Population Change, Resources, and the Environment. Population Trends and Public Policy No. 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobsen, Judith, Ed.

Intended for policymakers, this document focuses on environmental factors limiting the expansion of the world's food supply, the dilemma of fostering third world economic development, and prospects for energy development. The first of five parts gives an overview of a 1983 Population Reference Bureau conference which focused on current thinking…

Role of Technology in Decision Making: Exploring Land-Use Decisions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zaino, Maureen A.

2012-01-01

Increases in population, climatic changes, and other environmental issues are current challenges affecting the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) decision to examine land-use trends and emphasize efficient use and reuse of limited resources. Because of global concerns involving limited natural resources, researchers recognize land-use decision…

Analysis of water supply and demand in high mountain cities of Bolivia under growing population and changing climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinouchi, T.; Mendoza, J.; Asaoka, Y.; Fuchs, P.

2017-12-01

Water resources in La Paz and El Alto, high mountain capital cities of Bolivia, strongly depend on the surface and subsurface runoff from partially glacierized catchments located in the Cordillera Real, Andes. Due to growing population and changing climate, the balance between water supply from the source catchments and demand for drinking, agriculture, industry and hydropower has become precarious in recent years as evidenced by a serious drought during the 2015-2016 El Nino event. To predict the long-term availability of water resources under changing climate, we developed a semi-distributed glacio-hydrological model that considers various runoff pathways from partially glacierized high-altitude catchments. Two GCM projections (MRI-AGCM and INGV-ECHAM4) were used for the prediction with bias corrected by reanalysis data (ERA-INTERIM) and downscaled to target areas using data monitored at several weather stations. The model was applied to three catchments from which current water resources are supplied and eight additional catchments that will be potentially effective in compensating reduced runoff from the current water resource areas. For predicting the future water demand, a cohort-component method was used for the projection of size and composition of population change, considering natural and social change (birth, death and transfer). As a result, total population is expected to increase from 1.6 million in 2012 to 2.0 million in 2036. The water demand was predicted for given unit water consumption, non-revenue water rate (NWR), and sectorial percentage of water consumption for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes. The results of hydrological simulations and the analysis of water demand indicated that water supply and demand are barely balanced in recent years, while the total runoff from current water resource areas will continue to decrease and unprecedented water shortage is likely to occur since around 2020 toward the middle of 21st century even if NWR is improved. We showed that the runoff from a partially-glacierized catchment located in the vicinity of the current water resource catchments can greatly compensate the projected shortage in water supply. Therefore, consensus building on diverting water from the new catchment will be critical for sustainable development of the region.

Effective population size of korean populations.

PubMed

Park, Leeyoung

2014-12-01

Recently, new methods have been developed for estimating the current and recent changes in effective population sizes. Based on the methods, the effective population sizes of Korean populations were estimated using data from the Korean Association Resource (KARE) project. The overall changes in the population sizes of the total populations were similar to CHB (Han Chinese in Beijing, China) and JPT (Japanese in Tokyo, Japan) of the HapMap project. There were no differences in past changes in population sizes with a comparison between an urban area and a rural area. Age-dependent current and recent effective population sizes represent the modern history of Korean populations, including the effects of World War II, the Korean War, and urbanization. The oldest age group showed that the population growth of Koreans had already been substantial at least since the end of the 19th century.

Socio-Cultural Factors and Energy Resource Development in Rural Areas in the West.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albrecht, Stan L.

Drawing upon and synthesizing social and demographic data (1940-70) from 14 counties in the Rocky Mountain West which are currently facing extensive population growth as the result of large scale energy resource development, a preliminary model of potential sociocultural impact was developed. Including national energy needs and traditional…

Managing Electronic Resources: A Survey of Current Practices in Academic Libraries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Beth Hansen

This document reports results of an online survey that examined practices and procedures in the management of electronic resources in 65 academic library reference departments. Responses are related to: (1) student population; (2) library use by community people; (3) number of public access workstations, workstations with World Wide Web access,…

Illustrative Projections of World Populations to the 21st Century. Current Population Reports, Special Studies Series P-23, No. 79.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Maurice J., Ed.; O'Connell, Martin, Ed.

The document presents high, medium, and low projections of the world's population for the year 2000. The objective of the study is to determine demands on natural resources and the environment which will be brought about by changes in the world's population. The document is presented in three major sections. Section I provides an overview of the…

Adult volunteerism in Pennsylvania 4-H natural resources programs for youth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Sanford Sherrick

2001-07-01

Pennsylvania's 4-H Youth Development Program relies on adult volunteers to reach youth with educational information and opportunities. Finding adults willing to do this volunteer work is challenging. This study looks at the current status of adult volunteerism with natural resources 4-H projects, and seeks to understand potential volunteers. The literature has much to offer in regards to general volunteer trends, management, motivations, and task preferences; however, few studies focus on volunteers in natural resources or environmental education. A telephone survey conducted with county 4-H agents revealed that only 3.2% of Pennsylvania's 4-H volunteers work with natural resources projects in 56 out of 67 counties, and that very few volunteers have any formal background in natural resources. Semi-structured interviews with 41 adult volunteers currently working with natural resources projects explored volunteer demographics, history, program design preferences, and ideas for seeking more volunteers. Findings from the telephone survey and the semi-structured interviews were used to generate a mail survey with large, random samples from three population groups: (1) 4-H Volunteers, (2) 4-H Parents, and (3) Natural Resources Professionals. Confidence with youth and subject matter, and adult willingness to volunteer was explored for each of the groups in relation to background, demographic characteristics, motivational needs, past and present volunteer activity, personal interests, and program design importance. Natural resources subject matter confidence was shown to be the most significant variable determining willingness to volunteer for all three groups. The variables that contributed to subject matter and youth confidence varied for each population. Key variables effecting willingness to volunteer included outdoor activity level, personal interest in natural resources, the need to fulfill feelings of social responsibility, and confidence with youth. Program design features were shown to have little impact on willingness among the populations. Normative descriptions of individuals most likely to volunteer from each group were generated. Findings will be useful for targeted recruitment, volunteer job placement, and expanded natural resources programming for youth.

Mediating Role of Psychological Resources on the Association Between Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Current Health in the Community Adult Population of Japan.

PubMed

Kan, Chiemi; Kawakami, Norito; Umeda, Maki

2015-12-01

The majority of studies on the role of psychological resources linking childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and adult health have been conducted in Western countries. Empirical evidence for mediation effects of psychological resources is currently lacking in Japan. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of psychological resources (mastery and sense of coherence [SOC]) on the association between childhood SES and current health. Analyses were conducted on cross-sectional data (1,497 men and 1,764 women) from the Japanese Study of Stratification, Health, Income, and Neighborhood Study (J-SHINE) in Tokyo. Psychological resources (mastery and SOC), childhood SES (parents' education and perceived childhood SES), and current health of adults (psychological distress measured by K6 and self-rated health) were measured using a self-report questionnaire. Mastery and SOC significantly and independently mediated the association between childhood SES and current health in the total sample after adjusting for age, gender, and respondent education, regardless of type of SES or health outcome indicators. Similar mediation effects were observed for both men and women. A few gender differences were observed; specifically, SOC significantly mediated the association between parents' education and current health only among women, and it mediated the association between perceived childhood SES and current health only among men. Overall, the findings underscore the importance of the mediating role of psychological resources in the association between childhood SES and current health.

Ghana.

PubMed

1981-09-01

The government of Ghana sees the country's population as a valuable natural resource and emphasizes national population policy as an important part of overall socioeconomic planning and development. A formal system of development planning has been in effect since 1951. Decennial censuses are conducted relatively regularly but vital registration is thought to be incomplete. The current population size is 11,679,000 and the current rate of natural increase (3.1%) is considered too high, constraining the achievement of socioeconomic development. The high rate of growth is taxing on employment and public services. High fertility rates are influenced both by regional norms, such as early and universal marriage, and demographic factors, i.e., an increasingly higher proportion of the population in the 0-14 age group. The government sponsors family planning services which can be obtained free or at subsidized rates and seeks to upgrade the health and living standards of the population. Sterilization is permitted for medical reasons only, and abortions are restricted. Crude death rates have declined steadily and are currently estimated at 21-23/1000 population. The infant mortality rate is approximately 125.7/1000 live births. These rates are considered unacceptable and budget allocations for curative and preventive services have continuously risen. Uneven regional distribution of services continues to be problematic. Efforts to curb immigration in 1969 are thought to have resulted in the current satisfactory situation. Restrictive measures to prevent the emigration of skilled personnel are in effect. 60-65% of the population are urban dwellers and the proportion is expected to increase. The current spatial distribution of the population is considered inappropriate, rapid urbanization is causing rural depopulation, overburdening urban services and accentuating rural-urban disparaties. 2 approaches to the problem have been implemented: the urban increase is accomodated by increasing outlays for services, and new public investments are widely dispersed, particularly in rural areas. The industrial policy is expected to shift to exploitation of the country's natural resources in order to develop the interior.

Population dynamics and environmental degradation in Nepal: an interpretation.

PubMed

Karki, Y B

1993-01-01

This paper examines the special problems that are faced by developing countries, specifically Nepal, which have to sustain increasing populations from a depleting natural resource base. Nepal is an example of a developing country where fertility is high and mortality is decreasing fast, resulting in a high rate of population growth. Nepal's rapid population growth has had a significant impact on natural resource depletion and consequently, environmental degradation. The case of Nepal demonstrates the difficulties confronting developing countries, which attempt practical implementation of the population policy guidelines set out in Agenda 21. Past and current population programs in this country have failed to address the population problem as multidimensional, and have failed to encourage grassroots participation. Economic stagnation and poverty encourage a large family size, and are delaying declines in fertility which subsequently leads to high land encroachment and fast depletion of natural resources like forests and water. The government needs to implement an integrated, multidimensional approach, which emphasizes literacy, education, lowering infant mortality, and providing contraceptives along with follow-ups. Finally, the greatest action must consist of fostering a higher rate of planned economic and social development that must be shown to have meaning for, and impact on the population in general.

Assessment of Biomass Resources in Liberia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Milbrandt, A.

2009-04-01

Biomass resources meet about 99.5% of the Liberian population?s energy needs so they are vital to basic welfare and economic activity. Already, traditional biomass products like firewood and charcoal are the primary energy source used for domestic cooking and heating. However, other more efficient biomass technologies are available that could open opportunities for agriculture and rural development, and provide other socio-economic and environmental benefits.The main objective of this study is to estimate the biomass resources currently and potentially available in the country and evaluate their contribution for power generation and the production of transportation fuels. It intends to inform policymore » makers and industry developers of the biomass resource availability in Liberia, identify areas with high potential, and serve as a base for further, more detailed site-specific assessments.« less

Shifting Sands: Balancing U.S. Interests in the Middle East. Teacher's Resource Book [and Student Text]. Public Policy Debate in the Classroom. Choices for the 21st Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackadar, Andy

This teacher's resource book and student text are part of a continuing series on current and historical international issues, placing special emphasis on the importance of educating students in their participatory role as citizens. For the U.S. population, the oil resources of the Persian Gulf, attachment to Israel, and fears about terrorism and…

Current Status of Palliative Care, Education, and Research

PubMed Central

Grant, Marcia; Elk, Ronit; Ferrell, Betty; Morrison, R. Sean; von Gunten, Charles F.

2010-01-01

Palliative and end-of-life care is changing in the United States. This dynamic field is improving the care for patients with serious and life-threatening cancer through creation of national guidelines for quality care, multidisciplinary educational offerings, research endeavors, and resources made available to clinicians. Barriers to implementing quality palliative care across cancer populations include a rapidly expanding population of older adults who will need cancer care and a decrease in the workforce available to give care. Ways to integrate current palliative care knowledge into care of patients include multidisciplinary national education and research endeavors, and clinician resources. Acceptance of palliative care as a recognized medical specialty provides a valuable resource for improvement of care. While the evidence base for palliative care is only beginning, national research support has assisted in providing support to build the knowledge foundation for appropriate palliative care. Opportunities are available for clinicians to understand and apply appropriate palliative and end-of-life care to patients with serious and life-threatening cancers. PMID:19729681

The effect of changes in health sector resources on infant mortality in the short-run and the long-run: a longitudinal econometric analysis.

PubMed

Farahani, Mansour; Subramanian, S V; Canning, David

2009-06-01

While countries with higher levels of human resources for health typically have better population health, the evidence that increases in the level of human resources for health leads to improvements in population health is limited. We use a dynamic regression model to obtain estimates of both the short-run and long-term effects of changes in physicians per capita, our measure of health system resources, on infant mortality. Using a dataset of 99 countries at 5-year intervals from 1960-2000, we estimate that increasing the number of physicians by one per 1000 population (roughly a doubling of current levels of provision) decreases the infant mortality rate by 15% within 5 years and by 45% in the long-run with half the long-run gain being achieved in 15 years. We conclude that the long-run effects of heath system resources are substantially larger than previously estimated. Our results suggest, however, that countries that have delayed action on the Millennium Development Goal of reducing infant and child mortality rate by two-thirds by 2015 (relative to 1990) may have difficulty meeting this goal even if they rapidly increase resources now.

[Feminists' approach to population problems: new paradigm or Utopia?].

PubMed

Kono, S

1997-05-01

The author first notes that, partly because of events occurring at the International Conference on Population and Development that took place in Cairo in 1994, a consensus has emerged that population programs based on a philosophy of empowering women and focusing on reproductive health are more likely to be effective than programs that focus on providing family planning services and achieving demographic targets. Some reservations about this consensus are then expressed. The author points out the difficulties inherent in widening the mandate of family planning programs in an era of diminished resources for international assistance, the past success of such programs in reducing fertility with limited resources, and the inherent contradictions in following a laissez-faire attitude toward reproduction in such regions as Sub-Saharan Africa, where economies and political systems are often in crisis, health services are minimal, and desired levels of fertility both way above current levels and far above the replacement level. While not challenging the value of the Cairo philosophy, the need to move from rhetoric to reality in the face of the world's current population problems is stressed.

Sustainable Skyscrapers: Designing the Net Zero Energy Building of the Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kothari, S.; Bartsch, A.

2016-12-01

Cities of the future will need to increase population density in order to keep up with the rising populations in the limited available land area. In order to provide sufficient power as the population grows, cities must become more energy efficient. Fossil fuels and grid energy will continue to become more expensive as nonrenewable resources deplete. The obvious solution to increase population density while decreasing the reliance on fossil fuels is to build taller skyscrapers that are energy neutral, i.e. self-sustaining. However, current skyscrapers are not energy efficient, and therefore cannot provide a sustainable solution to the problem of increasing population density in the face of depleting energy resources. The design of a net zero energy building that includes both residential and commercial space is presented. Alternative energy systems such as wind turbines, photovoltaic cells, and a waste-to-fuel conversion plant have been incorporated into the design of a 50 story skyscraper that is not reliant on fossil fuels and has a payback time of about six years. Although the current building was designed to be located in San Francisco, simple modifications to the design would allow this building to fit the needs of any city around the world.

Comparison of two scores for allocating resources to doctors in deprived areas.

PubMed

Hutchinson, A; Foy, C; Sandhu, B

1989-11-04

Current proposals in the general practitioner contract include additional payments to doctors working among deprived populations. The underprivileged area score will be used to identify local authority wards with the greatest levels of deprivation, thus acting as the basis for distributing considerable resources. Two methods of identifying deprived populations--the underprivileged area score and the material deprivation score--were compared to determine whether they result in similar allocation of resources to regions. Financial allocations to regions based on figures derived from the contract differed considerably if the material deprivation score was used instead of the underprivileged area score: Northern and Mersey regions gained over 50% of their allocation whereas East Anglia, Oxford, and South West Thames regions lost more than 30% of theirs. Such differences have considerable implications for doctors working among deprived populations as up to 60m pounds each year might be distributed by these payments.

China: moral puzzles.

PubMed

Xu, T M

1990-01-01

This is the first of a set of three articles concerned with "bioethics on the Pacific Rim." The author, vice president of Beijing Medical University and vice chairman of the Beijing Academic Association for Morality, identifies population control, euthanasia, and the allocation of health care resources as bioethical issues of current interest in his country. Population policy in China is grounded in public welfare arguments. The idea of a right to choose one's death is found in Chinese philosophy, although Chinese legal experts believe that euthanasia is not compatible with present criminal, civil, or family law. Allocation of health resources remains a problem in China, even throughout the free medical service that serves a small portion, largely composed of government employees, of the country's population of 1.08 billion.

Measuring Resource Utilization: A Systematic Review of Validated Self-Reported Questionnaires.

PubMed

Leggett, Laura E; Khadaroo, Rachel G; Holroyd-Leduc, Jayna; Lorenzetti, Diane L; Hanson, Heather; Wagg, Adrian; Padwal, Raj; Clement, Fiona

2016-03-01

A variety of methods may be used to obtain costing data. Although administrative data are most commonly used, the data available in these datasets are often limited. An alternative method of obtaining costing is through self-reported questionnaires. Currently, there are no systematic reviews that summarize self-reported resource utilization instruments from the published literature.The aim of the study was to identify validated self-report healthcare resource use instruments and to map their attributes.A systematic review was conducted. The search identified articles using terms like "healthcare utilization" and "questionnaire." All abstracts and full texts were considered in duplicate. For inclusion, studies had to assess the validity of a self-reported resource use questionnaire, to report original data, include adult populations, and the questionnaire had to be publically available. Data such as type of resource utilization assessed by each questionnaire, and validation findings were extracted from each study.In all, 2343 unique citations were retrieved; 2297 were excluded during abstract review. Forty-six studies were reviewed in full text, and 15 studies were included in this systematic review. Six assessed resource utilization of patients with chronic conditions; 5 assessed mental health service utilization; 3 assessed resource utilization by a general population; and 1 assessed utilization in older populations. The most frequently measured resources included visits to general practitioners and inpatient stays; nonmedical resources were least frequently measured. Self-reported questionnaires on resource utilization had good agreement with administrative data, although, visits to general practitioners, outpatient days, and nurse visits had poorer agreement.Self-reported questionnaires are a valid method of collecting data on healthcare resource utilization.

Maintaining high rates of measles immunization in Africa.

PubMed

Lessler, J; Moss, W J; Lowther, S A; Cummings, D A T

2011-07-01

Supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) are important in achieving high levels of population immunity to measles virus. Using data from a 2006 survey of measles vaccination in Lusaka, Zambia, we developed a model to predict measles immunity following routine vaccination and SIAs, and absent natural infection. Projected population immunity was compared between the current programme and alternatives, including supplementing routine vaccination with a second dose, or SIAs at 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-year intervals. Current routine vaccination plus frequent SIAs could maintain high levels of population immunity in children aged <5 years, even if each frequent SIA has low coverage (e.g. ≥ 72% for bi-annual 60% coverage SIAs vs. ≥ 69% for quadrennial 95% coverage SIAs). A second dose at 12 months with current coverage could achieve 81% immunity. Circulating measles virus will only increase population immunity. Public health officials should consider frequent SIAs when resources for a two-dose strategy are unavailable.

Macroecology Meets Macroeconomics: Resource Scarcity and Global Sustainability

PubMed Central

Brown, James H.; Burger, Joseph R.; Burnside, William R.; Chang, Michael; Davidson, Ana D.; Fristoe, Trevor S.; Hamilton, Marcus J.; Hammond, Sean T.; Kodric-Brown, Astrid; Mercado-Silva, Norman; Nekola, Jeffrey C.; Okie, Jordan G.

2013-01-01

The current economic paradigm, which is based on increasing human population, economic development, and standard of living, is no longer compatible with the biophysical limits of the finite Earth. Failure to recover from the economic crash of 2008 is not due just to inadequate fiscal and monetary policies. The continuing global crisis is also due to scarcity of critical resources. Our macroecological studies highlight the role in the economy of energy and natural resources: oil, gas, water, arable land, metals, rare earths, fertilizers, fisheries, and wood. As the modern industrial technological-informational economy expanded in recent decades, it grew by consuming the Earth’s natural resources at unsustainable rates. Correlations between per capita GDP and per capita consumption of energy and other resources across nations and over time demonstrate how economic growth and development depend on “nature’s capital”. Decades-long trends of decreasing per capita consumption of multiple important commodities indicate that overexploitation has created an unsustainable bubble of population and economy. PMID:24882946

Macroecology Meets Macroeconomics: Resource Scarcity and Global Sustainability.

PubMed

Brown, James H; Burger, Joseph R; Burnside, William R; Chang, Michael; Davidson, Ana D; Fristoe, Trevor S; Hamilton, Marcus J; Hammond, Sean T; Kodric-Brown, Astrid; Mercado-Silva, Norman; Nekola, Jeffrey C; Okie, Jordan G

2014-04-01

The current economic paradigm, which is based on increasing human population, economic development, and standard of living, is no longer compatible with the biophysical limits of the finite Earth. Failure to recover from the economic crash of 2008 is not due just to inadequate fiscal and monetary policies. The continuing global crisis is also due to scarcity of critical resources. Our macroecological studies highlight the role in the economy of energy and natural resources: oil, gas, water, arable land, metals, rare earths, fertilizers, fisheries, and wood. As the modern industrial technological-informational economy expanded in recent decades, it grew by consuming the Earth's natural resources at unsustainable rates. Correlations between per capita GDP and per capita consumption of energy and other resources across nations and over time demonstrate how economic growth and development depend on "nature's capital". Decades-long trends of decreasing per capita consumption of multiple important commodities indicate that overexploitation has created an unsustainable bubble of population and economy.

