Examining the Association between Racialized Economic Threat and White Suicide in the United States, 2000–2016

Suicide is steadily rising. Many blamed worsening economic conditions for this trend. Sociological theory established clear pathways between joblessness and suicide focused on status threat, shame, and consequent disruption of social relationships. However, recent empirical research provides little support for a link between unemployment and suicide. I attempt to reconcile this contradiction by focusing on white suicide and white employment-to-population ratio. Whiteness is not just a default category but a pervasive ideology that amplifies the effects of status loss. The white employment-to-population ratio represents a form of racialized economic threat and accounts for discouraged workers who have exited the labor force. I use longitudinal hybrid models with U.S. state-level data, 2000 to 2016, and find that decreasing employment is associated with increasing suicide among the white population and white men. I discuss this study’s contributions to the literature on suicide and joblessness and the emerging scholarship on whiteness and health.

Effects of Planting Density and Weeding Frequency on the Corn Growth and Yield in Intercropping System with Peanut

The research aimed to determine the optimal population ratio at each frequency of weeding for the growth and yield of maize. It was carried out from February to May 2020 in the field. There are 2 treatment factors tested arranged in a splite plot design, which was repeated 3 times using a completely randomized block design (CRBD). The first factor is the frequency of weeding as the main plot (Main Plot) consisting of no weeding, 1 x weeding (21 DAS), 2 x weeding (21 DAS and 42 DAS). The second factor is the ratio of the population as sub-plots, consisting of 100% corn + 0% peanuts, 80% corn + 20% peanuts, 60% corn + 40% peanuts, 40 % corn + 60% peanuts, 20% corn + 80% peanuts. The results showed that the growth and yield of maize in the intercropping system with peanuts gave the same response to the population ratio at all weeding frequencies. The planting density of 40% maize + 60% peanuts produced the highest response on the variables of stem diameter (24.675 mm), plant fresh weight (667.51 grams) and biomass weight (79.924 grams). While the highest response to weeding frequency was 2 times (21 DAS and 42 DAS) only on plant fresh weight (588.08 grams).

Competition and physician-induced demand in a healthcare market with regulated price: evidence from Ghana

Using panel data of administrative claims spanning 36 months (2017–2019) and an instrumental variable method, this study examines whether physician-induced demand for hypertension disease care exists in Ghana’s healthcare system where price is regulated, and there is no co-payment. We find that an increase in competition—measured as a high doctor-to-population ratio at the district level—leads to an increase in the number of physician visits, suggesting physician-induced demand exists, and that effects are greater for large hospitals and public health providers. This result is further supported by alternative measures and specifications showing that physicians’ revenue from medication and gross revenue increase as the physician density increases. These pattern suggest that physicians in high density areas, faced with a decrease in number of patients per physician, make up for the decline in income by inducing more patient visits.

Recovery of vulture population in roosting and scavenging areas of Bastar and Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, India

Chhattisgarh is home to seven of the nine vulture species in India. One reason for this high vulture diversity is the presence of large herds of bovines numbering over 11 million individuals (ratio of human to bovine population is approximately 0.38), from which carcasses are disposed off in the open for scavengers. The late 1990s saw large scale decimation of vulture population, and since then there have been few studies with no sighting estimates available. In this study, concurrent sighting records were collected from different locations of southern Chhattisgarh and corroborated to develop conservative sighting estimates for sympatric populations of Gyps bengalensis and Gyps indicus. We present the first report on population recovery, with an estimated 30–35 Gyps bengalensis & 20–25 Gyps indicus in/ around Rudraram of Bijapur and 18 Gyps bengalensis & five Gyps indicus at Jamguda village of Bastar. Krishna Swami Gutta hill is identified as a nesting-roosting habitat for both species, for which six scavenging areas were identified in Bastar and Bijapur districts. The human/bovine population ratio for Bastar is 0.4, similar to the state ratio, while in Bijapur the ratio is 1.07, which justifies considering Bijapur as a conservation refuge. The few vultures that survived the diclofenac catastrophe in wild habitats most likely consumed wildlife carcasses that sustained a residual population. In these areas, the age-old practise of disposing off dead domesticated bovines away from settlements near reserve forests may also have supported the recovery of vulture population.

