureau ◽  
Tobacco Sales ◽  
Smoking Cues ◽  
The Us ◽  
Linear Effects ◽  
Us Census ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionIn September 2014, CVS Health ceased tobacco sales in all of its 7700 pharmacies nationwide. We investigate the impact of the CVS policy on the number of cigarettes smoked per day among metropolitan daily and non-daily smokers, who may respond to the availability of smoking cues in different manners.MethodsData are from the US Census Bureau Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey 2014–2015 and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Institute Community Health Management Hub. Adjusted difference-in-difference (DID) regressions assess changes in the number of cigarettes smoked per day among daily smokers (n=10 759) and non-daily smokers (n=3055), modelling core-based statistical area (CBSA) level CVS pharmacy market share continuously. To assess whether the policy had non-linear effects across the distribution of CVS market share, we also examine market share using tertiles.ResultsCVS’s tobacco-free pharmacy policy was associated with a significant reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked by non-daily smokers in the continuous DID (rate ratio=0.985, p=0.022), with a larger reduction observed among non-daily smokers in CBSAs in the highest third of CVS market share compared with those living in CBSAs with no CVS presence (rate ratio=0.706, p=0.027). The policy, however, was not significantly associated with differential changes in the number of cigarettes by daily smokers.ConclusionThe removal of tobacco products from CVS pharmacies was associated with a reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked per day among non-daily smokers in metropolitan CBSAs, particularly those in which CVS had a large pharmacy market share.

scholarly journals The impact of a federal cigarette minimum pack price policy on cigarette use in the USA

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan J Doogan ◽  
Mary Ellen Wewers ◽  
Micah Berman
Keyword(s):  
State Level ◽  
Price Policy ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Cigarette Use ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Us ◽  
Minimum Price ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundIncreasing cigarette prices reduce cigarette use. The US Food and Drug Administration has the authority to regulate the sale and promotion—and therefore the price—of tobacco products.ObjectiveTo examine the potential effect of federal minimum price regulation on the sales of cigarettes in the USA.MethodWe used yearly state-level data from the Tax Burden on Tobacco and other sources to model per capita cigarette sales as a function of price. We used the fitted model to compare the status quo sales with counterfactual scenarios in which a federal minimum price was set. The minimum price scenarios ranged from $0 to $12.ResultsThe estimated price effect in our model was comparable with that found in the literature. Our counterfactual analyses suggested that the impact of a minimum price requirement could range from a minimal effect at the $4 level to a reduction of 5.7 billion packs sold per year and 10 million smokers at the $10 level.ConclusionA federal minimum price policy has the potential to greatly benefit tobacco control and public health by uniformly increasing the price of cigarettes and by eliminating many price-reducing strategies currently available to both sellers and consumers.

Frequent mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic and acne: an infodemiology study from Google research trends (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Salah ◽  
Ann'Laure Demessant-Flavigny ◽  
Delphine Kerob
Keyword(s):  
Census Bureau ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Maximum Value ◽  
The Us ◽  
Exposure Variable ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Us Census ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Calibration Control

BACKGROUND Researchers have been increasingly using the internet as a major source of health-related information and infodemiological methods have provided new approaches for studying the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). OBJECTIVE To verify whether frequent mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in acne search popularity. METHODS Data for mask-wearing were obtained from a NYT survey, with 250,000 responses between July 2 and 14, 2020, and from Google COVID-19 symptoms dataset for weekly acne and anxiety search popularity. All data in the study were presented in relation to US county levels. Each county was classified in the frequent mask-wearing group if the proportion of frequent users was above the third quartile. To make search trends comparable from one week to another and from one county to another, search trends were normalized on a relative 100-point scale, with the maximum value corresponding to the highest search popularity for a particular term in a specific week and a specific county. Other sources of data included the US census bureau datasets. Acne search popularity outcome was analyzed using a logistic regression, with COVID-19 incidence, metropolitan status of the county and anxiety search popularity as covariates, and mask-wearing status as the exposure variable. 2019 data, no mask-wearing, was used as a calibration control for acne search weight. RESULTS The final dataset consisted of 2893 counties with complete cases. Frequent mask-wearing was associated with an important increase in acne search popularity (OR=1.69; 95% CI (1.30-2.21); P<.001). A high relative incidence of COVID-19 was associated with an even greater acne search popularity (OR=8.42; 95% CI (6.48-10.96); P<.001). CONCLUSIONS Despite various biases, the use of infodemiology will keep increasing. Observational statistical methods need to be adapted to manage the large amounts of bias concerning web-based information more efficiently.

scholarly journals Global environmental health: an interview with Sally Perreault Darney

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-462
Author(s):  
By Li Xu ◽  
Bin Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Health ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Open Access Journal ◽  
Biomedical Science ◽  
Exposure Science ◽  
Environmental Health Sciences ◽  
The Us ◽  
Productive Research ◽  
The Many