Innovations in Play Therapy: Issues, Process, and Special Populations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landreth, Garry L., Ed.

This book is a compilation of discussions on current issues in play therapy. It is designed to help therapists fill in the gaps about working with special populations, which is often not directly addressed in other play therapy resources. The object of the book is to bring together information related to issues and dynamics of the process of this…

Aging and the Work Force: Human Resource Strategies. An Information Paper Prepared for Use by the Special Committee on Aging. United States Senate, Ninety-Seventh Congress, Second Session.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Special Committee on Aging.

This information paper explores the need for age-neutral functional criteria in the human resources management system and the need for managers to review currently accepted employment policies. Population patterns, labor force profiles, and labor force projections are reviewed. The paper examines the effect of retirement policies and considers…

The state of the environment in Iran.

PubMed

Zekavat, S M

1997-06-01

This article describes environmental conditions in Iran including air pollution, pesticide pollution, soil depletion and erosion, water pollution, natural resource loss, lack of appropriate waste management, lead poisoning, and desertification. Environmental policy and implementation is described under the Shah and the Islamic Republic. Iran is beset with interrelated problems of environmental degradation, unemployment, poverty, and population growth. Sustainability is being undermined at the cost of future generations. In 1995, Iran had a population of 67 million and a growth rate of 3.6%. Population is expected to exceed 100 million by the year 2000. The country is having difficulty in maintaining its current infrastructure, housing, food, and educational facilities. Competition for admission in higher education discourages women. Women with lower levels of education results in continued supremacy of men over women, more polygamy, and a lower quality of life for women. Iran was food self-sufficient in 1970, and exported its surplus. Today, Iran may be permanently dependent on food imports. Iran has abundant oil reserves, natural gas, copper, lead, and marketable items. Exchanging natural resources for food and technology has time and resource limits. Iran needs monetary assistance from wealthy nations. Population growth leads to increased demand for infrastructure and resources. Iran has signed many international environmental agreements and has enacted detailed environmental policies and regulations, but actual enforcement is lacking.

Progress and challenges to the global waste management system.

PubMed

Singh, Jagdeep; Laurenti, Rafael; Sinha, Rajib; Frostell, Björn

2014-09-01

Rapid economic growth, urbanization and increasing population have caused (materially intensive) resource consumption to increase, and consequently the release of large amounts of waste to the environment. From a global perspective, current waste and resource management lacks a holistic approach covering the whole chain of product design, raw material extraction, production, consumption, recycling and waste management. In this article, progress and different sustainability challenges facing the global waste management system are presented and discussed. The study leads to the conclusion that the current, rather isolated efforts, in different systems for waste management, waste reduction and resource management are indeed not sufficient in a long term sustainability perspective. In the future, to manage resources and wastes sustainably, waste management requires a more systems-oriented approach that addresses the root causes for the problems. A specific issue to address is the development of improved feedback information (statistics) on how waste generation is linked to consumption. © The Author(s) 2014.

Total Water Management - Report

EPA Science Inventory

There is a growing need for urban water managers to take a more holistic view of their water resource systems as population growth, urbanization, and current operations put different stresses on the environment and urban infrastructure. Total Water Management (TWM) is an approac...

Immigrant Identities in the Digital Age: Portraits of Spanish-Speaking Young Men Learning in a Community-Based Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Creel-Erickson, Gwen Rene

2013-01-01

Currently the United States is home to a large and increasing immigrant population. Many of these immigrant students use community-based programs for their educational needs. Despite the large number of immigrant students who currently use alternate resources, such as churches and community centers, for education, adult language learners in…

Mineral resources: Reserves, peak production and the future

USGS Publications Warehouse

Meinert, Lawrence D.; Robinson, Gilpin; Nassar, Nedal

2016-01-01

The adequacy of mineral resources in light of population growth and rising standards of living has been a concern since the time of Malthus (1798), but many studies erroneously forecast impending peak production or exhaustion because they confuse reserves with “all there is”. Reserves are formally defined as a subset of resources, and even current and potential resources are only a small subset of “all there is”. Peak production or exhaustion cannot be modeled accurately from reserves. Using copper as an example, identified resources are twice as large as the amount projected to be needed through 2050. Estimates of yet-to-be discovered copper resources are up to 40-times more than currently-identified resources, amounts that could last for many centuries. Thus, forecasts of imminent peak production due to resource exhaustion in the next 20–30 years are not valid. Short-term supply problems may arise, however, and supply-chain disruptions are possible at any time due to natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes) or political complications. Needed to resolve these problems are education and exploration technology development, access to prospective terrain, better recycling and better accounting of externalities associated with production (pollution, loss of ecosystem services and water and energy use).

Urban groundwater quality in sub-Saharan Africa: current status and implications for water security and public health

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapworth, D. J.; Nkhuwa, D. C. W.; Okotto-Okotto, J.; Pedley, S.; Stuart, M. E.; Tijani, M. N.; Wright, J.

2017-06-01

Groundwater resources are important sources of drinking water in Africa, and they are hugely important in sustaining urban livelihoods and supporting a diverse range of commercial and agricultural activities. Groundwater has an important role in improving health in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). An estimated 250 million people (40% of the total) live in urban centres across SSA. SSA has experienced a rapid expansion in urban populations since the 1950s, with increased population densities as well as expanding geographical coverage. Estimates suggest that the urban population in SSA will double between 2000 and 2030. The quality status of shallow urban groundwater resources is often very poor due to inadequate waste management and source protection, and poses a significant health risk to users, while deeper borehole sources often provide an important source of good quality drinking water. Given the growth in future demand from this finite resource, as well as potential changes in future climate in this region, a detailed understanding of both water quantity and quality is required to use this resource sustainably. This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the water quality status, both microbial and chemical, of urban groundwater in SSA across a range of hydrogeological terrains and different groundwater point types. Lower storage basement terrains, which underlie a significant proportion of urban centres in SSA, are particularly vulnerable to contamination. The relationship between mean nitrate concentration and intrinsic aquifer pollution risk is assessed for urban centres across SSA. Current knowledge gaps are identified and future research needs highlighted.

Population growth and global security

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mumford, S.

A new threat to international and domestic security has emerged in the past three decades: uncontrolled world population growth. Current world population growth control efforts are ineffective. Unchecked growth will threaten global security by depleting food, energy, and other resources. Immigration is another complicating factor that is straining the carrying capacity of some overpopulated regions. Barriers to effective action include the desire of decision-makers to avoid the controversy of abortion and the role of the Catholic church in lobbying against birth control. (3 graphs, 12 photos, 2 tables)

Europe in the energy transition: the case for a smaller population.

PubMed

Grant, L

1988-07-01

Europe has not yet reached a sustainable society, that is, like the rest of the world, its people cannot live comfortably within its resources, but, it has achieved stabilizing population growth, a control on a potentially dangerous dependency on imported food, an adjustment to the transition from the colonial era, and a position conducive to deal with the energy transition. Europe is the most densely population region of the world, except for Japan. Concern about depopulation in western Europe is misplaced because European populations are on a plateau not a decline, and a lower population is a benefit when confronting resource and environmental constraints. World oil production is expected to peak and then to decline depending on demand, prices, and technology. European oil production will decline, and the United Kingdom will become a net importer in the mid-1990s. The environmental transition is described as more complex than finding a substitute for oil, in part because Europe, unlike the US, has limited fossil fuel resources which are also less accessible. Biomass as the alternative to fossil fuels must be produced on lands currently in food or forestry production. Also corn and bagasse production is not suited to for growing the European climate. Nuclear energy, with its safety and disposal problems, is only an interim solution. Hydropower development is expensive, and solar power is unsuitable because of the continual cloud cover. Wind power is possible but expensive at low wind levels, and the whole of western Europe is relatively unsuitable. Capital creates wealth, and unemployment is Europe's present problem. Large populations in the current technological revolution do not create greater wealth or military security. Europe and Japan have arrived at the population/energy/environment problem first, and many questions remain as to how to manage the age structure, how to maintain innovation and creativity, and how to maintain a prosperous steady state economy.

The Ancient Maya Landscape from Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sever, T.; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

The Peten, once inhabited by a population of several million before the collapse of the ancient Maya in the 10th and 11th centuries, is being repopulated toward its former demographic peak. Environmental dynamics, however, impose severe constraints to further development. Current practices in subsistence, commercial agriculture, and cattle raising are causing rapid deforestation resulting in the destruction of environmental and archeological resources. The use of remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology is a cost-effective methodology for addressing issues in Maya archeology as well as monitoring the environmental impacts being experienced by the current population.

[The relationships between population and economy, and between population and education].

PubMed

Yu, W

1981-01-01

The relationship between population and economy is regarded seriously by China and other countries. This problem can be analyzed and studied under 2 aspects: 1) the influence of economic development on changes in population, and 2) the influence of population increases on economic development. Under the 1st aspect, improved living conditions, hygiene, and health care generally result in lowered mortality rates. Improved economic conditions in China also increased the birthrate and at the same time increased birth control among the people; the increased birthrate was due to more marriages after liberation. In economically advanced countries, due to high expenses in raising children, people tend to limit family sizes to 2 children/family. Under the 2nd aspect, population increases place strains on the food supply and nutritional requirements, especially when increases are too rapid. They also demand more educational resources and influence quality of education. As there are currently 210 million students in China, the quality of education suffers, particularly at the college level, since most of Chinese manpower, physical and financial resources are spent on primary and secondary education. In terms of housing, transportation, health care, and natural resources, they are all intimately related to and influenced by increases in population. Consequently, the living standard would be difficult to raise if population increases are too rapid. Since 1971, population increases have been incorporated into 5-yearly and later yearly national economic plans in China. The large Chinese population is a major obstacle in raising the Chinese economic level, hence a well-planned population control program is essential.

Families on Welfare. Teenage Mothers Least Likely To Become Self-Sufficient. Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. Health, Education, and Human Services Div.

The Subcommittee on Human Resources of the House Committee on Ways and Means asked the General Accounting Office for information on who is currently receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and whether the characteristics of this population have changed in recent years. This report presents information from 1976 to 1992 about women…

Families on Welfare. Sharp Rise in Never-Married Women Reflects Societal Trend. Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. Health, Education, and Human Services Div.

The Subcommittee on Human Resources of the House Committee on Ways and Means asked the General Accounting Office for information on who is currently receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and whether the characteristics of this population have changed in recent years. This report presents information on changes in the…

Genetic selection and conservation of genetic diversity*.

PubMed

Blackburn, H D

2012-08-01

For 100s of years, livestock producers have employed various types of selection to alter livestock populations. Current selection strategies are little different, except our technologies for selection have become more powerful. Genetic resources at the breed level have been in and out of favour over time. These resources are the raw materials used to manipulate populations, and therefore, they are critical to the past and future success of the livestock sector. With increasing ability to rapidly change genetic composition of livestock populations, the conservation of these genetic resources becomes more critical. Globally, awareness of the need to steward genetic resources has increased. A growing number of countries have embarked on large scale conservation efforts by using in situ, ex situ (gene banking), or both approaches. Gene banking efforts have substantially increased and data suggest that gene banks are successfully capturing genetic diversity for research or industry use. It is also noteworthy that both industry and the research community are utilizing gene bank holdings. As pressures grow to meet consumer demands and potential changes in production systems, the linkage between selection goals and genetic conservation will increase as a mechanism to facilitate continued livestock sector development. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Consumer-Resource Dynamics: Quantity, Quality, and Allocation

PubMed Central

Getz, Wayne M.; Owen-Smith, Norman

2011-01-01

Background The dominant paradigm for modeling the complexities of interacting populations and food webs is a system of coupled ordinary differential equations in which the state of each species, population, or functional trophic group is represented by an aggregated numbers-density or biomass-density variable. Here, using the metaphysiological approach to model consumer-resource interactions, we formulate a two-state paradigm that represents each population or group in a food web in terms of both its quantity and quality. Methodology and Principal Findings The formulation includes an allocation function controlling the relative proportion of extracted resources to increasing quantity versus elevating quality. Since lower quality individuals senesce more rapidly than higher quality individuals, an optimal allocation proportion exists and we derive an expression for how this proportion depends on population parameters that determine the senescence rate, the per-capita mortality rate, and the effects of these rates on the dynamics of the quality variable. We demonstrate that oscillations do not arise in our model from quantity-quality interactions alone, but require consumer-resource interactions across trophic levels that can be stabilized through judicious resource allocation strategies. Analysis and simulations provide compelling arguments for the necessity of populations to evolve quality-related dynamics in the form of maternal effects, storage or other appropriate structures. They also indicate that resource allocation switching between investments in abundance versus quality provide a powerful mechanism for promoting the stability of consumer-resource interactions in seasonally forcing environments. Conclusions/Significance Our simulations show that physiological inefficiencies associated with this switching can be favored by selection due to the diminished exposure of inefficient consumers to strong oscillations associated with the well-known paradox of enrichment. Also our results demonstrate how allocation switching can explain observed growth patterns in experimental microbial cultures and discuss how our formulation can address questions that cannot be answered using the quantity-only paradigms that currently predominate. PMID:21283752

Resource demand growth and sustainability due to increased world consumption

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Balatsky, Alexander V.; Balatsky, Galina I.; Borysov, Stanislav S.

The paper aims at continuing the discussion on sustainability and attempts to forecast the impossibility of the expanding consumption worldwide due to the planet’s limited resources. As the population of China, India and other developing countries continue to increase, they would also require more natural and financial resources to sustain their growth. We coarsely estimate the volumes of these resources (energy, food, freshwater) and the gross domestic product (GDP) that would need to be achieved to bring the population of India and China to the current levels of consumption in the United States. We also provide estimations for potentially neededmore » immediate growth of the world resource consumption to meet this equality requirement. Given the tight historical correlation between GDP and energy consumption, the needed increase of GDP per capita in the developing world to the levels of the U.S. would deplete explored fossil fuel reserves in less than two decades. These estimates predict that the world economy would need to find a development model where growth would be achieved without heavy dependence on fossil fuels.« less

Resource demand growth and sustainability due to increased world consumption

DOE PAGES

Balatsky, Alexander V.; Balatsky, Galina I.; Borysov, Stanislav S.

2015-03-20

The paper aims at continuing the discussion on sustainability and attempts to forecast the impossibility of the expanding consumption worldwide due to the planet’s limited resources. As the population of China, India and other developing countries continue to increase, they would also require more natural and financial resources to sustain their growth. We coarsely estimate the volumes of these resources (energy, food, freshwater) and the gross domestic product (GDP) that would need to be achieved to bring the population of India and China to the current levels of consumption in the United States. We also provide estimations for potentially neededmore » immediate growth of the world resource consumption to meet this equality requirement. Given the tight historical correlation between GDP and energy consumption, the needed increase of GDP per capita in the developing world to the levels of the U.S. would deplete explored fossil fuel reserves in less than two decades. These estimates predict that the world economy would need to find a development model where growth would be achieved without heavy dependence on fossil fuels.« less

Availability of Water in the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mack, Thomas J.; Chornack, Michael P.; Coplen, T.B.; Plummer, Niel; Rezai, M.T.; Verstraeten, Ingrid M.

2010-01-01

The availability of water resources is vital to the social and economic well being and rebuilding of Afghanistan. Kabul City currently (2010) has a population of nearly 4 million and is growing rapidly as a result of periods of relative security and the return of refugees. Population growth and recent droughts have placed new stresses on the city's limited water resources and have caused many wells to become contaminated, dry, or inoperable in recent years. The projected vulnerability of Central and West Asia to climate change (Cruz and others, 2007; Milly and others, 2005) and observations of diminishing glaciers in Afghanistan (Molnia, 2009) have heightened concerns for future water availability in the Kabul Basin of Afghanistan.

75 FR 81037 - Waste Confidence Decision Update

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-23

... well beyond the current analysis that supports at least 60 years of post-licensed life storage with... environmental factors including surrounding population density, water resources, seismicity, subsurface geology... expiration of the 60-year post licensed life period, the Commission will revisit the Waste Confidence...

Regulation of water resources for sustaining global future socioeconomic development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, J.; SHI, H.; Sivakumar, B.

2016-12-01

With population projections indicating continued growth during this century, socio-economic problems (e.g., water, food, and energy shortages) will be most likely to occur, especially if proper planning, development, and management strategies are not adopted. In the present study, firstly, we explore the vital role of dams in promoting economic growth through analyzing the relationship between dams and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at both global and national scales. Secondly, we analyze the current situation of global water scarcity based on the data representing water resources availability, dam development, and the level of economic development. Third, with comprehensive consideration of population growth as the major driving force, water resources availability as the basic supporting factor, and topography as the important constraint, this study addresses the question of dam development in the future and predicts the locations of future dams around the world.

A framework for human microbiome research

PubMed Central

Methé, Barbara A.; Nelson, Karen E.; Pop, Mihai; Creasy, Heather H.; Giglio, Michelle G.; Huttenhower, Curtis; Gevers, Dirk; Petrosino, Joseph F.; Abubucker, Sahar; Badger, Jonathan H.; Chinwalla, Asif T.; Earl, Ashlee M.; FitzGerald, Michael G.; Fulton, Robert S.; Hallsworth-Pepin, Kymberlie; Lobos, Elizabeth A.; Madupu, Ramana; Magrini, Vincent; Martin, John C.; Mitreva, Makedonka; Muzny, Donna M.; Sodergren, Erica J.; Versalovic, James; Wollam, Aye M.; Worley, Kim C.; Wortman, Jennifer R.; Young, Sarah K.; Zeng, Qiandong; Aagaard, Kjersti M.; Abolude, Olukemi O.; Allen-Vercoe, Emma; Alm, Eric J.; Alvarado, Lucia; Andersen, Gary L.; Anderson, Scott; Appelbaum, Elizabeth; Arachchi, Harindra M.; Armitage, Gary; Arze, Cesar A.; Ayvaz, Tulin; Baker, Carl C.; Begg, Lisa; Belachew, Tsegahiwot; Bhonagiri, Veena; Bihan, Monika; Blaser, Martin J.; Bloom, Toby; Vivien Bonazzi, J.; Brooks, Paul; Buck, Gregory A.; Buhay, Christian J.; Busam, Dana A.; Campbell, Joseph L.; Canon, Shane R.; Cantarel, Brandi L.; Chain, Patrick S.; Chen, I-Min A.; Chen, Lei; Chhibba, Shaila; Chu, Ken; Ciulla, Dawn M.; Clemente, Jose C.; Clifton, Sandra W.; Conlan, Sean; Crabtree, Jonathan; Cutting, Mary A.; Davidovics, Noam J.; Davis, Catherine C.; DeSantis, Todd Z.; Deal, Carolyn; Delehaunty, Kimberley D.; Dewhirst, Floyd E.; Deych, Elena; Ding, Yan; Dooling, David J.; Dugan, Shannon P.; Dunne, Wm. Michael; Durkin, A. Scott; Edgar, Robert C.; Erlich, Rachel L.; Farmer, Candace N.; Farrell, Ruth M.; Faust, Karoline; Feldgarden, Michael; Felix, Victor M.; Fisher, Sheila; Fodor, Anthony A.; Forney, Larry; Foster, Leslie; Di Francesco, Valentina; Friedman, Jonathan; Friedrich, Dennis C.; Fronick, Catrina C.; Fulton, Lucinda L.; Gao, Hongyu; Garcia, Nathalia; Giannoukos, Georgia; Giblin, Christina; Giovanni, Maria Y.; Goldberg, Jonathan M.; Goll, Johannes; Gonzalez, Antonio; Griggs, Allison; Gujja, Sharvari; Haas, Brian J.; Hamilton, Holli A.; Harris, Emily L.; Hepburn, Theresa A.; Herter, Brandi; Hoffmann, Diane E.; Holder, Michael E.; Howarth, Clinton; Huang, Katherine H.; Huse, Susan M.; Izard, Jacques; Jansson, Janet K.; Jiang, Huaiyang; Jordan, Catherine; Joshi, Vandita; Katancik, James A.; Keitel, Wendy A.; Kelley, Scott T.; Kells, Cristyn; Kinder-Haake, Susan; King, Nicholas B.; Knight, Rob; Knights, Dan; Kong, Heidi H.; Koren, Omry; Koren, Sergey; Kota, Karthik C.; Kovar, Christie L.; Kyrpides, Nikos C.; La Rosa, Patricio S.; Lee, Sandra L.; Lemon, Katherine P.; Lennon, Niall; Lewis, Cecil M.; Lewis, Lora; Ley, Ruth E.; Li, Kelvin; Liolios, Konstantinos; Liu, Bo; Liu, Yue; Lo, Chien-Chi; Lozupone, Catherine A.; Lunsford, R. Dwayne; Madden, Tessa; Mahurkar, Anup A.; Mannon, Peter J.; Mardis, Elaine R.; Markowitz, Victor M.; Mavrommatis, Konstantinos; McCorrison, Jamison M.; McDonald, Daniel; McEwen, Jean; McGuire, Amy L.; McInnes, Pamela; Mehta, Teena; Mihindukulasuriya, Kathie A.; Miller, Jason R.; Minx, Patrick J.; Newsham, Irene; Nusbaum, Chad; O’Laughlin, Michelle; Orvis, Joshua; Pagani, Ioanna; Palaniappan, Krishna; Patel, Shital M.; Pearson, Matthew; Peterson, Jane; Podar, Mircea; Pohl, Craig; Pollard, Katherine S.; Priest, Margaret E.; Proctor, Lita M.; Qin, Xiang; Raes, Jeroen; Ravel, Jacques; Reid, Jeffrey G.; Rho, Mina; Rhodes, Rosamond; Riehle, Kevin P.; Rivera, Maria C.; Rodriguez-Mueller, Beltran; Rogers, Yu-Hui; Ross, Matthew C.; Russ, Carsten; Sanka, Ravi K.; Pamela Sankar, J.; Sathirapongsasuti, Fah; Schloss, Jeffery A.; Schloss, Patrick D.; Schmidt, Thomas M.; Scholz, Matthew; Schriml, Lynn; Schubert, Alyxandria M.; Segata, Nicola; Segre, Julia A.; Shannon, William D.; Sharp, Richard R.; Sharpton, Thomas J.; Shenoy, Narmada; Sheth, Nihar U.; Simone, Gina A.; Singh, Indresh; Smillie, Chris S.; Sobel, Jack D.; Sommer, Daniel D.; Spicer, Paul; Sutton, Granger G.; Sykes, Sean M.; Tabbaa, Diana G.; Thiagarajan, Mathangi; Tomlinson, Chad M.; Torralba, Manolito; Treangen, Todd J.; Truty, Rebecca M.; Vishnivetskaya, Tatiana A.; Walker, Jason; Wang, Lu; Wang, Zhengyuan; Ward, Doyle V.; Warren, Wesley; Watson, Mark A.; Wellington, Christopher; Wetterstrand, Kris A.; White, James R.; Wilczek-Boney, Katarzyna; Wu, Yuan Qing; Wylie, Kristine M.; Wylie, Todd; Yandava, Chandri; Ye, Liang; Ye, Yuzhen; Yooseph, Shibu; Youmans, Bonnie P.; Zhang, Lan; Zhou, Yanjiao; Zhu, Yiming; Zoloth, Laurie; Zucker, Jeremy D.; Birren, Bruce W.; Gibbs, Richard A.; Highlander, Sarah K.; Weinstock, George M.; Wilson, Richard K.; White, Owen

