Geospatial analysis of salmonellosis and its association with socioeconomic status in Texas

ObjectiveThe study’s objective was to find the association between salmonellosis and socioeconomic status (SES) in hot spot areas and statewide counties.DesignA retrospective cohort study.SettingThe data were recorded regarding salmonellosis in 2017 from the Texas surveillance database. It included assessment of hot spot analysis and SES association with salmonellosis at the county level.ParticipantsPatients with salmonellosis of all age groups in Texas.ResultsThere were a total of 5113 salmonellosis from 254 counties with an unadjusted crude rate of 18 per 100 000 person-years. Seven SES risk factors in the hot spot counties were as follows: low values of the severe housing problem, unemployment, African American and high values of social association rate, fast food/full-service restaurant use, Hispanic and Hispanic senior low access-to-store (p<0.05). A 12% difference existed between local health departments in hot (25%) and cold spot (37%) counties (χ2 (1, n=108)=0.5, p=0.81).Statewide independent risk factors were severe housing problem (incidence rate ratio (IRR)=1.1; 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.14), social association rate (IRR=0.89; 95% CI: 0.87 to 0.92), college education (IRR=1.05; 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.07) and non-Hispanic senior local access-to-store (IRR=1.98; 95% CI: 1.26 to 3.11). The severe housing problem predicted zero occurrences of infection in a county (OR=0.51; 95% CI: 0.28 to 0.95).ConclusionsDisparity exists in salmonellosis and SES. Attention to unmet needs will decrease salmonellosis. Severe housing problem is a notable risk.

Differences in social-space–time behaviour of two red deer herds (Cervus elaphus)

Social-space–time-behaviour has developed very differently (e.g. a, loner, a herd, a pack) in the animal kingdom and depends on many different factors, like food availability, competition, predator avoidance or disturbances. It is known, that red deer are differently distributed in human disturbed areas compared to areas with less anthropogenic influences. But knowledge about the potential influence of human presence on social associations and interactions is rare, albeit differences may result in changing impacts on the environment, such as habitat utilization and feeding damage. Therefore, we investigated differences in the space use and social association of red deer. We studied two radio-collared herds of non-migratory populations in two study areas, which were comparable in landscape structure and vegetation structure, but differed in accessibility for visitors and the extent of their presence. Between the two study sites we compared the home range size, the differences in the extent of home range overlap within each study site and the space–time association (Jacobs Index) of individuals. Additionally, we present data on seasonal variations of home range sizes and social association all year round. In order to compare human activity in the study sites, we used the data from our long-term camera trap monitoring. The herd in the area with more human activity had significantly smaller home ranges and had greater year-round social associations in almost all seasons, except summer. We assume that smaller home ranges and higher association between animals may result in a higher feeding pressure on plants and a patchier utilization in areas with higher disturbances.

The Historical Road Maria Theresia in the Călimani Mountains - Past, Present and Future

The Roman road Maria Theresia is known for its historical heritage; in the past, the troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire housed weapons and food here. Built hundreds of years ago, the route crosses the Călimani mountains. In the elaboration of this article I applied as a research method the case study, which allowed me access to some historical and military information, namely the fact that the historical road had been designed since the time of Emperor Joseph II, but it was completed only in 1820, during the reign of Emperor Francis I of Austria. This study allowed me to collect certain data related to the way in which this road is valued and is attributed remarkable tourist values, and all this through the project undertaken by the Tășuleasa Social Association, which aims to arrange this route as thematic path, precisely to rediscover the imperial road with the value of a historical monument, but also to highlight the natural setting of the Călimani Mountains. Throughout the investigations and the documents studied, I found that many volunteers joined this great project, to keep a road with a distant history practicable. From this case study, it appears that this road has been so well valued that it manages to attract more and more tourists, eager to know both the history of these places, but also to participate in the organized marathon or for a simple hike.

A Geospatial Analysis of salmonellosis and its with socioeconomic status in Texas

Background: Social, behavioral, and environmental factors affect salmonellosis. The study's objective was to find the association between salmonellosis and socioeconomic status (SES) in hot spot areas and statewide counties. Methods: Retrospective county-level data on salmonellosis in 2017 were obtained from the Texas surveillance database. A statistically significant hot spot analysis identified high infection rates. We compared the socioeconomic status factors between hot and cold spot counties. We modeled zero-inflation negative binomial regression, and the final model's residual was tested for spatial clustering. Results: There were a total of 5113 salmonelloses from 254 counties with an unadjusted crude rate of 18 per 100,000 Person-year. Nine SES risk factors in the hot spot counties were as follows: low values of the severe housing problem, unemployment, African American, and high values of college education, social association rate, fast food/full-service restaurant use, Hispanic, and senior low access-to-store (P < 0.05). A 12% difference existed between local health departments in hot (25%) and cold spot (37%) counties (P = 0.81). Statewide independent risk factors were severe housing problem (IRR = 1.1; CI:1.05-1.14), social association rate (IRR = 0.89; CI:0.87-0.92), college education (IRR = 1.05; CI: 1.04-1.07), and non-Hispanic senior local access-to-store (IRR = 1.98; CI: 1.26-3.11). The severe housing problem predicted zero occurrences of infection in a county (OR = 0.51; CI: 0.28-0.95). Conclusions: Disparity exists in salmonellosis and socioeconomic status. Attention to unmet needs will decrease salmonellosis. A severe housing problem is a notable risk.