Abstract Pollution-induced health problems are of concern across the world. In China, the recent and rapid surge of economic development has been associated with public health problems as well as environmental degradation. We recently spoke with Sally Perreault Darney, Ph.D., the Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), the foremost journal about environmental health. Published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a part of the US National Institutes of Health, this fully open-access journal publishes peer-reviewed research and commentary, as well news and opinion across the many disciplines that contribute to the field of environmental health, including toxicology, epidemiology, risk assessment and exposure science. We wanted to learn her perspectives on the role that research plays in defining and solving environmental health problems in today's world. Dr. Darney holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science and enjoyed a productive research career in the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Office of Research and Development, before joining NIEHS in 2015.

Do higher financial returns lead to better environmental performance in North America’s forest products sector?

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 2515-2525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Yamaguchi ◽  
G. Cornelis van Kooten
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Financial Economic ◽  
Kuznets Curve ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Us ◽  
Using Data

This study examines the relation between corporate environmental performance and corporate financial (economic) performance in North America’s forest products industry to determine whether there is a firm-level environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). An unbalanced panel of firm-level observations is constructed using data from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and Environment Canada. The analysis focuses on methanol and formaldehyde emissions because these are the only pollutants for which consistent firm-level data are available in forestry. We find strong evidence of a firm-level EKC. The evidence is considerably weaker if endogeneity related to the effect of past pollution on current pollution or endogeneity resulting from a possible circular relationship between rate of return and pollution is taken into account, although the available time horizon is too short to conclude that endogeneity is a problem. Even so, there remains evidence of a negative relationship between financial performance and environmental performance for formaldehyde.

scholarly journals Impacts of Climate Change on Livestock Location in the US: A Statistical Analysis

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1260
Author(s):  
Minglu Wang ◽  
Bruce A. McCarl
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
County Level ◽  
Beef Cow ◽  
Animal Product ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Livestock production is a valuable part of US agriculture as it contributes 50% of total agricultural value. Climate change is likely a threat to livestock production, but research regarding the impact of climate change on livestock sectors is limited. This paper examines how climate change affects livestock mix and location. Specifically, we examine climate effects on grazing animals and, in particular, on beef cattle, dairy cattle, goats, and sheep. We examine this in the US based on county-level data by using fractional multinomial logit econometrics. Our results show that climate is an influential determinant of where livestock herds are located and species mix. The impacts of climate vary by species and region. We also find significant influences from geographic characteristics and animal product prices. Subsequently, we project how climate change would influence future livestock mix and location. It reveals a likely growth in beef cow land shares across most of the US with the largest gains in the northwest. We also find substitutions between species as climate change progresses with dairy cows exhibiting the largest reduction.

scholarly journals Firms’ Internal Networks and Local Economic Shocks

2019 ◽  
Vol 109 (10) ◽  
pp. 3617-3649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Giroud ◽  
Holger M. Mueller
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
County Level ◽  
Financial Constraint ◽  
Economic Shocks ◽  
Parent Firm ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Us ◽  
Internal Networks ◽  
Us Census

Using confidential establishment-level data from the US Census Bureau’s Longitudinal Business Database, this paper documents how local shocks propagate across US regions through firms’ internal networks of establishments. Consistent with a model of optimal within-firm resource allocation, we find that establishment-level employment is sensitive to shocks in distant regions in which the establishment’s parent firm is operating, and that the elasticity with respect to such shocks increases with the firm’s financial constraint. At the aggregate regional level, we find that aggregate county-level employment is sensitive to shocks in distant counties linked through firms’ internal networks. (JEL D22, G32, L14, L22, R23, R32)

scholarly journals The impact of marine organics on the air quality of the western United States

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 6257-6278 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Gantt ◽  
N. Meskhidze ◽  
A. G. Carlton
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Western United States ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The impact of marine organic emissions to the air quality in coastal areas of the western United States is studied using the latest version of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional-scale Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQv4.7) modeling system. Emissions of marine isoprene, monoterpenes, and primary organic matter (POM) from the ocean are implemented into the model to provide a comprehensive view of the connection between ocean biology and atmospheric chemistry and air pollution. Model simulations show that marine organics can increase the concentration of PM2.5 by 0.1–0.3 μg m−3 (up to 5%) in coastal cities. This increase in the PM2.5 concentration is primarily attributed to the POM emissions, with small contributions from the marine isoprene and monoterpenes. When marine organic emissions are included, organic carbon (OC) concentrations over the remote ocean are increased by up to 50% (25% in coastal areas), values consistent with recent observational findings. This study is the first to quantify the air quality impacts from marine POM and monoterpenes for the United States, and highlights the need for inclusion of marine organic emissions in air quality models.

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