2012-01-01

A variety of microbial communities and their genes (microbiome) exist throughout the human body, playing fundamental roles in human health and disease. The NIH funded Human Microbiome Project (HMP) Consortium has established a population-scale framework which catalyzed significant development of metagenomic protocols resulting in a broad range of quality-controlled resources and data including standardized methods for creating, processing and interpreting distinct types of high-throughput metagenomic data available to the scientific community. Here we present resources from a population of 242 healthy adults sampled at 15 to 18 body sites up to three times, which to date, have generated 5,177 microbial taxonomic profiles from 16S rRNA genes and over 3.5 Tb of metagenomic sequence. In parallel, approximately 800 human-associated reference genomes have been sequenced. Collectively, these data represent the largest resource to date describing the abundance and variety of the human microbiome, while providing a platform for current and future studies. PMID:22699610

Living marine resources of the Chukchi Sea: a resource report for the Chukchi Sea oil and gas lease sale Number 85. Technical memo

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morris, B.F.

1981-04-01

An area of the outer continental shelf of the northeastern Chukchi Sea is currently proposed by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management for oil and gas leasing in February 1985. The report assesses the biological resources of the northeastern Chukchi Sea that may be at risk from petroleum exploration and development, and proposes research needs to minimize and avoid potential biological impacts. The Chukchi Sea supports large populations of marine mammals and seabirds, which depend on the fish and invertebrate populations of the region. The marine mammals of major importance in the region are the bowhead whale,more » gray whale, beluga whale, walrus, ringed seal, bearded seal, spotted seal, and polar bear. Less frequent but regular visitors to the area are the fin, minke, humpback, and killer whales, the harbor porpoise, and ribbon seals.« less

Using new media to reach Hispanic/Latino cancer survivors.

PubMed

Justice-Gardiner, Haley; Nutt, Stephanie; Rechis, Ruth; McMillan, Brooke; Warf, Rainy

2012-03-01

In the USA, cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and premature death among the Hispanic/Latino population. It is estimated that one in two Hispanic men and one in three Hispanic women will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime (American Cancer Society 2010). Despite this significant cancer burden, few innovative strategies for communication and outreach to this population currently exist. In 2009, LIVESTRONG launched a national outreach campaign, which utilized social marketing, specifically targeting Hispanics with the goal of increasing awareness and usage of LIVESTRONG's Spanish-language cancer navigation resources. This campaign, one of the first undertaken by a national cancer-related organization, led to increased awareness and utilization of resources, including a 238% increase in traffic over traditional marketing campaigns which focused on radio alone. The success of this campaign highlights the use of social media as a cost-effective method to raise awareness of cancer resources among Hispanics.

A framework for human microbiome research.

PubMed

2012-06-13

A variety of microbial communities and their genes (the microbiome) exist throughout the human body, with fundamental roles in human health and disease. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Human Microbiome Project Consortium has established a population-scale framework to develop metagenomic protocols, resulting in a broad range of quality-controlled resources and data including standardized methods for creating, processing and interpreting distinct types of high-throughput metagenomic data available to the scientific community. Here we present resources from a population of 242 healthy adults sampled at 15 or 18 body sites up to three times, which have generated 5,177 microbial taxonomic profiles from 16S ribosomal RNA genes and over 3.5 terabases of metagenomic sequence so far. In parallel, approximately 800 reference strains isolated from the human body have been sequenced. Collectively, these data represent the largest resource describing the abundance and variety of the human microbiome, while providing a framework for current and future studies.

Degeneracy allows for both apparent homogeneity and diversification in populations

PubMed Central

Whitacre, James M.; Atamas, Sergei P.

2013-01-01

Trait diversity – the substrate for natural selection – is necessary for adaptation through selection, particularly in populations faced with environmental changes that diminish population fitness. In habitats that remain unchanged for many generations, stabilizing selection maximizes exploitation of resources by reducing trait diversity to a narrow optimal range. One might expect that such ostensibly homogeneous populations would have a reduced potential for heritable adaptive responses when faced with fitness-reducing environmental changes. However, field studies have documented populations that, even after long periods of evolutionary stasis, can still rapidly evolve in response to changed environmental conditions. We argue that degeneracy, the ability of diverse population elements to function similarly, can satisfy both the current need to maximize fitness and the future need for diversity. Degenerate ensembles appear functionally redundant in certain environmental contexts and functionally diverse in others. We propose that genetic variation not contributing to the observed range of phenotypes in a current population, also known as cryptic genetic variation (CGV), is a specific case of degeneracy. We argue that CGV, which gradually accumulates in static populations in stable environments, reveals hidden trait differences when environments change. By allowing CGV accumulation, static populations prepare themselves for future rapid adaptations to environmental novelty. A greater appreciation of degeneracy’s role in resolving the inherent tension between current stabilizing selection and future directional selection has implications in conservation biology and may be applied in social and technological systems to maximize current performance while strengthening the potential for future changes. PMID:22910487

Report to the General Assembly [of Illinois].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois Community Coll. Board, Springfield.

In this nine-part report to Illinois' General Assembly, the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) reviews Board powers and duties, and systemwide goals, financial resources, student characteristics and outcomes, educational programs, training and economic development activities, programs for special populations, and current issues of importance…

Development and characterization of a new TILLING population of common bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

PubMed

Chen, Liang; Huang, Linzhou; Min, Donghong; Phillips, Andy; Wang, Shiqiang; Madgwick, Pippa J; Parry, Martin A J; Hu, Yin-Gang

2012-01-01

Mutagenesis is an important tool in crop improvement. However, the hexaploid genome of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) presents problems in identifying desirable genetic changes based on phenotypic screening due to gene redundancy. TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes), a powerful reverse genetic strategy that allows the detection of induced point mutations in individuals of the mutagenized populations, can address the major challenge of linking sequence information to the biological function of genes and can also identify novel variation for crop breeding. Wheat is especially well-suited for TILLING due to the high mutation densities tolerated by polyploids. However, only a few wheat TILLING populations are currently available in the world, which is far from satisfying the requirement of researchers and breeders in different growing environments. In addition, current TILLING screening protocols require costly fluorescence detection systems, limiting their use, especially in developing countries. We developed a new TILLING resource comprising 2610 M(2) mutants in a common wheat cultivar 'Jinmai 47'. Numerous phenotypes with altered morphological and agronomic traits were observed from the M(2) and M(3) lines in the field. To simplify the procedure and decrease costs, we use unlabeled primers and either non-denaturing polyacrylamide gels or agarose gels for mutation detection. The value of this new resource was tested using PCR with RAPD and Intron-spliced junction (ISJ) primers, and also TILLING in three selected candidate genes, in 300 and 512 mutant lines, revealing high mutation densities of 1/34 kb by RAPD/ISJ analysis and 1/47 kb by TILLING. In total, 31 novel alleles were identified in the 3 targeted genes and confirmed by sequencing. The results indicate that this mutant population represents a useful resource for the wheat research community. We hope that the use of this reverse genetics resource will provide novel allelic diversity for wheat improvement and functional genomics.

Impacts of Potential Changes in Land Use, Climate, and Water Use on Water Availability, Coastal Carolinas Region, Southeastern United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurley, L. N.; Garcia, A. M.

2017-12-01

Sustainable growth in coastal areas with rapidly increasing populations, such as the coastal regions of North and South Carolina, relies on an understanding of the current state of coastal natural resources coupled with the ability to assess future impacts of changing coastal communities and resources. Changes in climate, water use, population, and land use (e.g. urbanization) will place additional stress on societal and ecological systems that are already competing for water resources. The potential effects of these stressors on water availability are not fully known. To meet societal and ecological needs, water resources management and planning efforts require estimates of likely impacts of population growth, land-use, and climate. Two Soil and Water Assessment (SWAT) hydrologic models were developed to help address the challenges that water managers face in the Carolinas: the (1) Cape Fear and (2) Pee Dee drainage basins. SWAT is a basin-scale, process-based watershed model with the capability of simulating water-management scenarios. Model areas were divided into two square mile sub-basins to evaluate ecological response at headwater streams. The sub-basins were subsequently divided into smaller, discrete hydrologic response units based on land use, slope, and soil type. Monthly and annual water-use data were used for 2000 to 2014 and included estimates of municipal, industrial, agricultural, and commercial water use. Models were calibrated for 2000 to 2014 and potential future streamflows were estimated through 2060 based on a suite of scenarios that integrated land use change projections, climate projections and water-use forecasts. The approaches and new techniques developed as part of this research could be applied to other coastal areas that face similar current and future water availability demands.

Specialty food safety concerns and multilingual resource needs: an online survey of public health inspectors.

PubMed

Pham, Mai T; Jones, Andria Q; Sargeant, Jan M; Marshall, Barbara J; Dewey, Catherine E

2010-12-01

The province of Ontario, Canada, has a highly diverse and multicultural population. Specialty foods (i.e., foods from different cultures) are becoming increasingly available at retail food outlets and foods service establishments across the province; as a result, public health inspectors (PHIs) are increasingly required to assess the safety of foods with which they may be unfamiliar. The aim of this study was to investigate the concerns, perceptions, and self-identified needs of PHIs in Ontario with regard to specialty foods and food safety information resources in languages other than English. A cross-sectional online survey of 239 PHIs was conducted between April and June 2009. The study found that while some food safety information resources were available in languages other than English, fewer than 25% of respondents (56/239) were satisfied with the current availability of these resources. With regard to specialty foods, 60% of respondents (143/239) reported at least one specialty food with which they were not confident about their current food safety knowledge, and 64% of respondents (153/239) reported at least one specialty food with which they were dissatisfied with the current availability of food safety information. Therefore, the development of additional food safety information resources for specialty foods, and food safety resources in additional languages may provide enhanced support to PHIs involved in protecting and promoting a safe food supply.

Accurate measurement of transgene copy number in crop plants using droplet digital PCR

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Technical abstract: Genetic transformation is a powerful means for the improvement of crop plants, but requires labor and resource intensive methods. An efficient method for identifying single copy transgene insertion events from a population of independent transgenic lines is desirable. Currently ...

Accurate measure of transgene copy number in crop plants using droplet digital PCR

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Genetic transformation is a powerful means for the improvement of crop plants, but requires labor- and resource-intensive methods. An efficient method for identifying single-copy transgene insertion events from a population of independent transgenic lines is desirable. Currently, transgene copy numb...

Social Entrepreneurs and Educational Leadership in Bangladesh

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sperandio, Jill

2005-01-01

Social entrepreneurship, with its focus on innovative leadership, mirrors current interest in leadership for change in the field of education. In countries where national governments lack the resources to meet the educational needs of their populations, social entrepreneurs can develop innovative ways of providing access to education, and…

Population demographics, survival, and reporduction: Alaska sea otter research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Monson, Daniel H.; Bodkin, James L.; Doak, D.F.; Estes, James A.; Tinker, M.T.; Siniff, D.B.; Maldini, Daniela; Calkins, Donald; Atkinson, Shannon; Meehan, Rosa

2004-01-01

The fundamental force behind population change is the balance between age-specific survival and reproductive rates. Thus, understanding population demographics is crucial when trying to interpret trends in population change over time. For many species, demographic rates change as the population’s status (i.e., relative to prey resources) varies. Indices of body condition indicative of individual energy reserves can be a useful gauge of population status. Integrated studies designed to measure (1) population trends; (2) current population status; and (3) demographic rates will provide the most complete picture of the factors driving observed population changes. In particular, estimates of age specific survival and reproduction in conjunction with measures of population change can be integrated into population matrix models useful in explaining observed trends. We focus here on the methods used to measure demographic rates in sea otters, and note the importance of comparable methods between studies. Next, we review the current knowledge of the influence of population status on demographic parameters. We end with examples of the power of matrix modeling as a tool to integrate various types of demographic information for detecting otherwise hard to detect changes in demographic parameters.

Public Health and Mental Health Implications of Environmentally Induced Forced Migration.

PubMed

Shultz, James M; Rechkemmer, Andreas; Rai, Abha; McManus, Katherine T

2018-03-28

ABSTRACTClimate change is increasingly forcing population displacement, better described by the phrase environmentally induced forced migration. Rising global temperatures, rising sea levels, increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters, and progressive depletion of life-sustaining resources are among the drivers that stimulate population mobility. Projections forecast that current trends will rapidly accelerate. This will lead to an estimated 200 million climate migrants by the year 2050 and create dangerous tipping points for public health and security.Among the public health consequences of climate change, environmentally induced forced migration is one of the harshest and most harmful outcomes, always involving a multiplicity of profound resource and social losses and frequently exposing migrants to trauma and violence. Therefore, one particular aspect of forced migration, the effects of population displacement on mental health and psychosocial functioning, deserves dedicated focus. Multiple case examples are provided to elucidate this theme. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 7).

Wind Power Siting: Public Acceptance and Land Use; NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tegen, Suzanne

2015-06-17

Suzanne Tegen presented this information as part of the June 17, 2015 WINDExchange webinar: Overcoming Wind Siting Challenges III: Public Acceptance and Land Use. This presentation provides an overview of current NREL research related to wind energy deployment considerations, the DOE Wind Vision as it relates to public acceptance and land use, why public acceptance of wind power matters, where the U.S. wind resource is best, and how those rich resource areas overlay with population centers.

Sustainable development: a regional perspective.

PubMed

Icamina, P

1988-12-01

This article discusses sustainable development in Asia and current environmental problems in this region. Droughts and rainy seasons pose a major concern indicating environmental limitations: India's 1987 drought halted world grain production and China suffered US $435 million in flooding damage. Deforestation and land degradation are consequences of a rising population's demand for agriculture, fuelwood, irrigation, and hydroelectric projects; 1815 million hectares of forest are cleared/year and 40% of the land could possible be subjected to soil erosion. Although population growth is declining in some Asian countries, the continent inhabits the greatest proportion of world population; 300 million are underfed. Food production remains a problem for this region because of bad weather, highly populated areas, less cropland, soil erosion, and limited water supply. Efforts currently employed to conserve natural resources include community reforestation, providing available drinking water, substituting firewood for fuelwood, and delivering primary health care.

Current use of wild plants with edible underground storage organs in a rural population of Patagonia: between tradition and change.

PubMed

Ochoa, Juan José; Ladio, Ana Haydee

2015-09-25

Edible plants with underground storage organs (USOs) are neglected resources. We studied the local ecological knowledge edible plants with (USOs) in rural populations of North-Patagonia in order to establish how people are utilizing these plants. Some aspect of corpus-praxis-cosmos complex associated to the local ecological knowledge was documented and discussed. In addition, variation in this ecological knowledge due to age, gender, family structure, ethnic self-determination was also evaluated. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 inhabitants in order to study the relationship between the current use of plants with USOs and the age, sex, family group composition and ethnic self-identification of interviewees. In addition, the Cultural Importance Index for each species was calculated. The current richness of known species in these populations is a total of 9 plants. Plants with USOs tend to be used more frequently as the age of the interviewee increases. Women and men showed no differences in the average richness of species cited. The interviewees who share their homes with other generations use these plants more frequently than those who live alone. Our results indicate that the interviewees who identified themselves as belonging to the Mapuche people use these plants more frequently. For the Mapuche people, wild plants have constituted material and symbolic resources of great importance in their historical subsistence. In addition, they are currently being redefined as elements which present a connection with ancestral practices, produce a strong relationship with the 'land', and become markers which identify the 'natural' (historical) ways of their people; these are key elements in the current political processes of identity revaluation. This research is valuable to stimulate cultural revival and health promotion programs in the communities with their own local, cultural food.

Investigating the effect of chemical stress and resource ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Modeling exposure and recovery of fish and wildlife populations after stressor mitigation serves as a basis for evaluating population status and remediation success. The Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) is an important and well-studied model organism for understanding the effects of pollutants and other stressors in estuarine and marine ecosystems. Herein, we develop a density dependent matrix population model for Atlantic killifish that analyzes both size-structure and age class-structure of the population so that we could readily incorporate output from a dynamic energy budget (DEB) model currently under development. This population modeling approach emphasizes application in conjunction with field monitoring efforts (e.g., through effects-based monitoring programs) and/or laboratory analysis to link effects due to chemical stress to adverse outcomes in whole organisms and populations. We applied the model using data for killifish exposed to dioxin-like compounds, taken from a previously published study. Specifically, the model was used to investigate population trajectories for Atlantic killifish with dietary exposures to 112, 296, and 875 pg/g of dioxin with effects on fertility and survival rates. All effects were expressed relative to control fish. Further, the population model was employed to examine age and size distributions of a population exposed to resource limitation in addition to chemical stress. For each dietary exposure concentration o

Multiple stressor effects in relation to declining amphibian populations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Linder, Greg L.; Krest, Sherry K.; Sparling, Donald; Little, E.

2003-01-01

Original research discusses the protocols and approaches to studying the effects of multiple environmental stressors on amphibian populations and gives new perspectives on this complicated subject. This new publication integrates a variety of stressors that can act in concert and may ultimately cause a decline in amphibian populations.Sixteen peer-reviewed papers cover:Toxicity Assessment examines methods, which range from long-established laboratory approaches for evaluating adverse chemical effects to amphibians, to methods that link chemicals in surface waters, sediments, and soils with adverse effects observed among amphibians in the field.Field and Laboratory Studies illustrates studies in the evaluation of multiple stressor effects that may lead to declining amphibian populations. A range of laboratory and field studies of chemicals, such as herbicides, insecticides, chlorinated organic compounds, metals, and complex mixtures are also included.Causal Analysis demonstrates the range of tools currently available for evaluating "cause-effect" relationships between environmental stressors and declining amphibian populations.Audience: This new publication is a must-have for scientists and resource management professionals from diverse fields, including ecotoxicology, chemistry, ecology, field biology, conservation biology, and natural resource management.

Building Collaboration: A Scoping Review of Cultural Competency and Safety Education and Training for Healthcare Students and Professionals in Canada.

PubMed

Guerra, Olivia; Kurtz, Donna

2017-01-01

Phenomenon: This scoping literature review summarizes current Canadian health science education and training aimed to lessen health gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. Keyword searches of peer-reviewed and gray literature databases, websites, and resources recommended by local Aboriginal community members identified 1,754 resources. Using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, 26 resources relevant to education and training of healthcare professionals and students in Canada were selected. Information included self-assessment for cultural competency/safety skills, advocacy within Canadian healthcare, and descriptions of current programs and training approaches. In spite of increasing awareness and use of cultural competency and safety concepts, few programs have been successfully implemented. Insights: A concerted effort among health science education and training bodies to develop integrated and effective programs could result in comprehensive processes that hasten the Canadian culturally safe healthcare provision, thus reducing the gaps among populations.