Evidence based teledentistry: a systematic review of literature on smartphone apps

Dental healthcare continues to be limited for large populations of both developing and developed nations. Hectic metropolitan work schedule, improper dentist-population ratio, lack of awareness, or global health emergencies such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could be the possible reasons. This results in proliferation of teledentistry based practice, aided by global smartphone networking. Smartphone teledentistry apps require proper scientific literature backup along with ready availability in popular app stores such as Google Play store, and Apple app store. This article aims to identify which smartphone apps designed to provide teledentistry features are rooted in evidence-based literature such that the percentage of scientifically supported apps that were commercially available to consumers can be determined. Smartphone apps for teledentistry were evaluated in three phases. Phase 1 identified all teledentistry apps reported in the scientific literature. Phase 2 identified which apps from the literature review were available in the app stores. Phase 3 identified the top teledentistry apps available in the app stores. 11 studies identified 5 apps with only 1 being available in both the app stores. Few apps qualified the scientific searching process, whereas the number of apps available on app stores are greater.

Quantum Statistics of Light Emitted from a Pillar Microcavity

A quantum behavior of the light emitted by exciton polaritons excited in a pillar semiconductor microcavity with embedded quantum well is investigated. Considering the bare excitons and photon modes as coupled quantum oscillators allows for an accurate accounting of the nonlinear and dissipative effects. In particular, using the method of quantum states presentation in a quantum phase space via quasiprobability functions (namely, a P-function and a Wigner function), we study the effect of the laser and the exciton-photon detuning on the second order correlation function of the emitted photons. We determine the conditions for the phenomena of bunching, giant bunching, and antibunching of the emitted light. In particular, we predict the effect of a giant bunching for the case of a large exciton to photon population ratio. Within the domain of parameters supporting a bistability regime we demonstrate the effect of bunching of photons.

A New Method to Estimate Heat Exposure Days and Its Impacts in China

Understanding the spatiotemporal trends of temperature in the context of global warming is significant for public health. Although many studies have examined changes in temperature and the impacts on human health over the past few decades in many regions, they have often been carried out in data-rich regions and have rarely considered acclimatization explicitly. The most frequent temperature (MFT) indicator provides us with the ability to solve this problem. MFT is defined as the longest period of temperature throughout the year to which a human is exposed and therefore acclimates. In this study, we propose a new method to estimate the number of heat exposure days from the perspective of temperature distribution and MFT, based on the daily mean temperature readings of 2142 weather stations in eight major climate zones in China over the past 20 years. This method can be used to calculate the number of heat exposure days in terms of heat-related mortality risk without the need for mortality data. We estimated the distribution and changes of annual mean temperature (AMT), minimum mortality temperature (MMT), and the number of heat exposure days in different climate zones in China. The AMT, MMT, and number of heat exposure days vary considerably across China. They all tend to decrease gradually from low to high latitudes. Heat exposure days are closely related to the risk of heat-related mortality. In addition, we utilized multiple linear regression (MLR) to analyze the association between the risk of heat-related mortality and the city and its climatic characteristics. Results showed that the number of heat exposure days, GDP per capita, urban population ratio, proportion of elderly population, and climate zone were found to modify the estimate on heat effect, with an R2 of 0.71. These findings will be helpful for the creation of public policies protecting against high-temperature-induced mortalities.

On the genetic divergence of two adjacent populations living in a homogeneous habitat

The purpose is to study the mechanisms leading to the genetic divergence, i.e. stable genetic differences between two adjacent populations coupled by migration of individuals. We considered the case when the fitness of individuals is strictly determined genetically by a single diallelic locus with alleles A and a, the population is panmictic and Mendel's laws of inheritance hold. The dynamic model contains three phase variables: concentration of allele A in each population and fraction (weight) of the first population in the total population size. We assume that the numbers of coupled populations change independently or strictly synchronously. In the first case, the growth rates are determined by fitness of homo- and heterozygotes, the mean fitness of the each population and the initial concentrations of alleles. In the second case, the growth rates are the same. Methods. To study the model, we used the qualitative theory of differential equations studies, including the construction of parametric and phase portraits, basins of attraction and bifurcation diagrams. We studied local bifurcations that provide the fundamental possibility of genetic divergence. Results. If heterozygote fitness is higher than homozygotes, then both populations are polymorphic with the same concentration of homologous alleles. If the heterozygotes fitness is reduced, then over time the populations will have the same monomorphism in one allele, regardless of the type of population changes. In this case, the dynamics is bistable. We showed that the divergence in the model is a result of subcritical pitchfork bifurcation of an unstable polymorphic state. As a result, the genetic divergent state is unstable and exists as part of the transient process to one of monomorphic state. Conclusion. Divergence is stable only for populations that maintain a population ratio in a certain way. In this case, it is preceded by a saddle-node bifurcation and dynamics is quad-stable, i.e. depending on the initial conditions, two types of stable monomorphism and divergence are possible simultaneously.