Determinants of COVID-19 Case Fatality Rate in the US: Spatial Analysis Over One Year of the Pandemic

Background: The United States continues to account for the highest proportion of the global Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths. Currently, it is important to contextualize COVID-19 fatality to guide mitigation efforts. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the ecological factors (policy, health behaviors, socio-economic, physical environment, and clinical care) associated with COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR) in the United States. Methods: Data from the New York Times’ COVID-19 repository and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data (01/21/2020 - 02/27/2021) were used. County-level CFR was modeled using the Spatial Durbin model (SDM). The SDM estimates were decomposed into direct and indirect impacts. Results: The study found percent positive for COVID-19 (0.057% point), stringency index (0.014% point), percent diabetic (0.011% point), long-term care beds (log) (0.010% point), premature age-adjusted mortality (log) (0.702 % point), income inequality ratio (0.078% point), social association rate (log) (0.014% point), percent 65 years old and over (0.055% point), and percent African Americans (0.016% point) in a given county were positively associated with its COVID-19 CFR. The study also found food insecurity, long-term beds (log), mental health-care provider (log), workforce in construction, social association rate (log), and percent diabetic of a given county as well as neighboring county were associated with given county’s COVID-19 CFR, indicating significant externalities. Conclusion: The spatial models identified percent positive for COVID-19, stringency index, elderly, college education, race/ethnicity, residential segregation, premature mortality, income inequality, workforce composition, and rurality as important ecological determinants of the geographic disparities in COVID-19 CFR.

Mixture models as a method for comparative sociality: social networks and demographic change in resident killer whales

In studies of social behaviour, social bonds are usually inferred from rates of interaction or association. This approach has revealed many important insights into the proximate formation and ultimate function of animal social structures. However, it remains challenging to compare social structure between systems or time-points because extrinsic factors, such as sampling methodology, can also influence the observed rate of association. As a consequence of these methodological challenges, it is difficult to analyse how patterns of social association change with demographic processes, such as the death of key social partners. Here we develop and illustrate the use of binomial mixture models to quantitatively compare patterns of social association between networks. We then use this method to investigate how patterns of social preferences in killer whales respond to demographic change. Resident killer whales are bisexually philopatric, and both sexes stay in close association with their mother in adulthood. We show that mothers and daughters show reduced social association after the birth of the daughter’s first offspring, but not after the birth of an offspring to the mother. We also show that whales whose mother is dead associate more with their opposite sex siblings and with their grandmother than whales whose mother is alive. Our work demonstrates the utility of using mixture models to compare social preferences between networks and between species. We also highlight other potential uses of this method such as to identify strong social bonds in animal populations. Significance statement Comparing patters of social associations between systems, or between the same systems at different times, is challenging due to the confounding effects of sampling and methodological differences. Here we present a method to allow social associations to be robustly classified and then compared between networks using binomial mixture models. We illustrate this method by showing how killer whales change their patterns of social association in response to the birth of calves and the death of their mother. We show that after the birth of her calf, females associate less with their mother. We also show that whales’ whose mother is dead associate more with their opposite sex siblings and grandmothers than whales’ whose mother is alive. This clearly demonstrates how this method can be used to examine fine scale temporal processes in animal social systems.

The Utilization of Family Planning Methods Among Rural Women In Ogun State, Nigeria

Family planning implies spacing and timing of child births. However, despite many actions put in place by government at all levels to sensitize citizen on the need for family planning; most Nigeria population still does not practice it as expected. Thus, the study assessed the utilization of family planning methods among rural women in Ogun State. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents and structured questionnaire schedule was used for the data collection. Data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential analysis.Result shows that majority of the rural women had mean age of 33±10, 45.0% were Muslims, 57.5% had secondary education, 77.5% married, 50.0% traders, 39.1% had between 5 and 6 persons in their households, 42.5% earned between 35,001 and 60,000 monthly and 66.7% of the were member of social association. Also, 60.8% had low awareness of contraceptive methods. In addition, 56.7% had high knowledge of family planning methods, most of the rural women sourced information on family planning through television. Also, increase in weight experienced by the respondents were the health factors militating against the utilization of family planning methods by the rural women as 50.8% had high utilization of family planning methods used by the rural women. There was a significant relationship between member of social association (?2=4.268, p<0.05), awareness of contraceptive method utilize by rural women (r=0.761, p<0.05), knowledge (r=0.617, p<0.002), source of information (r=-0.119, p<0.05), factors (r=0.201, p<0.05) and level of utilization of family planning methods.It is therefore concluded that most of the women had high knowledge of family planning methods but only utilized the commons ones available to them. It is therefore recommended that educative trainings should be organized for the women to enhance their usage of other methods to ensure a secured child bearing.