Perspectives on population growth.

PubMed

1996-09-01

Assume that everyone has the same information on population growth. There are many different opinions on what that information means and what should be done about it. Some people worry about current rates of growth, especially in the context of growing per capita consumption, and believe that all reasonable steps should be taken to reduce rates and stabilize population size. Others believe that growing populations can be accommodated by reducing consumption in rich countries, that technological progress will supply the new resources needed, that the development needed to support a larger population can be sustained, that large population size fosters prosperity, or that birth rates are falling and current growth is just temporary. These are all valid positions worthy of at least debate. Interest groups commonly acknowledgement population growth as a significant issue, but offer no response to it. Sometimes the issue goes unrecognized because it conflicts with a more highly valued personal agenda item. Finally, some responses come from confusion and anger rather than reasoning or self-interest. The proponents of these latter arguments bring nothing constructive to the debate.

Improving diabetes population management efficiency with an informatics solution.

PubMed

Zai, Adrian; Grant, Richard; Andrews, Carl; Yee, Ronnie; Chueh, Henry

2007-10-11

Despite intensive resource use for diabetes management in the U.S., our care continues to fall short of evidence-based goals, partly due to system inefficiencies. Diabetes registries are increasingly being utilized as a critical tool for population level disease management by providing real-time data. Since the successful adoption of a diabetes registry depends on how well it integrates with disease management workflows, we optimized our current diabetes management workflow and designed our registry application around it.

Projections of Water Stress Based on an Ensemble of Socioeconomic Growth and Climate Change Scenarios: A Case Study in Asia.

PubMed

Fant, Charles; Schlosser, C Adam; Gao, Xiang; Strzepek, Kenneth; Reilly, John

2016-01-01

The sustainability of future water resources is of paramount importance and is affected by many factors, including population, wealth and climate. Inherent in current methods to estimate these factors in the future is the uncertainty of their prediction. In this study, we integrate a large ensemble of scenarios--internally consistent across economics, emissions, climate, and population--to develop a risk portfolio of water stress over a large portion of Asia that includes China, India, and Mainland Southeast Asia in a future with unconstrained emissions. We isolate the effects of socioeconomic growth from the effects of climate change in order to identify the primary drivers of stress on water resources. We find that water needs related to socioeconomic changes, which are currently small, are likely to increase considerably in the future, often overshadowing the effect of climate change on levels of water stress. As a result, there is a high risk of severe water stress in densely populated watersheds by 2050, compared to recent history. There is strong evidence to suggest that, in the absence of autonomous adaptation or societal response, a much larger portion of the region's population will live in water-stressed regions in the near future. Tools and studies such as these can effectively investigate large-scale system sensitivities and can be useful in engaging and informing decision makers.

Giftedness and Overexcitability: Investigating the Relationship Using Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winkler, Daniel; Voight, Adam

2016-01-01

Current textbooks, websites, research articles, and popular resources have stated that gifted individuals have longer and more pronounced responses to stimuli than the general population. This overexcitable nature of gifted persons has provided a commonly used lens to conceptualize, identify, and understand giftedness and gifted persons'…

Kishwaukee Manpower Inventory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kishwaukee Coll., Malta, IL.

Kishwaukee College conducted a survey of DeKalb County and the Rochelle Township High School District in Illinois during July and August 1971 which (1) determined the area's current and potential manpower resources; (2) identified and described the settled-in Spanish speaking population of the area; (3) determined the area's existing and potential…

The Evolving Academic Health Center: Challenges and Opportunities for Psychiatry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mirin, Steven; Summergrad, Paul

2011-01-01

Objective: Regardless of the outcome of current efforts at healthcare reform, the resources that academic health centers need--to provide care for increasingly complex patient populations, support clinical innovation, grow the clinical enterprise, and carry out their research and teaching missions--are in jeopardy. This article examines the value…

Environmental Activities. Environmental Education Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Topeka Public Schools, KS.

This unit attempts to respond to societal concerns for the rapid depletion of our world's natural resources, our increasing world population, current pollution problems and the lack of knowledge about natural interdependence. The material is intended as a source from which primary teachers can select activities from five generalized groups as…

Valuing Groundwater Resources in Arid Watersheds under Climate Change: A Framework and Estimates for the Upper Rio Grande

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurd, B. H.; Coonrod, J.

2008-12-01

Climate change is expected to alter surface hydrology throughout the arid Western United States, in most cases compressing the period of peak snowmelt and runoff, and in some cases, for example, the Rio Grande, limiting total runoff. As such, climate change is widely expected to further stress arid watersheds, particularly in regions where trends in population growth, economic development and environmental regulation are current challenges. Strategies to adapt to such changes are evolving at various institutional levels including conjunctive management of surface and ground waters. Groundwater resources remain one of the key components of water management strategies aimed at accommodating continued population growth and mitigating the potential for water supply disruptions under climate change. By developing a framework for valuing these resources and for value improvements in the information pertaining to their characteristics, this research can assist in prioritizing infrastructure and investment to change and enhance water resource management. The key objective of this paper is to 1) develop a framework for estimating the value of groundwater resources and improved information, and 2) provide some preliminary estimates of this value and how it responds to plausible scenarios of climate change.

Organization of population-based cancer control programs: Europe and the world.

PubMed

Otter, Renée; Qiao, You-Lin; Burton, Robert; Samiei, Massoud; Parkin, Max; Trapido, Edward; Weller, David; Magrath, Ian; Sutcliffe, Simon

2009-01-01

As cancer is to a large extent avoidable and treatable, a cancer control program should be able to reduce mortality and morbidity and improve the quality of life of cancer patients and their families. However, the extent to which the goals of a cancer control program can be achieved will depend on the resource constraints a country faces. Such population-based cancer control plans should prioritize effective interventions and programs that are beneficial to the largest part of the population, and should include activities devoted to prevention, screening and early detection, treatment, palliation and end-of-life care, and rehabilitation. In order to develop a successful cancer control program, leadership and the relevant stakeholders, including patient organizations, need to be identified early on in the process so that all partners can take ownership and responsibility for the program. Various tools have been developed to aid them in the planning and implementation process. However, countries developing a national cancer control program would benefit from a discussion of different models for planning and delivery of population-based cancer control in settings with differing levels of resource commitment, in order to determine how best to proceed given their current level of commitment, political engagement and resources. As the priority assigned to different components of cancer control will differ depending on available resources and the burden and pattern of cancer, it is important to consider the relative roles of prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care in a cancer control program, as well as how to align available resources to meet prioritized needs. Experiences from countries with differing levels of resources are presented and serve to illustrate the difficulties in developing and implementing cancer control programs, as well as the innovative strategies that are being used to maximize available resources and enhance the quality of care provided to cancer patients around the world.

Integrating Genomic Data Sets for Knowledge Discovery: An Informed Approach to Management of Captive Endangered Species.

PubMed

Irizarry, Kristopher J L; Bryant, Doug; Kalish, Jordan; Eng, Curtis; Schmidt, Peggy L; Barrett, Gini; Barr, Margaret C

2016-01-01

Many endangered captive populations exhibit reduced genetic diversity resulting in health issues that impact reproductive fitness and quality of life. Numerous cost effective genomic sequencing and genotyping technologies provide unparalleled opportunity for incorporating genomics knowledge in management of endangered species. Genomic data, such as sequence data, transcriptome data, and genotyping data, provide critical information about a captive population that, when leveraged correctly, can be utilized to maximize population genetic variation while simultaneously reducing unintended introduction or propagation of undesirable phenotypes. Current approaches aimed at managing endangered captive populations utilize species survival plans (SSPs) that rely upon mean kinship estimates to maximize genetic diversity while simultaneously avoiding artificial selection in the breeding program. However, as genomic resources increase for each endangered species, the potential knowledge available for management also increases. Unlike model organisms in which considerable scientific resources are used to experimentally validate genotype-phenotype relationships, endangered species typically lack the necessary sample sizes and economic resources required for such studies. Even so, in the absence of experimentally verified genetic discoveries, genomics data still provides value. In fact, bioinformatics and comparative genomics approaches offer mechanisms for translating these raw genomics data sets into integrated knowledge that enable an informed approach to endangered species management.

Integrating Genomic Data Sets for Knowledge Discovery: An Informed Approach to Management of Captive Endangered Species

PubMed Central

Irizarry, Kristopher J. L.; Bryant, Doug; Kalish, Jordan; Eng, Curtis; Schmidt, Peggy L.; Barrett, Gini; Barr, Margaret C.

2016-01-01

Many endangered captive populations exhibit reduced genetic diversity resulting in health issues that impact reproductive fitness and quality of life. Numerous cost effective genomic sequencing and genotyping technologies provide unparalleled opportunity for incorporating genomics knowledge in management of endangered species. Genomic data, such as sequence data, transcriptome data, and genotyping data, provide critical information about a captive population that, when leveraged correctly, can be utilized to maximize population genetic variation while simultaneously reducing unintended introduction or propagation of undesirable phenotypes. Current approaches aimed at managing endangered captive populations utilize species survival plans (SSPs) that rely upon mean kinship estimates to maximize genetic diversity while simultaneously avoiding artificial selection in the breeding program. However, as genomic resources increase for each endangered species, the potential knowledge available for management also increases. Unlike model organisms in which considerable scientific resources are used to experimentally validate genotype-phenotype relationships, endangered species typically lack the necessary sample sizes and economic resources required for such studies. Even so, in the absence of experimentally verified genetic discoveries, genomics data still provides value. In fact, bioinformatics and comparative genomics approaches offer mechanisms for translating these raw genomics data sets into integrated knowledge that enable an informed approach to endangered species management. PMID:27376076

The Collaborative Cross at Oak Ridge National Laboratory: developing a powerful resource for systems genetics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chesler, Elissa J; Branstetter, Lisa R; Churchill, Gary A

2008-01-01

Complex traits and disease co-morbidity in humans and in model organisms are the result of naturally occurring polymorphisms that interact with each other and with the environment. To ensure the availability of the resources needed to investigate biomolecular networks and ultimately systems level phenotypes, we have initiated breeding of a new genetic reference population of mice, the Collaborative Cross. This population has been designed to optimally support systems genetics analysis. Its novel and important features include high levels of genetic diversity, a large population size to ensure sufficient power in high-dimensional studies, and high mapping precision through accumulation of independentmore » recombination events. Implementation of the Collaborative Cross has been in progress at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) since May 2005. This is achieved through a software assisted breeding program with fully traceable lineages, performed in a uniform environment. Currently, there are 650 lines in production with almost 200 lines over seven generations of inbreeding. Retired breeders enter a high-throughput phenotyping protocol and DNA samples are banked for analysis of recombination history, allele loss, and population structure. Herein we present a progress report of the Collaborative Cross breeding program at ORNL and a description of the kinds of investigations that this resource will support.« less

Establishing the A. E. Watkins landrace cultivar collection as a resource for systematic gene discovery in bread wheat.

PubMed

Wingen, Luzie U; Orford, Simon; Goram, Richard; Leverington-Waite, Michelle; Bilham, Lorelei; Patsiou, Theofania S; Ambrose, Mike; Dicks, Jo; Griffiths, Simon

2014-08-01

A high level of genetic diversity was found in the A. E. Watkins bread wheat landrace collection. Genotypic information was used to determine the population structure and to develop germplasm resources. In the 1930s A. E. Watkins acquired landrace cultivars of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) from official channels of the board of Trade in London, many of which originated from local markets in 32 countries. The geographic distribution of the 826 landrace cultivars of the current collection, here called the Watkins collection, covers many Asian and European countries and some from Africa. The cultivars were genotyped with 41 microsatellite markers in order to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of the collection. A high level of genetic diversity was found, higher than in a collection of modern European winter bread wheat varieties from 1945 to 2000. Furthermore, although weak, the population structure of the Watkins collection reveals nine ancestral geographical groupings. An exchange of genetic material between ancestral groups before commercial wheat-breeding started would be a possible explanation for this. The increased knowledge regarding the diversity of the Watkins collection was used to develop resources for wheat research and breeding, one of them a core set, which captures the majority of the genetic diversity detected. The understanding of genetic diversity and population structure together with the availability of breeding resources should help to accelerate the detection of new alleles in the Watkins collection.

Degeneracy allows for both apparent homogeneity and diversification in populations.

PubMed

Whitacre, James M; Atamas, Sergei P

2012-10-01

Trait diversity - the substrate for natural selection - is necessary for adaptation through selection, particularly in populations faced with environmental changes that diminish population fitness. In habitats that remain unchanged for many generations, stabilizing selection maximizes exploitation of resources by reducing trait diversity to a narrow optimal range. One might expect that such ostensibly homogeneous populations would have a reduced potential for heritable adaptive responses when faced with fitness-reducing environmental changes. However, field studies have documented populations that, even after long periods of evolutionary stasis, can still rapidly evolve in response to changed environmental conditions. We argue that degeneracy, the ability of diverse population elements to function similarly, can satisfy both the current need to maximize fitness and the future need for diversity. Degenerate ensembles appear functionally redundant in certain environmental contexts and functionally diverse in others. We propose that genetic variation not contributing to the observed range of phenotypes in a current population, also known as cryptic genetic variation (CGV), is a specific case of degeneracy. We argue that CGV, which gradually accumulates in static populations in stable environments, reveals hidden trait differences when environments change. By allowing CGV accumulation, static populations prepare themselves for future rapid adaptations to environmental novelty. A greater appreciation of degeneracy's role in resolving the inherent tension between current stabilizing selection and future directional selection has implications in conservation biology and may be applied in social and technological systems to maximize current performance while strengthening the potential for future changes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Thousand Fly Genomes: An Expanded Drosophila Genome Nexus.

PubMed

Lack, Justin B; Lange, Jeremy D; Tang, Alison D; Corbett-Detig, Russell B; Pool, John E

2016-12-01

The Drosophila Genome Nexus is a population genomic resource that provides D. melanogaster genomes from multiple sources. To facilitate comparisons across data sets, genomes are aligned using a common reference alignment pipeline which involves two rounds of mapping. Regions of residual heterozygosity, identity-by-descent, and recent population admixture are annotated to enable data filtering based on the user's needs. Here, we present a significant expansion of the Drosophila Genome Nexus, which brings the current data object to a total of 1,121 wild-derived genomes. New additions include 305 previously unpublished genomes from inbred lines representing six population samples in Egypt, Ethiopia, France, and South Africa, along with another 193 genomes added from recently-published data sets. We also provide an aligned D. simulans genome to facilitate divergence comparisons. This improved resource will broaden the range of population genomic questions that can addressed from multi-population allele frequencies and haplotypes in this model species. The larger set of genomes will also enhance the discovery of functionally relevant natural variation that exists within and between populations. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Multimodel assessment of water scarcity under climate change.

PubMed

Schewe, Jacob; Heinke, Jens; Gerten, Dieter; Haddeland, Ingjerd; Arnell, Nigel W; Clark, Douglas B; Dankers, Rutger; Eisner, Stephanie; Fekete, Balázs M; Colón-González, Felipe J; Gosling, Simon N; Kim, Hyungjun; Liu, Xingcai; Masaki, Yoshimitsu; Portmann, Felix T; Satoh, Yusuke; Stacke, Tobias; Tang, Qiuhong; Wada, Yoshihide; Wisser, Dominik; Albrecht, Torsten; Frieler, Katja; Piontek, Franziska; Warszawski, Lila; Kabat, Pavel

2014-03-04

Water scarcity severely impairs food security and economic prosperity in many countries today. Expected future population changes will, in many countries as well as globally, increase the pressure on available water resources. On the supply side, renewable water resources will be affected by projected changes in precipitation patterns, temperature, and other climate variables. Here we use a large ensemble of global hydrological models (GHMs) forced by five global climate models and the latest greenhouse-gas concentration scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways) to synthesize the current knowledge about climate change impacts on water resources. We show that climate change is likely to exacerbate regional and global water scarcity considerably. In particular, the ensemble average projects that a global warming of 2 °C above present (approximately 2.7 °C above preindustrial) will confront an additional approximate 15% of the global population with a severe decrease in water resources and will increase the number of people living under absolute water scarcity (<500 m(3) per capita per year) by another 40% (according to some models, more than 100%) compared with the effect of population growth alone. For some indicators of moderate impacts, the steepest increase is seen between the present day and 2 °C, whereas indicators of very severe impacts increase unabated beyond 2 °C. At the same time, the study highlights large uncertainties associated with these estimates, with both global climate models and GHMs contributing to the spread. GHM uncertainty is particularly dominant in many regions affected by declining water resources, suggesting a high potential for improved water resource projections through hydrological model development.

Multimodel assessment of water scarcity under climate change

PubMed Central

Schewe, Jacob; Heinke, Jens; Gerten, Dieter; Haddeland, Ingjerd; Arnell, Nigel W.; Clark, Douglas B.; Dankers, Rutger; Eisner, Stephanie; Fekete, Balázs M.; Colón-González, Felipe J.; Gosling, Simon N.; Kim, Hyungjun; Liu, Xingcai; Masaki, Yoshimitsu; Portmann, Felix T.; Satoh, Yusuke; Stacke, Tobias; Tang, Qiuhong; Wada, Yoshihide; Wisser, Dominik; Albrecht, Torsten; Frieler, Katja; Piontek, Franziska; Warszawski, Lila; Kabat, Pavel

2014-01-01

Water scarcity severely impairs food security and economic prosperity in many countries today. Expected future population changes will, in many countries as well as globally, increase the pressure on available water resources. On the supply side, renewable water resources will be affected by projected changes in precipitation patterns, temperature, and other climate variables. Here we use a large ensemble of global hydrological models (GHMs) forced by five global climate models and the latest greenhouse-gas concentration scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways) to synthesize the current knowledge about climate change impacts on water resources. We show that climate change is likely to exacerbate regional and global water scarcity considerably. In particular, the ensemble average projects that a global warming of 2 °C above present (approximately 2.7 °C above preindustrial) will confront an additional approximate 15% of the global population with a severe decrease in water resources and will increase the number of people living under absolute water scarcity (<500 m3 per capita per year) by another 40% (according to some models, more than 100%) compared with the effect of population growth alone. For some indicators of moderate impacts, the steepest increase is seen between the present day and 2 °C, whereas indicators of very severe impacts increase unabated beyond 2 °C. At the same time, the study highlights large uncertainties associated with these estimates, with both global climate models and GHMs contributing to the spread. GHM uncertainty is particularly dominant in many regions affected by declining water resources, suggesting a high potential for improved water resource projections through hydrological model development. PMID:24344289

Current challenges and future achievements of blood transfusion service in Afghanistan.

PubMed

Cheraghali, A M; Sanei Moghaddam, E; Masoud, A; Faisal, H

2012-10-01

Afghanistan is a country with population of over 28 million. The long term conflicts have devastated country's qualified resources including human resources. ANBSTS was established by MoPH as the country national blood service. Currently in addition to central and regional blood centers of ANBSTS many other hospitals have their own transfusion services. Blood donation in Afghanistan mainly depends on replacement donors. Donor selection and donor interview are not very efficient. Most of the blood in Afghanistan is administered as fresh whole blood. Although blood transfusion services in Afghanistan require more efforts to be fully efficient, based on recent improvements in working procedures of ANBSTS a promising future for blood transfusion services in Afghanistan is predicted. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimation of mussel population response to hydrologic alteration in a southeastern U.S. stream

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peterson, J.T.; Wisniewski, J.M.; Shea, C.P.; Rhett, Jackson C.

2011-01-01

The southeastern United States has experienced severe, recurrent drought, rapid human population growth, and increasing agricultural irrigation during recent decades, resulting in greater demand for the water resources. During the same time period, freshwater mussels (Unioniformes) in the region have experienced substantial population declines. Consequently, there is growing interest in determining how mussel population declines are related to activities associated with water resource development. Determining the causes of mussel population declines requires, in part, an understanding of the factors influencing mussel population dynamics. We developed Pradel reverse-time, tag-recapture models to estimate survival, recruitment, and population growth rates for three federally endangered mussel species in the Apalachicola- Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, Georgia. The models were parameterized using mussel tag-recapture data collected over five consecutive years from Sawhatchee Creek, located in southwestern Georgia. Model estimates indicated that mussel survival was strongly and negatively related to high flows during the summer, whereas recruitment was strongly and positively related to flows during the spring and summer. Using these models, we simulated mussel population dynamics under historic (1940-1969) and current (1980-2008) flow regimes and under increasing levels of water use to evaluate the relative effectiveness of alternative minimum flow regulations. The simulations indicated that the probability of simulated mussel population extinction was at least 8 times greater under current hydrologic regimes. In addition, simulations of mussel extinction under varying levels of water use indicated that the relative risk of extinction increased with increased water use across a range of minimum flow regulations. The simulation results also indicated that our estimates of the effects of water use on mussel extinction were influenced by the assumptions about the dynamics of the system, highlighting the need for further study of mussel population dynamics. ?? 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC (outside the USA).