The physiotherapy workforce in the Brazilian Unified Health Care System

Background Maintaining sufficient health care workforce is a global priority to achieve universal health coverage. Therefore this study addresses the availability of physiotherapists in Brazil. Objective To describe secular trends of the physiotherapy workforce-to-population ratio in the Unified Health System, considering public and private sector and care level (primary, secondary, tertiary) in Brazil and its regions. Method Descriptive exploratory quantitative study based on secondary sources. All data related to the distribution of physiotherapists between August 2007 and September 2016 regarding facilities types, location and public and private sectors was obtained from the Brazilian National Registry of Health Care Facilities. Data related to the population of Brazil was extracted from Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The physiotherapy workforce-to-population ratio was calculated by the number of physiotherapists per 1000 population (public and private sector and care level) by ANOVA test. The distribution trends are represented on maps. Annual growth rates were estimated with Prais–Winsten linear regression models, with a significance level of 0.05, autocorrelation was checked by the Durbin–Watson test. Results The physiotherapists ratio in Brazil was 0.22/1000 population in 2007 and 0.41 in 2016, showing growth of 86%, with an increasing trend of 0.5% on an annual average. The public sector had the biggest physiotherapy workforce in the country in 2007 and 2016. The primary health care had the smallest physiotherapy workforce-to-population ratio (2007: p > 0.001 and 2016: p = 0.003), even though it had the largest growth trend in annual average (0.9% p > 0.001), followed by public and private tertiary health care sectors (0.8% p > 0.001). The workforce in secondary health care was bigger in the private sector than in the public sector (0.6% p > 0.001 vs. 0.2% p = 0.004). Overall, all regions had greater growth of physiotherapy workforce-to-population ratio in public primary and tertiary health care sectors, and private secondary health care sector, mainly the Southeast, South and Central-West regions. Conclusion Although the physiotherapy workforce in Brazil is relatively small, there was a trend towards growth with differences among care levels, and public and private sectors. The physiotherapy workforce-to-population ratio is bigger in the private secondary health care sector, followed by public tertiary, secondary and primary health care sectors. Sub-national regions show similar trends to the national estimates, with minor variations by region.

Spatial epidemiological study of the distribution, clustering, and risk factors associated with early COVID-19 mortality in Mexico

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, which has significantly impacted economic and public healthcare systems worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 is highly lethal in older adults (>65 years old) and in cases with underlying medical conditions, including chronic respiratory diseases, immunosuppression, and cardio-metabolic diseases, including severe obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. The course of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico has led to many fatal cases in younger patients attributable to cardio-metabolic conditions. Thus, in the present study, we aimed to perform an early spatial epidemiological analysis for the COVID-19 outbreak in Mexico. Firstly, to evaluate how mortality risk from COVID-19 among tested individuals (MRt) is geographically distributed and secondly, to analyze the association of spatial predictors of MRt across different states in Mexico, controlling for the severity of the disease. Among health-related variables, diabetes and obesity were positively associated with COVID-19 fatality. When analyzing Mexico as a whole, we identified that both the percentages of external and internal migration had positive associations with early COVID-19 mortality risk with external migration having the second-highest positive association. As an indirect measure of urbanicity, population density, and overcrowding in households, the physicians-to-population ratio has the highest positive association with MRt. In contrast, the percentage of individuals in the age group between 10 to 39 years had a negative association with MRt. Geographically, Quintana Roo, Baja California, Chihuahua, and Tabasco (until April 2020) had higher MRt and standardized mortality ratios, suggesting that risks in these states were above what was nationally expected. Additionally, the strength of the association between some spatial predictors and the COVID-19 fatality risk varied by zone.