Attractor neural networks with resource-efficient synaptic connectivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pehlevan, Cengiz; Sengupta, Anirvan

Memories are thought to be stored in the attractor states of recurrent neural networks. Here we explore how resource constraints interplay with memory storage function to shape synaptic connectivity of attractor networks. We propose that given a set of memories, in the form of population activity patterns, the neural circuit choses a synaptic connectivity configuration that minimizes a resource usage cost. We argue that the total synaptic weight (l1-norm) in the network measures the resource cost because synaptic weight is correlated with synaptic volume, which is a limited resource, and is proportional to neurotransmitter release and post-synaptic current, both of which cost energy. Using numerical simulations and replica theory, we characterize optimal connectivity profiles in resource-efficient attractor networks. Our theory explains several experimental observations on cortical connectivity profiles, 1) connectivity is sparse, because synapses are costly, 2) bidirectional connections are overrepresented and 3) are stronger, because attractor states need strong recurrence.

Net Effects of Ecotourism on Threatened Species Survival

PubMed Central

Buckley, Ralf C.; Morrison, Clare; Castley, J. Guy

2016-01-01

Many threatened species rely on ecotourism for conservation funding, but simultaneously suffer direct ecological impacts from ecotourism. For a range of IUCN-Redlisted terrestrial and marine bird and mammal species worldwide, we use population viability analyses to calculate the net effects of ecotourism on expected time to extinction, in the presence of other anthropogenic threats such as poaching, primary industries and habitat loss. Species for which these calculations are currently possible, for one or more subpopulations, include: orangutan, hoolock gibbon, golden lion tamarin, cheetah, African wild dog, New Zealand sealion, great green macaw, Egyptian vulture, and African penguin. For some but not all of these species, tourism can extend expected survival time, i.e., benefits outweigh impacts. Precise outcomes depend strongly on population parameters and starting sizes, predation, and ecotourism scale and mechanisms. Tourism does not currently overcome other major conservation threats associated with natural resource extractive industries. Similar calculations for other threatened species are currently limited by lack of basic population data. PMID:26886876

Net Effects of Ecotourism on Threatened Species Survival.

PubMed

Buckley, Ralf C; Morrison, Clare; Castley, J Guy

2016-01-01

Many threatened species rely on ecotourism for conservation funding, but simultaneously suffer direct ecological impacts from ecotourism. For a range of IUCN-Redlisted terrestrial and marine bird and mammal species worldwide, we use population viability analyses to calculate the net effects of ecotourism on expected time to extinction, in the presence of other anthropogenic threats such as poaching, primary industries and habitat loss. Species for which these calculations are currently possible, for one or more subpopulations, include: orangutan, hoolock gibbon, golden lion tamarin, cheetah, African wild dog, New Zealand sealion, great green macaw, Egyptian vulture, and African penguin. For some but not all of these species, tourism can extend expected survival time, i.e., benefits outweigh impacts. Precise outcomes depend strongly on population parameters and starting sizes, predation, and ecotourism scale and mechanisms. Tourism does not currently overcome other major conservation threats associated with natural resource extractive industries. Similar calculations for other threatened species are currently limited by lack of basic population data.

Provision of mental healthcare for children and adolescents: a worldwide view.

PubMed

Rocha, Thiago Botter-Maio; Graeff-Martins, Ana Soledade; Kieling, Christian; Rohde, Luis Augusto

2015-07-01

There has been increased attention towards the burden imposed by mental disorders on children and adolescents. The present overview explores the current state of child and adolescent mental healthcare provision around the globe. Current research indicates a concerning gap in the provision of care for the child and adolescent population. The disparities between need, demand and access to youth mental healthcare are likely to be even greater in low and- middle-income countries (LAMIC), where the proportion of children and adolescents in the population is higher. The scarcity of available resources for youth mental healthcare, especially in LAMIC, represents a major obstacle to decreasing the impact of mental disorders across the lifespan. Our review highlights the discrepancy between demands and availability of mental healthcare for youth populations throughout the world. We describe some of the potential contributors to the current state of youth mental healthcare, such as problematic access to services, implementation deficiencies and inadequacy of policies. Recent innovative strategies to reduce these barriers are also presented.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fant, Charles; Schlosser, C. Adam; Gao, Xiang

The sustainability of future water resources is of paramount importance and is affected by many factors, including population, wealth and climate. Inherent in current methods to estimate these factors in the future is the uncertainty of their prediction. In this study, we integrate a large ensemble of scenarios—internally consistent across economics, emissions, climate, and population—to develop a risk portfolio of water stress over a large portion of Asia that includes China, India, and Mainland Southeast Asia in a future with unconstrained emissions. We isolate the effects of socioeconomic growth from the effects of climate change in order to identify themore » primary drivers of stress on water resources. We find that water needs related to socioeconomic changes, which are currently small, are likely to increase considerably in the future, often overshadowing the effect of climate change on levels of water stress. As a result, there is a high risk of severe water stress in densely populated watersheds by 2050, compared to recent history. There is strong evidence to suggest that, in the absence of autonomous adaptation or societal response, a much larger portion of the region’s population will live in water-stressed regions in the near future. Lastly, tools and studies such as these can effectively investigate large-scale system sensitivities and can be useful in engaging and informing decision makers.« less

Land, energy and water: the constraints governing ideal U.S. population size.

PubMed

Pimental, D; Pimental, M

1990-01-01

This document examines the constraints that are placed on US prosperity with increasing land, energy, and water usage. The report compares China and America and suggests that, if the US is not careful, our situation is headed toward the lack of prosperity found in China. US population is 246.1 million and we produce 47 times more goods and services (per capita) than the 1.1 billion people of China. This may be due to overpopulation contributing to diminished resources, food, natural forests, and increased erosion of the soil. Most of the resources we are currently using cannot be renewed after the next 100 years. Land area is diminishing, soil is eroding faster than replacement rates, 3 kcal of fossil fuel is expended to produce 1 kcal of food, natural gas is being depleted, oil supplies are limited to a 16 year supply, and groundwater is used faster than it can be replaced. Pollution (air, water, and soil) threatens these natural resources even more. The US must concentrate on the conversion from fossil fuel energy to solar energy, although much land is needed for solar energy systems. We may be able to increase our solar energy output 3-10 without affecting agriculture, and future fusion techniques may alleviate some of the fossil fuel pressures. Livestock manures could be used as fertilizers more often in order to decrease the waste of oil when synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are used. The ideal US population should be maintained at 40-100 million if we want to retain our current standard of living.

Population education for social betterment.

PubMed

Mukhi, S

1983-01-26

In India primary education has increased 3 times in the last 30 years. Over this same period middle school education has increased 4 times, higher secondary education 5 times, and university level education over 6 times. The number of universities alone increased from 19 in 1950 to 118 by 1981. The inconsistencies brought about by rapid population growth may be judged by the fact that while the number of institutions and the enrollment of students has expanded beyond measure, the number of illiterate persons has risen from 386 million in 1971 to 446 million in 1981. Clearly, education is vital for human resource development. In political terms, human resource development prepares a population for adult participation in political processes. From social and cultural perspectives, the development of human resources helps people to lead fuller and richer lives. Population means people, and people need food, clothing, homes, education, transportation, health services, and jobs. As long as a country's resources can satisfy the essential needs of its population, there is no population problem. If the population grows faster than the rate at which the basic needs of each individual can be met, the buildup of such a situation produces a crisis of gigantic dimensions. To meet basic requirements, India needs to provide annually an additional 12 million tons of foodgrains, 188 million meters of cloth, 2.5 million houses, along with schools, teachers, and jobs over and above what is currently available. Another need is for fresh air, pure water, and space to live in. The question is how is this need to be met when the earth is a finite sphere. What will happen when the world's 3.5 billion people double into a staggering 7 billion by the end of the 20th century. It is because of this concern for family well being and the betterment of human resources that the Family Planning Association of India has since 1969 undertaken innovative pilot programs in popultion education for the younger generation, for teachers, social workers, and other concerned groups. The government of India promotes population education for school and out-of-school youths through the 5-year national population education project for schools and through the adult education project for out-of-school youth.

A Multi-Scale Distribution Model for Non-Equilibrium Populations Suggests Resource Limitation in an Endangered Rodent

PubMed Central

Bean, William T.; Stafford, Robert; Butterfield, H. Scott; Brashares, Justin S.

2014-01-01

Species distributions are known to be limited by biotic and abiotic factors at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Species distribution models, however, frequently assume a population at equilibrium in both time and space. Studies of habitat selection have repeatedly shown the difficulty of estimating resource selection if the scale or extent of analysis is incorrect. Here, we present a multi-step approach to estimate the realized and potential distribution of the endangered giant kangaroo rat. First, we estimate the potential distribution by modeling suitability at a range-wide scale using static bioclimatic variables. We then examine annual changes in extent at a population-level. We define “available” habitat based on the total suitable potential distribution at the range-wide scale. Then, within the available habitat, model changes in population extent driven by multiple measures of resource availability. By modeling distributions for a population with robust estimates of population extent through time, and ecologically relevant predictor variables, we improved the predictive ability of SDMs, as well as revealed an unanticipated relationship between population extent and precipitation at multiple scales. At a range-wide scale, the best model indicated the giant kangaroo rat was limited to areas that received little to no precipitation in the summer months. In contrast, the best model for shorter time scales showed a positive relation with resource abundance, driven by precipitation, in the current and previous year. These results suggest that the distribution of the giant kangaroo rat was limited to the wettest parts of the drier areas within the study region. This multi-step approach reinforces the differing relationship species may have with environmental variables at different scales, provides a novel method for defining “available” habitat in habitat selection studies, and suggests a way to create distribution models at spatial and temporal scales relevant to theoretical and applied ecologists. PMID:25237807

Conservation in a World of Six Billion: A Grassroots Action Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hren, Benedict J.

This grassroots action guide features a conservation initiative working to bring the impacts of human population growth, economic development, and natural resource consumption into balance with the limits of nature for the benefit of current and future generations. Contents include information sheets entitled "Six Billion People and Growing,""The…

A Survey of Student Teachers' Library Media Skills: A Replication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thurman, Glenda B.

This study investigated the current status of student teachers' library media skills. The primary objective of the study was to replicate a 1966 survey by the Knapp Foundation Project that examined student teachers' knowledge of library resources and services. Other objectives were to expand the population studied to include all teacher education…

Predicting Community College and University Student Success: A Test of the Triadic Reciprocal Model for Two Populations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heller, Monica L.; Cassady, Jerrell C.

2017-01-01

The current study explored the differential influences that behavioral learning strategies (i.e., cognitive-metacognitive, resource management), motivational profiles, and academic anxiety appraisals have on college-level learners in two unique learning contexts. Using multivariate analysis of variance and discriminant analysis, the study first…

Development of the Long-Term Agro-ecosystem Research (LTAR) Network: Current status and future trends

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Long-term research conducted at multiple scales is critical to assessing the effects of key long term drivers (e.g., global population growth; land-use change; increased competition for natural resources; climate variability and change) on our ability to sustain or enhance agricultural production to...

Professional Women and Minorities: A Manpower Data Resource Service. Fifth Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vetter, Betty M.; Babco, Eleanor L.

This book is designed to provide current and historical statistics about the professional segment of the population and particularly the participation and availability of women and minorities. Over 200 data sources were used to prepare the statistical tables and charts. The first five chapters focus on general enrollments, general degrees, general…

Conceptualizing and measuring demand for recreation on national forests: a review and synthesis.

Treesearch

Brian E. Garber-Yonts

2005-01-01

This analysis examines the problem of measuring demand for recreation on national forests and other public lands. Current measures of recreation demand in Forest Service resource assessments and planning emphasize population-level participation rates and activity-based economic values for visitor days. Alternative measures and definitions of recreation demand are...

Cancer and the 'other' noncommunicable chronic diseases in older people living with HIV/AIDS in resource-limited settings: a challenge to success.

PubMed

Hirschhorn, Lisa R; Kaaya, Sylvia F; Garrity, Philip S; Chopyak, Elena; Fawzi, Mary C S

2012-07-31

There is considerable research around the morbidity and mortality related to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), particularly cardiovascular disease and diabetes, among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in resource-richer settings. Less is known about the burden and appropriate management of NCDs, particularly 'other' NCDs including cancer, renal, pulmonary, neurocognitive and mental health conditions, among older PLWHA in resource-limited settings (RLSs). We undertook a literature review of these other NCDs to explore what is currently known about them and identify areas of further research. Systematic literature review of published manuscripts and selected conference abstracts and reports. Although there is growing recognition of the importance of these NCDs among the aging population of PLWHA in RLSs, significant gaps remain in understanding the epidemiology and risk factors among older PLWHA in these settings. Even more concerning is the limited available evidence for effective and feasible approaches to prevention, screening and treatment of these conditions. The burden of these NCDs is related to both the aging of the population of PLWHA and an increased risk due to HIV infection, other comorbidities associated with HIV infection or transmission risk and underlying risk factors in the general community. Results from resource-richer settings and RLSs highlight malignancies, neurocognitive and mental health as well as renal disease as the most significant challenges currently and likely to increase in the future. Although some lessons can be taken from the growing experience with NCDs in older PLWHA in resource-richer settings, additional research is needed to better understand their risk and impact and identify optimal models of care to effectively address this challenge in the areas where the majority of older PLWHA will be receiving care.

Examining human resources' efforts to develop a culturally competent workforce.

PubMed

Whitman, Marilyn V; Valpuesta, Domingo

2010-01-01

The increasing diversification of the nation's population poses significant challenges in providing care that meets the needs of culturally diverse patients. Human resource management plays a vital role in developing a more culturally competent workforce. This exploratory study examines current efforts by human resource directors (HRDs) in Alabama's general hospitals to recruit more diverse candidates, train staff, and make language access resources available. A questionnaire was developed based on the Office of Minority Health's Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services standards. The HRDs of the 101 Alabama general hospitals served as the study's target population. A sample of 61 responses, or 60.4% of the population, was obtained. The findings indicate that most HRDs are focusing their efforts on recruiting racially/ethnically diverse candidates and training clerical and nursing staff to care for culturally and linguistically diverse patients. Less effort is being focused on recruiting candidates who speak a different language, and only 44.3% have a trained interpreter on the staff. The HRDs who indicated that they work closely with organizations that provide support to diverse groups were more likely to recruit diverse employees and have racially/ethnically and linguistically diverse individuals in leadership positions. It is crucial that health care organizations take the necessary steps to diversify their workforce to broaden access, improve the quality and equity of care, and capture a greater market share.

POPIN Working Group on Dissemination of Population Information: Report on the meeting held from 2 to 4 April 1984.

PubMed

1984-12-01

The objectives of this meeting were: to analyze the general dissemination strategy and functions of POPIN member organizations and assess the methods currently employed to identify users; to select publications or other information output and evaluate how they are being distributed and how procedures for the selective dissemination of information are developed; to develop guidelines for determining the potential audience and reader's interests; to discuss the methodology for maintaining a register of readers' interest; to develop guidelines for establishing linds with key press and broadcasting agencies to ensure rapid dissemination of information; to dientify media and organizations currently involved in the dissemination of population information; to document experience and provide recommendations for the utilization of innovative approaches to serve audiences; and to explore ways and means to meet the special needs of policy makers. Problem areas in population information dissemination were identified at the meeting as well as priority areas in meeting speical information needs of policy makers. Collection of information for dissemination is difficult, costly and time-consuming; there is a shortage of staff trained in the repackaging and dissemination of population information; the direct use of the mass media for information dissemination is still very limited; and financial resources are limited. Priority areas include: compilation of a calendar of events or meetings; conducting media surveys and inventories of population infromation centers and their services and compilation of results; resource development through product marketing and preparation of resource catalogues; and preparation of executive summaries highlighting policy implications to facilitate policy making. Recommendations include: promotion of training and technical assistance in population information activities by the POPIN Coordinating Unit; encouraging member organizations with relevant data bases to develop subsets for distribution to other institutions and, where feasible, to provide technical assistance and support for their wider use; the POPIN Coordinating Unit should alert its members regularly of new technological facilities and innovations in the field of information; organizations conducting population information activities at the national and/or regional levels should be encouraged to provide the POPIN Coordinating Unit with yearly calendars of meetings for publication in the POPIN Bulletin; and the members of POPIN are urged to emphasize the need to incorporate specific plans and budgets for population information activities.

A Dynamic Simulation Model of Land-Use, Population, and Rural Livelihoods in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garedew, Efrem; Sandewall, Mats; Soderberg, Ulf

2012-01-01

The dynamic interactions between society and land resources have to be taken into account when planning and managing natural resources. A computer model, using STELLA software, was developed through active participation of purposively selected farm households from different wealth groups, age groups and gender within a rural community and some members of Kebelle council. The aim of the modeling was to study the perceived changes in land-use, population and livelihoods over the next 30 years and to improve our understanding of the interactions among them. The modeling output is characterized by rapid population growth, declining farm size and household incomes, deteriorating woody vegetation cover and worsening land degradation if current conditions remain. However, through integrated intervention strategies (including forest increase, micro-finance, family planning, health and education) the woody vegetation cover is likely to increase in the landscape, population growth is likely to slow down and households' income is likely to improve. A validation assessment of the simulation model based on historical data on land-use and population from 1973 to 2006 showed that the model is relatively robust. We conclude that as a supporting tool, the simulation model can contribute to the decision making process.

A developing country perspective on implementing sustainable energy programs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ul Haq, Z.; James, J.A.; Kamal, S.

1997-12-31

Bangladesh is a developing country faced with many challenges such as high population growth rate, low literacy levels, and poverty. One of its most difficult tasks is providing the infrastructure necessary to sustain a growing population with a finite resource base. There is a need to develop a long term energy strategy that relies on sustainable resources while reducing environmental harm. Solar energy has the potential to meet these requirements and presents a highly attractive energy source for Bangladesh. Bangladesh is fortunate enough to have a significant amount of solar irradiance. A number of projects have been started in Bangladeshmore » to exploit renewable energy resources. This paper will highlight the current status of these projects. Major interest and activity is directed towards development of photovoltaic and wind resources. The market for renewable technologies is vast in Bangladesh where a significant portion of the population is off-grid and in need of energy. Although this is not an affluent market technology costs have come down sufficiently such that it is becoming accessible to rural populations with credit schemes. While developing sustainable energy is a worthwhile goal and much encouraged by donor agencies, Bangladesh`s perspective on attempting to develop this sector suggests that it is not an easy road to follow, due to numerous internal and external barriers. A discussion of the barriers to the commercialization of renewables will be included in this paper. The objective of this paper is to shed some light on these issues and to stimulate discussions on how to overcome the barriers and encourage the dissemination of renewables in developing countries.« less

Multi-layered water resources, management, and uses under the impacts of global changes in a southern coastal metropolis: When will it be already too late? Crossed analysis in Recife, NE Brazil.

PubMed

Petelet-Giraud, Emmanuelle; Cary, Lise; Cary, Paul; Bertrand, Guillaume; Giglio-Jacquemot, Armelle; Hirata, Ricardo; Aquilina, Luc; Alves, Lincoln Muniz; Martins, Veridiana; Melo, Ana Maria; Montenegro, Suzana; Chatton, Eliot; Franzen, Melissa; Aurouet, Axel

2018-03-15

Coastal water resources are a worldwide key socio-environmental issue considering the increasing concentration of population in these areas. Here, we propose an integrative transdisciplinary approach of water resource, water management and water access in Recife (NE Brazil). The present-day water situation is conceptualized as an imbricated multi-layered system: a multi-layered water resource, managed by a multi-layered governance system and used by a multi-layered social population. This allows identifying processes of quantitative, qualitative, and sanitary conflicts between governance and population strategies regarding water supply, as well as the institutional and individual denials of these conflicts. Based on this model, we anticipate future water-related problematic fates. Concerning the water resource system, the rapid groundwater level decrease due to unsustainable water predatory strategies, and the very low recharge rate have drastically modified the aquifer system functioning, inducing hydraulic connection between shallow groundwater (contaminated and locally salty) and deep ones (mostly fresh, with local inherited salinity), threatening the deep strategic water resource. Concerning the water governance system, the investments to increase the capacity storage of surface water, the water regulation agencies and the public/private partnership should shortly improve the water supply and wastewater issue. Nevertheless, the water situation will remain highly fragile due to the expected water demand increase, the precipitation decrease and the sea-level increase. Concerning the water access system, the population variably perceives these current and further effects and the possible mitigation policies, and develops alternative individual strategies. Authorities, policymakers and water managers will have to implement a well-balanced water governance, taking into account the specificities of the PPP, public and private groundwater users, and with a strong political willingness for a sustainable water management to ensure water supply for all the population. In other words, an anticipatory and integrated vision is necessary to reduce the discrepancies in this complex system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cancer screening and health system resilience: keys to protecting and bolstering preventive services during a financial crisis.

PubMed

Martin-Moreno, Jose M; Anttila, Ahti; von Karsa, Lawrence; Alfonso-Sanchez, Jose L; Gorgojo, Lydia

2012-09-01

The aim of this paper is to elucidate the rationale for sustaining and expanding cost-effective, population-based screening services for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers in the context of the current financial crisis. Our objective is not only to promote optimal delivery of high-quality secondary cancer prevention services, but also to underline the importance of strengthening comprehensive cancer control, and with it, health system response to the complex care challenges posed by all chronic diseases. We focus primarily on issues surrounding planning, organisation, implementation and resources, arguing that given the growing cancer burden, policymakers have ample justification for establishing and expanding population-based programmes that are well-organised, well-resourced and well-executed. In a broader economic context of rescue packages, deficits and cutbacks to government entitlements, health professionals must intensify their advocacy for the protection of vital preventive health services by fighting for quality services with clear benefits for population health outcomes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Big Feet: Assessing the Current and Future Impact of Population Size on a Country's Ecological Footprint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hogg, R. S.; Takaro, T.; Miller, C.; Hogg, E.; Anema, A.; Gislason, M.; Parkes, M.

2015-12-01

Background: Ecological footprints assess the land and water a population needs to procure its resources and handle its waste. Measures derived from these footprints look at a population's ecological overshoot rather than weighting the population to its footprint. The aim of this study was to examine the latter approach by determining what the current and future weighted world population, by income gradient, would be if everyone lived within the boundary of 1.8 hectares per person. Methods: Country-specific ecological footprints and populations for 2007 were obtained from the Global Footprint Network (www.footprintnetwork.org); and projected populations were collected from US Census Bureau (www.census.gov). Footprint growth to 2050 was based on a business as usual approach developed by Kitzes et al. in Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B (2008). Weighted population estimates were derived by multiplying actual population by the ratio of the country's footprint to overall boundary of 1.8 hectares per person. Results: The weighted global population increased by 2.4 billion people (37%) in 2007 based on our adjustment. High and middle-income country populations increased, by 242% and 10%, respectively, while low-income country populations decreased by 33%. The weighed global population in 2050 increased by 10.1 billion with the majority of this growth occurring in high-income countries -- 437% versus 67% and 9% respectively for medium and low-income countries. Conclusions: Our study showed that current and future global weighted demographic and ecological impact would be felt mainly in high-income countries even though actual population growth would occur mainly in low and middle-income countries.

In the national interest: the PCSD puts population growth back on the agenda.

PubMed

Dixon, B

1995-01-01

In 1972, President Nixon launched the Rockefeller Commission on Population Growth and the American Future. The US population has grown by more than 50 million people since 1972. In 1995, a report by the President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) states that failure on the part of the US to stabilize its population will jeopardize any effort to achieve sustainable development. As a follow-up to the Earth Summit, President Clinton established the PCSD in 1993 to identify ways to encourage sustainable development in the US. The Council has 25 members representing government, business, and public interest organizations and has 8 critical issues task forces, including Energy, Transportation, Sustainable Community, Education and Outreach, Natural Resources, Eco Efficiency and Sustainable Agriculture. Timothy Wirth, Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, spearheaded efforts to create a task force on the twin issues of population and consumption. The Population and Consumption Task Force, which began its official discussions in the spring of 1994, aimed to solicit public comment on critical population-related issues. These meetings sought both general public and expert participation on subjects such as teen pregnancy, resource use, and economic indicators. Among these recommendations are improving access to family planning services for all Americans; focusing on special efforts to reduce teen pregnancy and childbearing; improving external factors such as poverty and a lack of economic opportunities for girls and women; and reducing immigration to the US. A combination of actions are needed, including a tax shift from labor and earnings to natural resource use; development of environmentally sound technologies; and public understanding of the importance of sustainable life style and consumption choices. Individual and community action is crucial since the current Congress is unlikely to adopt policies to promote sustainable development without significant public pressure.

The Current and Historical Distribution of Special Status Amphibians at the Livermore Site and Site 300

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hattem, M V; Paterson, L; Woollett, J

2008-08-20

65 surveys were completed in 2002 to assess the current distribution of special status amphibians at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Livermore Site and Site 300. Combined with historical information from previous years, the information presented herein illustrates the dynamic and probable risk that amphibian populations face at both sites. The Livermore Site is developed and in stark contrast to the mostly undeveloped Site 300. Yet both sites have significant issues threatening the long-term sustainability of their respective amphibian populations. Livermore Site amphibians are presented with a suite of challenges inherent of urban interfaces, most predictably the bullfrog (Ranamore » catesbeiana), while Site 300's erosion issues and periodic feral pig (Sus scrofa) infestations reduce and threaten populations. The long-term sustainability of LLNL's special status amphibians will require active management and resource commitment to maintain and restore amphibian habitat at both sites.« less

Regional Correlates of Psychiatric Inpatient Treatment.

PubMed

Ala-Nikkola, Taina; Pirkola, Sami; Kaila, Minna; Saarni, Samuli I; Joffe, Grigori; Kontio, Raija; Oranta, Olli; Sadeniemi, Minna; Wahlbeck, Kristian

2016-12-05

Current reforms of mental health and substance abuse services (MHS) emphasize community-based care and the downsizing of psychiatric hospitals. Reductions in acute and semi-acute hospital beds are achieved through shortened stays or by avoiding hospitalization. Understanding the factors that drive the current inpatient treatment provision is essential. We investigated how the MHS service structure (diversity of services and balance of personnel resources) and indicators of service need (mental health index, education, single household, and alcohol sales) correlated with acute and semi-acute inpatient treatment provision. The European Service Mapping Schedule-Revised (ESMS-R) tool was used to classify the adult MHS structure in southern Finland (population 1.8 million, 18+ years). The diversity of MHS in terms of range of outpatient and day care services or the overall personnel resourcing in inpatient or outpatient services was not associated with the inpatient treatment provision. In the univariate analyses, sold alcohol was associated with the inpatient treatment provision, while in the multivariate modeling, only a general index for mental health needs was associated with greater hospitalization. In the dehospitalization process, direct resource re-allocation and substituting of inpatient treatment with outpatient care per se is likely insufficient, since inpatient treatment is linked to contextual factors in the population and the health care system. Mental health services reforms require both strategic planning of service system as a whole and detailed understanding of effects of societal components.

Overcoming limits set by scarce resources - role of local food production and food imports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porkka, Miina; Guillaume, Joseph H. A.; Schaphoff, Sibyll; Siebert, Stefan; Gerten, Dieter; Kummu, Matti

2017-04-01

There is a fundamental tension between population growth and carrying capacity, i.e. the population that could potentially be supported using the resources and technologies available at a given time. This makes the assessments of resource use and agricultural productivity central to the debate on future food security. Local carrying capacity can be increased by expanding (e.g. through land conversion and irrigation infrastructure) or intensifying (e.g. through technologies and practices that increase efficiency) the resource use in agriculture. Food imports can be considered another way of overcoming current local limits and continuing growth beyond the local human-carrying capacity. Focusing on water as the key limiting resource, we performed a global assessment of the capacity for food self-sufficiency at sub-national and national scale for 1961-2009, taking into account the availability of both green and blue water as well as technology and management practices affecting water productivity at a given time, and using the hydrology and agriculture model LPJmL as our primary tool. Furthermore, we examined the use of food imports as a strategy to increase carrying capacity in regions where the potential for food self-sufficiency was limited by water availability and productivity. We found that the capacity for food self-sufficiency reduced notably during the study period due to the rapid population growth that outpaced the substantial improvements in water productivity. In 2009 more than a third (2.2 billion people) of the world's population lived in areas where sufficient food production to meet the needs of the population was not possible, and some 800 million people more were approaching this threshold. Food imports have nearly universally been used to overcome these local limits to growth, though the success of this strategy has been highly dependent on economic purchasing power. In the unsuccessful cases, increases in imports and local productivity have not kept pace with population growth, leaving 460 million people with insufficient food. Where the strategy has been successful, food security of 1.4 billion people has become dependent on imports. Whether or not this dependence on imports is considered desirable, it has policy implications that need to be taken into account.

Inter-Tributary Movements by Resident Salmonids across a Boreal Riverscape

PubMed Central

Bentley, Kale T.; Schindler, Daniel E.; Armstrong, Jonathan B.; Cline, Timothy J.; Brooks, Gabriel T.

2015-01-01

Stream-dwelling fishes inhabit river networks where resources are distributed heterogeneously across space and time. Current theory emphasizes that fishes often perform large-scale movements among habitat patches for reproduction and seeking refugia, but assumes that fish are relatively sedentary during growth phases of their life cycle. Using stationary passive integrated transponder (PIT)-tag antennas and snorkel surveys, we assessed the individual and population level movement patterns of two species of fish across a network of tributaries within the Wood River basin in southwestern Alaska where summer foraging opportunities vary substantially among streams, seasons, and years. Across two years, Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exhibited kilometer-scale movements among streams during the summer growing season. Although we monitored movements at a small fraction of all tributaries used by grayling and rainbow trout, approximately 50% of individuals moved among two or more streams separated by at least 7 km within a single summer. Movements were concentrated in June and July, and subsided by early August. The decline in movements coincided with spawning by anadromous sockeye salmon, which offer a high-quality resource pulse of food to resident species. Inter-stream movements may represent prospecting behavior as individuals seek out the most profitable foraging opportunities that are patchily distributed across space and time. Our results highlight that large-scale movements may not only be necessary for individuals to fulfill their life-cycle, but also to exploit heterogeneously spaced trophic resources. Therefore, habitat fragmentation and homogenization may have strong, but currently undescribed, ecological effects on the access to critical food resources in stream-dwelling fish populations. PMID:26379237

Land Recycling: from Science to Practice - A Sustainable Development of Urban Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romanowicz, A.

2015-12-01

Member States (MS) of the European Union have experience significant urban sprawl in the last 3 decades. The urban sprawl was driven mainly by internal (MS or EU) or external migration but also by EU policies (including funds and projects) and by changes in life style (e.g. moving away from cities; second homes). This presentation will aim at showing a number of EU wide analysis on: aging population, depopulation of some of the EU regions; agricultural production and scenarios projections of thereof. Various EU funded projects and programs have analyzed ways how future cities and how EU future land use could developed. Number of those solutions where further investigated with case studies/small scale implementations. However, in recent years the 2012 EU road map to resource efficiency and UN Sustainable Development Goals have called respectively for 'no net land take by 2050' and land neutrality. Thus, the process of implementing innovative solutions for land use has started and some of the cities and regions are well ahead in moving towards XXI century society. In order to streamline/share knowledge and steer EU wide discussion on this the European Commission in its road map to resource efficiency announced a Communication on land as a resource. This presentation will attempt to synthesize current discussion on the topic of 'land as a resource' and include examples of implemented innovative solutions for aging population, land recycling for urban developments and green spaces within the current EU policy context. Finally, some appreciation of the adopted UN Sustainable Development Goals regarding land and soil from the EU perspective will be given.

What Community-Based HIV Prevention Organizations Say About Their Role in Biomedical HIV Prevention.

PubMed

Smith, Dawn K; Maier, Emily; Betts, Joshua; Gray, Simone; Kolodziejski, Brian; Hoover, Karen W

2016-10-01

Community-based organizations (CBOs) are critical to delivery of effective HIV prevention because of their reach to key populations. This online survey of a national sample of CBOs assessed their awareness of, interest in, and resources needed to provide nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis (nPEP), preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and HIV treatment as prevention (TasP). One hundred seventy-five CBOs participated: 87 clinical and 88 nonclinical CBOs. For nPEP, PrEP, and TasP, program managers reported that awareness was high (94%, 90%, 85%), meeting current client need was low (20%, 13%, 18%), and the likelihood of increasing their current provision with additional resources was somewhat high (62%, 64%, 62%). Clinical CBOs were more prepared to support expansion of these biomedical interventions than nonclinical CBOs. Meeting the information, training, and resource needs of CBOs is critical for effective collaboration to reduce the number of new HIV infections through expanded delivery of PrEP, nPEP, and TasP.

Elimination of Dog-Mediated Human Rabies Deaths by 2030: Needs Assessment and Alternatives for Progress Based on Dog Vaccination.

PubMed

Wallace, Ryan M; Undurraga, Eduardo A; Blanton, Jesse D; Cleaton, Julie; Franka, Richard

2017-01-01

Rabies imposes a substantial burden to about half of the world population. The World Health Organization (WHO), World Organization for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization have set the goal of eliminating dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030. This could be achieved largely by massive administration of post-exposure prophylaxis-in perpetuity-, through elimination of dog rabies, or combining both. Here, we focused on the resources needed for the elimination of dog rabies virus by 2030. Drawing from multiple datasets, including national dog vaccination campaigns, rabies literature, and expert opinion, we developed a model considering country-specific current dog vaccination capacity to estimate the years and resources required to achieve dog rabies elimination by 2030. Resources were determined based on four factors: (a) country development status, (b) dog vaccination costs, (c) dog rabies vaccine availability, and (d) existing animal health workers. Our calculations were based on the WHO's estimate that vaccinating 70% of the dog population for seven consecutive years would eliminate rabies. If dog rabies vaccine production remains at 2015 levels, we estimate that there will be a cumulative shortage of about 7.5 billion doses to meet expected demand to achieve dog rabies elimination. We estimated a present cost of $6,300 million to eliminate dog rabies in all endemic countries, equivalent to a $3,900 million gap compared to current spending. To eliminate dog rabies, the vaccination workforce may suffice if all public health veterinarians in endemic countries were to dedicate 3 months each year to dog rabies vaccination. We discuss implications of potential technology improvements, including population management, vaccine price reduction, and increases in dog-vaccinating capacities. Our results highlight the resources needed to achieve elimination of dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030. As exemplified by multiple successful disease elimination efforts, one size does not fit all. We suggest pragmatic and feasible options toward global dog rabies elimination by 2030, while identifying several benefits and drawbacks of specific approaches. We hope that these results help stimulate and inform a necessary discussion on global and regional strategic planning, resource mobilization, and continuous execution of rabies virus elimination.

Tribal Ecosystem Research Program (TERP) Workshop ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

USEPA is developing alternative approaches to quantify improvements to impaired waterbodies (USEPA 303(d)/TMDL Draft Guidance). Tribal environmental programs are leading the way in the paradigm shift towards sustainability of natural resources. Resources such as wildlife, aquatic habitat are dependent on the development of a riparian and upland management strategy, which considers and adapts to certain ecological relationships. Tribal traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) is a central concept in the cultural and resource stewardship practices of Native Americans. Native American populations have been accumulating knowledge of these ecosystem relationships, and have relied on them for basic survival for thousands of years. As such, TEK is the accumulated understanding of ecosystem function. As North America’s first environmental stewards, Native American populations have developed a unique relationship with the land and its resources. Objective of this workshop is to fuse TEK with environmental science to create an ecosystem, or landscape, research program oriented toward land management practices. This is essentially translating and combining TEK with an ecosystem function approach to provide a comprehensive basis for identifying and evaluating current and historical land use practices. Tribal and USEPA cooperative stream and wetland research focuses on making the connections between upland and riparian ecosystems. Analyzing spatial relationships and short

Public policy and medical tourism: ethical implications for the Egyptian health care system.

PubMed

Haley, Bob

2011-01-01

Egypt's medical tourism industry has been experiencing tremendous growth. However, Egypt continues to lack the necessary investment in its public health system to effectively care for its population. Current policy and the emergence of medical tourism have led to unequal health care access, resulting in high a prevalence of infectious diseases and lack of resources for its most vulnerable populations. As a new Egyptian government emerges, it is important for policymakers to understand the critical issues and ethical concerns of existing health policy. This understanding may be used to propose new policy that more effectively allocates to care for Egypt's population.

Life-history strategies of North American elk: trade-offs associated with reproduction and survival

Treesearch

Sabrina Morano; Kelley M. Stewart; James S. Sedinger; Christopher A. Nicolai; Marty Vavra

2013-01-01

The principle of energy allocation states that individuals should attempt to maximize fitness by allocating resources optimally among growth, maintenance, and reproduction. Such allocation may result in trade-offs between survival and reproduction, or between current and future reproduction. We used a marked population of North American elk (Cervus elaphus...

Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Dropping Out: A Quick Stats Fact Sheet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gourley, Becca

2009-01-01

This fact sheet is intended to provide a snapshot of the current issues surrounding dropout factors among students who are identified with emotional disturbance, as well as to provide mental health resources that may assist this population to remain in high school. The statistics presented in this document highlight both the importance of…

Considering Cultural Competence: An Annotated Resource list

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooke, Nicole A.; Hill, Renee F.

2017-01-01

It is widely understood that effective children's and youth librarians must be innovative, aware of current/popular trends, and able to build rapport with young patrons. However, more emphasis must be placed on the fact that it is essential for these librarians to be prepared to identify and meet the needs of a patron population that is becoming…

Expanded stream gauging includes groundwater data and trends

USGS Publications Warehouse

Constantz, James E.; Barlow, Jeannie R.; Eddy-Miller, Cheryl; Caldwell, Rodney R.; Wheeler, Jerrod D.

2012-01-01

Population growth has increased water scarcity to the point that documenting current amounts of worldwide water resources is now as critical as any data collection in the Earth sciences. As a key element of this data collection, stream gauges yield continuous hydrologic information and document long-term trends, recording high-frequency hydrologic information over decadal to centennial time frames.

Captive Students: Education and Training in America's Prisons. Policy Information Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barton, Paul E.; Coley, Richard J.

The United States has a history of vacillating between rehabilitation and punishment for prisoners. The current mood is to devote resources to building more prisons and to strengthen law enforcement and sentencing policies. Within the last 15 years, the U.S. prison population has tripled, with minority groups being overrepresented in prisons.…

Financing EU Student Mobility: A Proposed Credit Union Scheme for Europe. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.17.10

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoareau, Cecile

2010-01-01

Governments worldwide face the challenge of financing a growing student population with limited resources, especially in the current context of difficult economic recovery. Student loan schemes, because they appear as cost-efficient and are defendable on the lines of social equity (students invest in their future), are increasingly politically…

Information Technologies as Health Management Tools: Urban Elders' Interest and Ability in Using the Internet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cresci, M. Kay; Novak, Julie M.

2012-01-01

Older adults represent an increasing percentage of both the whole U.S. population and persons living with one or more chronic health conditions. However, extant research has largely overlooked older adults when examining current Internet users and the potential for the Internet as a health management resource. In this study, the researchers…

Pride on the Other Side: The Emergence of LGBT Web Sites for Prospective Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathis, Daniel; Tremblay, Christopher

2010-01-01

For several decades, colleges have maintained an LGBT Web presence for currently enrolled students. These Web sites inform students about resources, services, events, and staff . They serve as a way to communicate a school's inclusivity and commitment to the LGBT population. Only recently have Web sites specifically targeted for the prospective…

Colorectal cancer screening in high-risk groups is increasing, although current smokers fall behind.

PubMed

Oluyemi, Aminat O; Welch, Amy R; Yoo, Lisa J; Lehman, Erik B; McGarrity, Thomas J; Chuang, Cynthia H

2014-07-15

There is limited information about colorectal cancer (CRC) screening trends in high-risk groups, including the black, obese, diabetic, and smoking populations. For this study, the authors evaluated national CRC screening trends in these high-risk groups to provide insights into whether screening resources are being appropriately used. This was a nationally representative, population-based study using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from the Centers for Disease Control. Data analysis was performed using bivariate analyses with weighted logistic regression. In the general population, CRC screening increased significantly from 59% to 65% during the years 2006 to 2010. The screening prevalence in non-Hispanic blacks was 58% in 2006 and 65% in 2010. Among obese individuals, the prevalence of up-to-date CRC screening increased significantly from 59% in 2006 to 66% in 2010. Screening prevalence in individuals with diabetes was 63% in 2006 and 69% in 2010. The CRC screening prevalence in current smokers was 45% in 2006 and 50% in 2010. The odds of CRC screening in the non-Hispanic black population, the obese population, and the diabetic population were higher than in non-Hispanic whites, normal weight individuals, and the population without diabetes, respectively. Current smokers had significantly lower odds of CRC screening than never-smokers in the years studied (2006: odds ratio [OR], 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66-0.76; 2008: OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.63-0.71; 2010: OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.66-0.73). The prevalence of CRC screening in high-risk groups is trending upward. Despite this, current smokers have significantly lower odds of CRC screening compared with the general population. © 2014 American Cancer Society.

Evolutionary conservation advice for despotic populations: habitat heterogeneity favours conflict and reduces productivity in Seychelles magpie robins.

PubMed

López-Sepulcre, Andrés; Kokko, Hanna; Norris, Ken

2010-11-22

Individual preferences for good habitat are often thought to have a beneficial stabilizing effect for populations. However, if individuals preferentially compete for better-quality territories, these may become hotspots of conflict. We show that, in an endangered species, this process decreases the productivity of favoured territories to the extent that differences in productivity between territories disappear. Unlike predictions from current demographic theory on site-dependent population regulation (ideal despotic distribution), we show that population productivity is reduced if resources are distributed unevenly in space. Competition for high-quality habitat can thus have detrimental consequences for populations even though it benefits individuals. Manipulating conflict (e.g. by reducing variation in habitat quality) can therefore prove an effective conservation measure in species with strong social or territorial conflict.

Altitudinal migration and the future of an iconic Hawaiian honeycreeper in response to climate change and management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guillaumet, Alban; Kuntz, Wendy A.; Samuel, Michael D.; Paxton, Eben H.

2017-01-01

Altitudinal movement by tropical birds to track seasonally variable resources can move them from protected areas to areas of increased vulnerability. In Hawaiʻi, historical reports suggest that many Hawaiian honeycreepers such as the ‘I‘iwi (Drepanis coccinea) once undertook seasonal migrations, but the existence of such movements today is unclear. Because Hawaiian honeycreepers are highly susceptible to avian malaria, currently minimal in high-elevation forests, understanding the degree to which honeycreepers visit lower elevation forests may be critical to predict the current impact of malaria on population dynamics and how susceptible bird populations may respond to climate change and mitigation scenarios. Using radio telemetry data, we demonstrate for the first time that a large fraction of breeding adult and juvenile ‘I‘iwi originating from an upper-elevation (1,920 m) population at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge exhibit post-breeding movements well below the upper elevational limit for mosquitoes. Bloom data suggest seasonal variation in floral resources is the primary driver of seasonal movement for ‘I‘iwi. To understand the demographic implications of such movement, we developed a spatial individual-based model calibrated using previously published and original data. ʻI‘iwi dynamics were simulated backward in time, to estimate population levels in the absence of avian malaria, and forward in time, to assess the impact of climate warming as well as two potential mitigation actions. Even in disease-free ‘refuge’ populations, we found that breeding densities failed to reach the estimated carrying capacity, suggesting the existence of a seasonal “migration load” as a result of travel to disease-prevalent areas. We predict that ‘I‘iwi may be on the verge of extinction in 2100, with the total number of pairs reaching only ~ 0.2–12.3% of the estimated pre-malaria density, based on an optimistic climate change scenario. The probability of extinction of ‘I‘iwi populations, as measured by population estimates for 2100, is strongly related to their estimated migration propensity. Long-term conservation strategies likely will require a multi-pronged response including a reduction of malaria threats, habitat restoration and continued landscape-level access to seasonally variable nectar resources.

$17 billion needed by year 2000.

PubMed

Finger, W R

1995-09-01

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that US$17 billion will be needed to fund reproductive health care in developing countries by the year 2000. About US$10 billion of would go for family planning: currently, the amount spent on family planning is about US$5 billion. Donors are focusing on fewer countries because of limited resources. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is planning to phase out support for family planning in Jamaica and Brazil because the programs there have advanced sufficiently. Resources will be shifted to countries with more pressing needs. Dr. Richard Osborn, senior technical officer for UNFPA, states that UNFPA works with national program managers in allocating resources at the macro level (commodities, training). Currently, two-thirds of family planning funds spent worldwide come from developing country governments (mainly China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, and Bangladesh). Sustaining programs, much less adding new services, will be difficult. User fees and public-private partnerships are being considered; worldwide, consumers provide, currently, about 14% of family planning funds (The portion is higher in most Latin American countries.). In a few countries, insurance, social security, and other public-private arrangements contribute. Social marketing programs are being considered that would remove constraints on prescriptions and prices and improve the quality of services so that clients would be more willing to pay for contraceptives. Although governments are attempting to fit family planning into their health care budgets, estimates at the national level are difficult to make. Standards are needed to make expenditure estimates quickly and at low cost, according to Dr. Barbara Janowitz of FHI, which is developing guidelines. Studies in Bangladesh, Ecuador, Ghana, Mexico, and the Philippines are being conducted, with the assistance of The Evaluation Project at the Population Center at the University of North Carolina and in-country organizations, to determine the amounts from government resources spent on family planning services in general and by function (training, administration, service delivery, and information).

The Indus basin in the framework of current and future water resources management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laghari, A. N.; Vanham, D.; Rauch, W.

2012-04-01

The Indus basin is one of the regions in the world that is faced with major challenges for its water sector, due to population growth, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, environmental degradation, unregulated utilization of the resources, inefficient water use and poverty, all aggravated by climate change. The Indus Basin is shared by 4 countries - Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and China. With a current population of 237 million people which is projected to increase to 319 million in 2025 and 383 million in 2050, already today water resources are abstracted almost entirely (more than 95% for irrigation). Climate change will result in increased water availability in the short term. However in the long term water availability will decrease. Some current aspects in the basin need to be re-evaluated. During the past decades water abstractions - and especially groundwater extractions - have augmented continuously to support a rice-wheat system where rice is grown during the kharif (wet, summer) season (as well as sugar cane, cotton, maize and other crops) and wheat during the rabi (dry, winter) season. However, the sustainability of this system in its current form is questionable. Additional water for domestic and industrial purposes is required for the future and should be made available by a reduction in irrigation requirements. This paper gives a comprehensive listing and description of available options for current and future sustainable water resources management (WRM) within the basin. Sustainable WRM practices include both water supply management and water demand management options. Water supply management options include: (1) reservoir management as the basin is characterised by a strong seasonal behaviour in water availability (monsoon and meltwater) and water demands; (2) water quality conservation and investment in wastewater infrastructure; (3) the use of alternative water resources like the recycling of wastewater and desalination; (4) land use planning and soil conservation as well as flood management, with a focus on the reduction of erosion and resulting sedimentation as well as the restoration of ecosystem services like wetlands and natural floodplains. Water demand management options include: (1) the management of conjunctive use of surface and groundwater; as well as (2) the rehabilitation and modernization of existing infrastructure. Other demand management options are: (3) the increase of water productivity for agriculture; (4) crop planning and diversification including the critical assessment of agricultural export, especially (basmati) rice; (5) economic instruments and (6) changing food demand patterns and limiting post-harvest losses.

Projections of Water Stress Based on an Ensemble of Socioeconomic Growth and Climate Change Scenarios: A Case Study in Asia

PubMed Central

Fant, Charles; Schlosser, C. Adam; Gao, Xiang; Strzepek, Kenneth; Reilly, John

2016-01-01

The sustainability of future water resources is of paramount importance and is affected by many factors, including population, wealth and climate. Inherent in current methods to estimate these factors in the future is the uncertainty of their prediction. In this study, we integrate a large ensemble of scenarios—internally consistent across economics, emissions, climate, and population—to develop a risk portfolio of water stress over a large portion of Asia that includes China, India, and Mainland Southeast Asia in a future with unconstrained emissions. We isolate the effects of socioeconomic growth from the effects of climate change in order to identify the primary drivers of stress on water resources. We find that water needs related to socioeconomic changes, which are currently small, are likely to increase considerably in the future, often overshadowing the effect of climate change on levels of water stress. As a result, there is a high risk of severe water stress in densely populated watersheds by 2050, compared to recent history. There is strong evidence to suggest that, in the absence of autonomous adaptation or societal response, a much larger portion of the region’s population will live in water-stressed regions in the near future. Tools and studies such as these can effectively investigate large-scale system sensitivities and can be useful in engaging and informing decision makers. PMID:27028871

[Evaluation of comprehensive capacity of resources and environments in Poyang Lake Eco-economic Zone].

PubMed

Song, Yan-Chun; Yu, Dan

2014-10-01

With the development of the society and economy, the contradictions among population, resources and environment are increasingly worse. As a result, the capacity of resources and environment becomes one of the focal issues for many countries and regions. Through investigating and analyzing the present situation and the existing problems of resources and environment in Poyang Lake Eco-economic Zone, seven factors were chosen as the evaluation criterion layer, namely, land resources, water resources, biological resources, mineral resources, ecological-geological environment, water environment and atmospheric environment. Based on the single factor evaluation results and with the county as the evaluation unit, the comprehensive capacity of resources and environment was evaluated by using the state space method in Poyang Lake Eco-economic Zone. The results showed that it boasted abundant biological resources, quality atmosphere and water environment, and relatively stable geological environment, while restricted by land resource, water resource and mineral resource. Currently, although the comprehensive capacity of the resources and environments in Poyang Lake Eco-economic Zone was not overloaded as a whole, it has been the case in some counties/districts. State space model, with clear indication and high accuracy, could serve as another approach to evaluating comprehensive capacity of regional resources and environment.

Chinese and Vietnamese adult male smokers' perspectives regarding facilitators of tobacco cessation behavior.

PubMed

Spigner, Clarence; Yip, Mei-Po; Huang, Bu; Tu, Shin Ping

2007-01-01

National surveys show a low prevalence of tobacco cigarette smoking within the Asian American/Pacific Islander population. However, smoking rates loom higher when data is disaggregated by ethnicity and gender. Nevertheless, few data are available on how smokers in this population quit smoking. The aim of this study was to collect first-hand perspectives from adult male Chinese and Vietnamese current and former smokers who were patients at a community clinic in Seattle, Washington, in order to understand the facilitators toward smoking cessation and the methods that they might use to quit smoking. A telephone survey was administered to age-eligible male Chinese and Vietnamese clinic patients who were current or former smokers. A total of 196 Chinese and 198 Vietnamese (N=394) adult male current and former smokers were contacted from a pool culled from the clinic database. Descriptive analysis using SPSS software revealed ethnicity-specific differences between current and former smokers regarding influences on smoking cessation behavior as well as uptake and endorsement of cessation methods. Family encouragement and physician recommendations were significant facilitators on the cessation process. Will power and self-determination were frequently mentioned by both Vietnamese and Chinese smokers as helpful methods to quit smoking. Vietnamese smokers were more resourceful than Chinese smokers in their use of smoking cessation methods. Even with access to cessation classes at a health clinic, half of current smokers indicated that they had no intention to quit. Such attitudes underscore the need for promotion of effective smoking cessation programs as well as successful strategies for reaching smokers. These conclusions are particularly important for Chinese smokers, who were comparatively less resourceful in their use of smoking cessation methods. Future studies should explore integrating the concept of will power with current mainstream state-of-the-art smoking cessation programs.

Current temporal trends in moth abundance are counter to predicted effects of climate change in an assemblage of subarctic forest moths.

PubMed

Hunter, Mark D; Kozlov, Mikhail V; Itämies, Juhani; Pulliainen, Erkki; Bäck, Jaana; Kyrö, Ella-Maria; Niemelä, Pekka

2014-06-01

Changes in climate are influencing the distribution and abundance of the world's biota, with significant consequences for biological diversity and ecosystem processes. Recent work has raised concern that populations of moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) may be particularly susceptible to population declines under environmental change. Moreover, effects of climate change may be especially pronounced in high latitude ecosystems. Here, we examine population dynamics in an assemblage of subarctic forest moths in Finnish Lapland to assess current trajectories of population change. Moth counts were made continuously over a period of 32 years using light traps. From 456 species recorded, 80 were sufficiently abundant for detailed analyses of their population dynamics. Climate records indicated rapid increases in temperature and winter precipitation at our study site during the sampling period. However, 90% of moth populations were stable (57%) or increasing (33%) over the same period of study. Nonetheless, current population trends do not appear to reflect positive responses to climate change. Rather, time-series models illustrated that the per capita rates of change of moth species were more frequently associated negatively than positively with climate change variables, even as their populations were increasing. For example, the per capita rates of change of 35% of microlepidoptera were associated negatively with climate change variables. Moth life-history traits were not generally strong predictors of current population change or associations with climate change variables. However, 60% of moth species that fed as larvae on resources other than living vascular plants (e.g. litter, lichen, mosses) were associated negatively with climate change variables in time-series models, suggesting that such species may be particularly vulnerable to climate change. Overall, populations of subarctic forest moths in Finland are performing better than expected, and their populations appear buffered at present from potential deleterious effects of climate change by other ecological forces. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cardiovascular risk assessment in low-resource settings: a consensus document of the European Society of Hypertension Working Group on Hypertension and Cardiovascular Risk in Low Resource Settings

PubMed Central

Modesti, Pietro A.; Agostoni, Piergiuseppe; Agyemang, Charles; Basu, Sanjay; Benetos, Athanase; Cappuccio, Francesco P.; Ceriello, Antonio; Del Prato, Stefano; Kalyesubula, Robert; O’Brien, Eoin; Kilama, Michael O.; Perlini, Stefano; Picano, Eugenio; Reboldi, Gianpaolo; Remuzzi, Giuseppe; Stuckler, David; Twagirumukiza, Marc; Van Bortel, Luc M.; Watfa, Ghassan; Zhao, Dong; Parati, Gianfranco

2014-01-01

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 confirms ischemic heart disease and stroke as the leading cause of death and that hypertension is the main associated risk factor worldwide. How best to respond to the rising prevalence of hypertension in resource-deprived settings is a topic of ongoing public-health debate and discussion. In low-income and middle-income countries, socioeconomic inequality and cultural factors play a role both in the development of risk factors and in the access to care. In Europe, cultural barriers and poor communication between health systems and migrants may limit migrants from receiving appropriate prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. To use more efficiently resources available and to make treatment cost-effective at the patient level, cardiovascular risk approach is now recommended. In 2011, The European Society of Hypertension established a Working Group on ‘Hypertension and Cardiovascular risk in low resource settings’, which brought together cardiologists, diabetologists, nephrologists, clinical trialists, epidemiologists, economists, and other stakeholders to review current strategies for cardiovascular risk assessment in population studies in low-income and middle-income countries, their limitations, possible improvements, and future interests in screening programs. This report summarizes current evidence and presents highlights of unmet needs. PMID:24577410

Organizing phenological data resources to inform natural resource conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rosemartin, Alyssa H.; Crimmins, Theresa M.; Enquist, Carolyn A.F.; Gerst, Katharine L.; Kellermann, Jherime L.; Posthumus, Erin E.; Denny, Ellen G.; Guertin, Patricia; Marsh, Lee; Weltzin, Jake F.

2014-01-01

Changes in the timing of plant and animal life cycle events, in response to climate change, are already happening across the globe. The impacts of these changes may affect biodiversity via disruption to mutualisms, trophic mismatches, invasions and population declines. To understand the nature, causes and consequences of changed, varied or static phenologies, new data resources and tools are being developed across the globe. The USA National Phenology Network is developing a long-term, multi-taxa phenological database, together with a customizable infrastructure, to support conservation and management needs. We present current and potential applications of the infrastructure, across scales and user groups. The approaches described here are congruent with recent trends towards multi-agency, large-scale research and action.

Consumer effects on the vital rates of their resource can determine the outcome of competition between consumers.

PubMed

Lee, Charlotte T; Miller, Tom E X; Inouye, Brian D

2011-10-01

Current competition theory does not adequately address the fact that competitors may affect the survival, growth, and reproductive rates of their resources. Ecologically important interactions in which consumers affect resource vital rates range from parasitism and herbivory to mutualism. We present a general model of competition that explicitly includes consumer-dependent resource vital rates. We build on the classic MacArthur model of competition for multiple resources, allowing direct comparison with expectations from established concepts of resource-use overlap. Consumers share a stage-structured resource population but may use the different stages to different extents, as they do the different independent resources in the classic model. Here, however, the stages are dynamically linked via consumer-dependent vital rates. We show that consumers' effects on resource vital rates result in two important departures from classic results. First, consumers can coexist despite identical use of resource stages, provided each competitor shifts the resource stage distribution toward stages that benefit other species. Second, consumers specializing on different resource stages can compete strongly, possibly resulting in competitive exclusion despite a lack of resource stage-use overlap. Our model framework demonstrates the critical role that consumer-dependent resource vital rates can play in competitive dynamics in a wide range of biological systems.

Sustainable fisheries management: Pacific salmon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knudsen, E. Eric; Steward, Cleveland R.; MacDonald, Donald; Williams, Jack E.; Reiser, Dudley W.

1999-01-01

What has happened to the salmon resource in the Pacific Northwest? Who is responsible and what can be done to reverse the decline in salmon populations? The responsibly falls on everyone involved - fishermen, resource managers and concerned citizens alike - to take the steps necessary to ensure that salmon populations make a full recovery.This collection of papers examines the state of the salmon fisheries in the Pacific Northwest. They cover existing methods and supply model approaches for alternative solutions. The editors stress the importance of input from and cooperation with all parties involved to create a viable solution. Grass roots education and participation is the key to public support - and ultimately the success - of whatever management solutions are developed.A unique and valuable scientific publication, Sustainable Fisheries Management: Pacific Salmon clearly articulates the current state of the Pacific salmon resource, describes the key features of its management, and provides important guidance on how we can make the transition towards sustainable fisheries. The solutions presented in this book provide the basis of a strategy for sustainable fisheries, requiring society and governmental agencies to establish a shared vision, common policies, and a process for collaborative management.

Effects of dispersal on total biomass in a patchy, heterogeneous system: analysis and experiment.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zhang, Bo; Liu, Xin; DeAngelis, Donald L.; Ni, Wei-Ming; Wang, G Geoff

2015-01-01

An intriguing recent result from mathematics is that a population diffusing at an intermediate rate in an environment in which resources vary spatially will reach a higher total equilibrium biomass than the population in an environment in which the same total resources are distributed homogeneously. We extended the current mathematical theory to apply to logistic growth and also showed that the result applies to patchy systems with dispersal among patches, both for continuous and discrete time. This allowed us to make specific predictions, through simulations, concerning the biomass dynamics, which were verified by a laboratory experiment. The experiment was a study of biomass growth of duckweed (Lemna minor Linn.), where the resources (nutrients added to water) were distributed homogeneously among a discrete series of water-filled containers in one treatment, and distributed heterogeneously in another treatment. The experimental results showed that total biomass peaked at an intermediate, relatively low, diffusion rate, higher than the total carrying capacity of the system and agreeing with the simulation model. The implications of the experiment to dynamics of source, sink, and pseudo-sink dynamics are discussed.

Cockpit resource management at USAir

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sellards, Robert

1987-01-01

The current USAir CRM program is presented. The lessons learned and the program issues are combined. The training material was developed after an extensive literature search and pilot interview survey to determine the problem. The investigation led to the design, implementation, and evaluation of a behavioral science awareness training program. The need was found, and the target population was identified as the pilot group.

Perceptions of Online Degrees by Hiring Managers at AACSB and IACBE Accredited Schools in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Key, Damon L.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to examine the current perceptions of online graduate degrees by academic hiring managers when making hiring decisions. The population studied consisted of deans, department chairs, human resource directors, and faculty at colleges and universities with AACSB and IACBE business program…

Assessing the US Urban Forest Resources

Treesearch

David J. Nowak; Mary H. Noble; Susan M. Sisinni; John F. Dwyer

2001-01-01

Urban areas in the conterminous United States doubled in size between 1969 and 1994, and currently cover 3.5 percent of the total land area and contain more than 75 percent of the US population. Urban areas contain approximately 3.8 billion trees with an average tree canopy cover of 27 percent. The extent and variation of urban forests across the 48 states are explored...

Time for Children: Trends in the Employment Patterns of Parents, 1967-2009. NBER Working Paper No. 17135

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Liana E.; Han, Wen-Jui; Ruhm, Christopher; Waldfogel, Jane

2011-01-01

Utilizing data from the 1967-2009 years of the March Current Population Surveys, we examine two important resources for children's well-being: time and money. We document trends in parental employment, from the perspective of children, and show what underlies these trends. We find that increases in family work hours mainly reflect movements into…

Shifting to triple value healthcare: Reflections from England.

PubMed

Jani, Anant; Jungmann, Sven; Gray, Muir

2018-02-01

Increasing need and demand because of growing and aging populations combined with stagnant or decreasing resources being invested into healthcare globally mean that a radical shift is needed to ensure that healthcare systems can meet current and future challenges. Quality-, safety- and efficiency-improvement approaches have been used as means to address many problems in healthcare and while they are essential and necessary, they are not sufficient to meet our current challenges. To build resilient and sustainable healthcare systems, we need a shift to focus on triple value healthcare, which will help healthcare professionals improve outcomes at the process, patient and population levels while also optimising resource utilisation. Here we present a brief history of the Quality and Evidence-based Healthcare model and then describe how value emerged as a predominant theme in England. We then highlight the four solutions that we, as part of the RightCare programme, designed and refined in the English NHS to turn theory into practice: We end with a description of how triple value is being introduced into Germany and steps that can be taken to facilitate its adoption. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Energy sources for Nigeria

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Okoroji, C.E.I.

1982-09-01

A public consensus has developed on the need for national energy policies and better planning in the utilization of energy resources in Nigeria. A look at Nigeria's energy future is timely as a period of rapid technological growth and industrial development begins. At the present time, Nigeria exports a relatively high percentage (92%) of the petroleum produced annually. In addition, about 95% of all produced natural gas is flared. Only a relatively minor fraction of the coal produced is used and the rest exported to West African countries. Water power in Nigeria is not yet fully developed. Although the depositsmore » of uranium and oil sand may be substantial, the reserves are not currently known. The proportions in which mineral fuels are used are not related to their relative abundance. Based on present production rates, domestic reserves of petroleum will last 20 years, those of natural gas 63 years, and those of coal 1503 years. Nigeria is not currently and is not likely to become self-sufficient in terms of energy requirements. During the past decade, Nigeria's population has increased by 28.4%. Of vital concern for the immediate future in Nigeria are the demands on energy consumption and mineral resources resulting from increasing population pressure.« less

Breeding-assisted genomics.

PubMed

Poland, Jesse

2015-04-01

The revolution of inexpensive sequencing has ushered in an unprecedented age of genomics. The promise of using this technology to accelerate plant breeding is being realized with a vision of genomics-assisted breeding that will lead to rapid genetic gain for expensive and difficult traits. The reality is now that robust phenotypic data is an increasing limiting resource to complement the current wealth of genomic information. While genomics has been hailed as the discipline to fundamentally change the scope of plant breeding, a more symbiotic relationship is likely to emerge. In the context of developing and evaluating large populations needed for functional genomics, none excel in this area more than plant breeders. While genetic studies have long relied on dedicated, well-structured populations, the resources dedicated to these populations in the context of readily available, inexpensive genotyping is making this philosophy less tractable relative to directly focusing functional genomics on material in breeding programs. Through shifting effort for basic genomic studies from dedicated structured populations, to capturing the entire scope of genetic determinants in breeding lines, we can move towards not only furthering our understanding of functional genomics in plants, but also rapidly improving crops for increased food security, availability and nutrition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modelling optimal location for pre-hospital helicopter emergency medical services.

PubMed

Schuurman, Nadine; Bell, Nathaniel J; L'Heureux, Randy; Hameed, Syed M

2009-05-09

Increasing the range and scope of early activation/auto launch helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) may alleviate unnecessary injury mortality that disproportionately affects rural populations. To date, attempts to develop a quantitative framework for the optimal location of HEMS facilities have been absent. Our analysis used five years of critical care data from tertiary health care facilities, spatial data on origin of transport and accurate road travel time catchments for tertiary centres. A location optimization model was developed to identify where the expansion of HEMS would cover the greatest population among those currently underserved. The protocol was developed using geographic information systems (GIS) to measure populations, distances and accessibility to services. Our model determined Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) was the optimal site for an expanded HEMS - based on denominator population, distance to services and historical usage patterns. GIS based protocols for location of emergency medical resources can provide supportive evidence for allocation decisions - especially when resources are limited. In this study, we were able to demonstrate conclusively that a logical choice exists for location of additional HEMS. This protocol could be extended to location analysis for other emergency and health services.

A dynamic simulation model of land-use, population, and rural livelihoods in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia.

PubMed

Garedew, Efrem; Sandewall, Mats; Soderberg, Ulf

2012-01-01

The dynamic interactions between society and land resources have to be taken into account when planning and managing natural resources. A computer model, using STELLA software, was developed through active participation of purposively selected farm households from different wealth groups, age groups and gender within a rural community and some members of Kebelle council. The aim of the modeling was to study the perceived changes in land-use, population and livelihoods over the next 30 years and to improve our understanding of the interactions among them. The modeling output is characterized by rapid population growth, declining farm size and household incomes, deteriorating woody vegetation cover and worsening land degradation if current conditions remain. However, through integrated intervention strategies (including forest increase, micro-finance, family planning, health and education) the woody vegetation cover is likely to increase in the landscape, population growth is likely to slow down and households' income is likely to improve. A validation assessment of the simulation model based on historical data on land-use and population from 1973 to 2006 showed that the model is relatively robust. We conclude that as a supporting tool, the simulation model can contribute to the decision making process.

Population information resources.

PubMed

Pasquariella, S K

1984-12-01

This article describes print and computerized services that are dedicated to bibliographic coverage of 1 or more areas of population studies. Major printed bibliographic information resources for population material include: ADOPT, DOCPAL Resumenes sobre Poblacion en America Latina, PIDSA Abstracts, Population Index and Review of Population Reviews. ADOPT is an annotated computer-aided current-awareness bibliographic journal which has been published monthly since January 1975 by the Regional Population Information Center of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). DOCPAL Resumenes is a computer-produced biannual collection of abstracts containing indexes and between 600 and 700 summaries of both published and unpublished population documents. PIDSA is intended to make available documentary information about population matters in sub-Saharan Africa. Population Index, 1 of the oldest and most definitive bibliographies in the demography field, is international in scope and is arranged as a classified and annotated bibliography of monographs, journal articles and 2ndary source material relevant to all aspects of demography. Review of Population Reviews, published 4 times a year, are annotated bibliographies containing summaries of articles that have been published in 83 periodicals in 37 countries. Cited articles are assigned subject-heading descriptors from the Population Multilingual Thesaurus. Major computerized information resources are: DOCPAL, DOCPOP, EBIS/POPFILE, MANPINS, POPLINE and POPULATION BIBLIOGRAPHY. DOCPAL was established to assist Latin Ameran countries in the collection, storage, processing and retrieval of population documents about Latin America. DOCPAL contains over 19,000 bibliographic citations. DOCPOP was established as the 1st Latin American national computerized population documentation system for Brazilian material. POPLINE is a computerized retrieval service cooperatively produced in the US which covers the worldwide literature on population and family planning. POPULATION BIBLIOGRAPHY consists of bibliographic records of the Carolina Population Center Library at the University of North Carolina. EBIS/PROFILE provides computerized literature search services using improved information processing techniques. The system enables interactive information retrieval using a combination of subject descriptors, free text, author names and words in other fields and can be utilized to generate various lists. MANPINS is a cooperative network of 28 population and other libraries in Peninsular Malaysia. Its data bank includes contributions from member libraries in the form of bibliographic information on monographs and journal articles.

Cost containment: the Pacific. Japan.

PubMed

Tajimi, K; Shimada, Y; Nishimura, S; Sirio, C A

1994-08-01

The Japanese healthcare system is structured to provide universal healthcare access to the entire Japanese population via a constitutional guarantee. Increasing costs within the Japanese healthcare system are largely attributable to the country's rapidly aging population. Intensive care services are provided primarily in large tertiary care hospitals by a relatively small cadre of dedicated critical care physicians. Triage pressure is high in many Japanese hospitals due to a relatively small proportion of ICU beds. As a result, few patients are admitted to the ICU at low risk of adverse outcome or monitoring. Costs associated with providing critical care are poorly understood because of current hospital cost accounting systems. Critical care costs have only recently become an area of concern. Nevertheless, critical care physicians are taking steps to more fully understand severity of illness, clinical outcome, and utilization of resources in order to effectively guide healthcare policy and resource allocation decisions impacting Japanese critical care.

Guiding Ebola patients to suitable health facilities: an SMS-based approach

PubMed Central

Trad, Mohamad-Ali; Jurdak, Raja; Rana, Rajib

2015-01-01

Access to appropriate health services is a fundamental problem in developing countries, where patients do not have access to information and to the nearest health service facility. We propose building a recommendation system based on simple SMS text messaging to help Ebola patients readily find the closest health service with available and appropriate resources. The system will map people’s reported symptoms to likely Ebola case definitions and suitable health service locations. In addition to providing a valuable individual service to people with curable diseases, the proposed system will also predict population-level disease spread risk for infectious diseases using crowd-sourced symptoms from the population. Health workers will be able to better plan and anticipate responses to the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Patients will have improved access to appropriate health care. This system could also be applied in other resource poor or rich settings. PMID:25789162

Impact of public health emergencies on modern disaster taxonomy, planning, and response.

PubMed

Burkle, Frederick M; Greenough, P Gregg

2008-10-01

Current disaster taxonomy describes diversity, distinguishing characteristics, and common relations in disaster event classifications. The impact of compromised public health infrastructure and systems on health consequences defines and greatly influences the manner in which disasters are observed, planned for, and managed, especially those that are geographically widespread, population dense, and prolonged. What may first result in direct injuries and death may rapidly change to excess indirect illness and subsequent death as essential public health resources are destroyed, deteriorate, or are systematically denied to vulnerable populations. Public health and public health infrastructure and systems in developed and developing countries must be seen as strategic and security issues that deserve international public health resource monitoring attention from disaster managers, urban planners, the global humanitarian community, World Health Organization authorities, and participating parties to war and conflict. We posit here that disaster frameworks be reformed to emphasize and clarify the relation of public health emergencies and modern disasters.

A Novel Space Partitioning Algorithm to Improve Current Practices in Facility Placement

PubMed Central

Jimenez, Tamara; Mikler, Armin R; Tiwari, Chetan

2012-01-01

In the presence of naturally occurring and man-made public health threats, the feasibility of regional bio-emergency contingency plans plays a crucial role in the mitigation of such emergencies. While the analysis of in-place response scenarios provides a measure of quality for a given plan, it involves human judgment to identify improvements in plans that are otherwise likely to fail. Since resource constraints and government mandates limit the availability of service provided in case of an emergency, computational techniques can determine optimal locations for providing emergency response assuming that the uniform distribution of demand across homogeneous resources will yield and optimal service outcome. This paper presents an algorithm that recursively partitions the geographic space into sub-regions while equally distributing the population across the partitions. For this method, we have proven the existence of an upper bound on the deviation from the optimal population size for sub-regions. PMID:23853502

[Strategic decisions in public psychiatric institutions: a proposed method for resource analysis and allocation].

PubMed

Micheletti, Pierre; Chierici, Piero; Durang, Xavier; Salvador, Nathalie; Lopez, Nathalie

2011-01-01

Because of its sector-based organization and extra-hospital care, public psychiatry has a unique position in healthcare. This paper describes the tools and procedures used to analyze and allocate the resources of the "Centre Hospitalier Alpes-Isère", a hospital serving a catchment population of 530,000 adults. A consensus-based approach was used to validate the selected indicators and included the participation of a geographer. Five levels of resource allocation were identified and classified using a decision tree. At each level, the relevant authorities and criteria were identified as key components of the decision-making process. This paper describes the first three levels of care provision. Focusing on adult care, a comparative assessment of the resources allocated to general psychiatric care and specialist care was conducted, in addition to a comparative assessment of the resources allocated to each of the hospital's four local centers. Geographical accessibility to extramural facilities was also assessed. A study of the characteristics of each general psychiatry clinic revealed significant disparities. The paper highlights several issues: the poor knowledge of psychiatric epidemiological data relating to the population within the catchment area, the difficulty of assessing non-consolidated data or indicators from multiple sources, and the limited and partial nature of geographical data for characterizing and evaluating health care in the hospital's peripheral clinics. Several studies are currently underway to assess the operational effectiveness of the tools and procedures used to analyze and allocate resources.

The relationship between psychological resources, social resources, and depression: results from older spousal caregivers in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Chow, Esther O W; Ho, Henry C Y

2012-01-01

The rapidly ageing population in Hong Kong has led to a major concern in providing care for the elderly. Due to the current social changes in Hong Kong, such as smaller family size, longer life spans, and increasing employment demands, spouses increasingly serve as the primary caregivers for older adults. To explore the mental health of older spousal caregivers, this study investigated the relationships between psychological resources, social resources, and depression. One hundred fifty-eight spousal caregivers aged 55 and above were recruited from 13 caregiver resource centres in Hong Kong. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the number of duties and psychological resources including purpose in life, caregiver burden, and personal wellbeing explained 56% of the variance in depression. Logistic regression analysis further indicated that purpose in life predicted the likelihood of depression reported by caregivers. Social resources did not significantly predict depression. Results suggest that mental health enhancement programs should be developed for Chinese spousal caregivers with a focus on purpose in life, burden, and personal wellbeing.

Tools for Teaming: Resources for Linking Vocational Programs with Special Populations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tavares, Barbara, Ed.

This publication provides resources for linking vocational programs with five special populations. Sections 1-5 each focus on one special population and contain some or all of these resources: activities; recruitment; teacher tips; laws; staff development; funding streams; parent advice; instructional modifications; websites; community resources;…

A population-based analysis of healthcare utilization of persons with back disorders: results from the Canadian Community Health Survey 2000-2001.

PubMed

Lim, Kim-Lian; Jacobs, Philip; Klarenbach, Scott

2006-01-15

A retrospective, population-based analysis. To analyze the utilization of a variety of healthcare services for persons with and without a chronic back disorder, and to identify factors associated with specific patterns of healthcare resource use. Although there have been studies of how chronic back disorders influence the use of specific healthcare services, we do not currently have a broad, population-based overview of how this condition influences healthcare service utilization. Person-level data were taken from the 2000-2001 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), a nationwide cross-sectional survey of health determinants, health status, and health system utilization of Canadians. A series of binary logistic regressions examining healthcare resource utilization were performed on a full study sample (n = 113,229), as well as a restricted sample (n = 36,713) with attention focused on subjects with a single diagnosis of a chronic back disorder. Persons with chronic back disorders were more likely to use physician resources (multivariate odds ratio [OR] = 1.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.2), and nonphysician resources (OR range, 2.1-3.6) compared with persons without the condition, with chiropractic care having an odds ratio of 3.6 (95% confidence interval, 3.5-3.8). Higher socioeconomic status, the presence of activity-limiting pain, and depressive symptoms were associated with a significant increase in utilization of almost all healthcare services. With increasing disability as indicated by the presence of pain and functional limitations, and the presence of depressive symptoms, the higher the utilization of physician and nonphysician resources, with the exception of chiropractic care, which appears to be used by those with less severe symptoms. Lower socioeconomic status was associated with significantly lower receipt of services for almost all healthcare providers.

The eco-evolutionary responses of a generalist consumer to resource competition.

PubMed

Abrams, Peter A

2012-10-01

This article explores the combined evolutionary and ecological responses of resource uptake abilities in a generalist consumer to exploitative competition for one resource using a simple 2-resource model. It compares the sizes of ecologically and evolutionarily caused changes in population densities in cases where the original consumer has a strong or a weak trade-off in its abilities to consume the two resources. The analysis also compares the responses of the original species to competition when the competitor's population size is or is not limited by the shared resource. Although divergence in resource use traits in the resident generalist consumer is expected under all scenarios when resources are substitutable, the changes in population densities of the resources and resident consumer frequently differ between scenarios. The population of the original consumer often decreases as a result of its own adaptive divergence, and this decrease is often much greater than the initial ecological decrease. If the evolving consumer has a strong trade-off, the overlapped resource increases in equilibrium population density in response to being consumed by a generalist competitor. Some of these predictions differ qualitatively in alternative scenarios involving sustained variation in population densities or nutritionally essential resources. © 2012 The Author(s). Evolution© 2012 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Human Population Influence on the Planet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pimentel, D.

2004-12-01

The continued expansion of the human population, now at 6.3 billion projected to reach 12 billion by 2050, is using, destroying, and polluting the very Earth's resources that support human life. Currently the World Health Organization reports that more than 3 billion people are malnourished - largest number ever. Contributing to the malnourishment problem is soil erosion that results in the loss of about 75 billion tons of soil from agriculture each year. More than 99% of all food for the world comes from the land - less than 1% from the oceans and other aquatic ecosystems. Yet agricultural cropland is being abandoned because of soil erosion and salinization and the rapid spread of human settlements. Water is essential for all life and agriculture is the major consumer accounting for more than 70% of freshwater used. Already water shortages are critical in the U.S. and worldwide. Thus far, abundant fossil fuels are supporting the expansion of agricultural productivity as well as industry and transport growth. Yet credible evidence suggests that the supplies of oil and natural gas especially are rapidly diminishing. The development of renewable energy is behind schedule and when developed will only supply only about half of current energy used. If we do not work towards a relative balance between human numbers and essential natural resources, humans will suffer. Human health, productivity and well being, now and for future generations, require the continued availability of our basic resources - soil, water, foods, and energy.

Alternatives to current HIV/AIDS policies and practices in South African prisons.

PubMed

Goyer, K C; Gow, Jeff

2002-01-01

Prisoners in South Africa face problems of overcrowding, violence and poor nutrition. Added to this burden in recent times is the increased threat from HIV. The HIV epidemic has been relatively late in coming to South Africa but infection rates are now 20% in the adult population. However, there is no data available on the level of HIV infection in the prison population. Overseas studies suggest that the characteristics of prisoners place them at much greater risk of HIV infection. Factors which contribute to increased levels of HIV infection include poor health care facilities, lack of condoms and lack of disinfectants. Current policies and practices on HIV in prison attempt to balance the constraints of limited resources with the need to preserve prisoner human rights. The outcomes include: mass testing not freely available, HIV education is limited, and early release of prisoners with advanced AIDS is not allowed. Constraints on the implementation of effective HIV prevention strategies include: bureaucratic inefficiency, lack of resources, and a reluctance by prison authorities to address the issue of HIV in prison. These problems can possibly be overcome by addressing the issue from both management and prisoner perspectives. On the management side, increased resources, increased training of prison officials, and increased political commitment to address the issue are required. Outside partnerships are probably required for an effective response. Prisoners require better nutrition, better living conditions, better health care, freely available condoms and disinfectants.

Predicting the impact of the 2011 conflict in Libya on population mental health: PTSD and depression prevalence and mental health service requirements.

PubMed

Charlson, Fiona J; Steel, Zachary; Degenhardt, Louisa; Chey, Tien; Silove, Derrick; Marnane, Claire; Whiteford, Harvey A

2012-01-01

Mental disorders are likely to be elevated in the Libyan population during the post-conflict period. We estimated cases of severe PTSD and depression and related health service requirements using modelling from existing epidemiological data and current recommended mental health service targets in low and middle income countries (LMIC's). Post-conflict prevalence estimates were derived from models based on a previously conducted systematic review and meta-regression analysis of mental health among populations living in conflict. Political terror ratings and intensity of exposure to traumatic events were used in predictive models. Prevalence of severe cases was applied to chosen populations along with uncertainty ranges. Six populations deemed to be affected by the conflict were chosen for modelling: Misrata (population of 444,812), Benghazi (pop. 674,094), Zintan (pop. 40,000), displaced people within Tripoli/Zlitan (pop. 49,000), displaced people within Misrata (pop. 25,000) and Ras Jdir camps (pop. 3,700). Proposed targets for service coverage, resource utilisation and full-time equivalent staffing for management of severe cases of major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are based on a published model for LMIC's. Severe PTSD prevalence in populations exposed to a high level of political terror and traumatic events was estimated at 12.4% (95%CI 8.5-16.7) and was 19.8% (95%CI 14.0-26.3) for severe depression. Across all six populations (total population 1,236,600), the conflict could be associated with 123,200 (71,600-182,400) cases of severe PTSD and 228,100 (134,000-344,200) cases of severe depression; 50% of PTSD cases were estimated to co-occur with severe depression. Based upon service coverage targets, approximately 154 full-time equivalent staff would be required to respond to these cases sufficiently which is substantially below the current level of resource estimates for these regions. This is the first attempt to predict the mental health burden and consequent service response needs of such a conflict, and is crucially timed for Libya.

Predicting the Impact of the 2011 Conflict in Libya on Population Mental Health: PTSD and Depression Prevalence and Mental Health Service Requirements

PubMed Central

Charlson, Fiona J.; Steel, Zachary; Degenhardt, Louisa; Chey, Tien; Silove, Derrick; Marnane, Claire; Whiteford, Harvey A.

2012-01-01

Background Mental disorders are likely to be elevated in the Libyan population during the post-conflict period. We estimated cases of severe PTSD and depression and related health service requirements using modelling from existing epidemiological data and current recommended mental health service targets in low and middle income countries (LMIC’s). Methods Post-conflict prevalence estimates were derived from models based on a previously conducted systematic review and meta-regression analysis of mental health among populations living in conflict. Political terror ratings and intensity of exposure to traumatic events were used in predictive models. Prevalence of severe cases was applied to chosen populations along with uncertainty ranges. Six populations deemed to be affected by the conflict were chosen for modelling: Misrata (population of 444,812), Benghazi (pop. 674,094), Zintan (pop. 40,000), displaced people within Tripoli/Zlitan (pop. 49,000), displaced people within Misrata (pop. 25,000) and Ras Jdir camps (pop. 3,700). Proposed targets for service coverage, resource utilisation and full-time equivalent staffing for management of severe cases of major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are based on a published model for LMIC’s. Findings Severe PTSD prevalence in populations exposed to a high level of political terror and traumatic events was estimated at 12.4% (95%CI 8.5–16.7) and was 19.8% (95%CI 14.0–26.3) for severe depression. Across all six populations (total population 1,236,600), the conflict could be associated with 123,200 (71,600–182,400) cases of severe PTSD and 228,100 (134,000–344,200) cases of severe depression; 50% of PTSD cases were estimated to co-occur with severe depression. Based upon service coverage targets, approximately 154 full-time equivalent staff would be required to respond to these cases sufficiently which is substantially below the current level of resource estimates for these regions. Discussion This is the first attempt to predict the mental health burden and consequent service response needs of such a conflict, and is crucially timed for Libya. PMID:22808201

IUCN action.

PubMed

1984-01-01

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), cooperates with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and other agencies to: actively promote policies designed to attain a balance between population and resources, within national conservation strategies and through field activities to preserve nature and natural resources; take into account the fundamental issues of population and resources in its policies, programs, resolutions, and public statements, where appropriate; keep trends in population and resources under review, reporting back to each IUCN General Assembly; encourage nongovernment organizations, including local conservation groups and family planning associations, to work together to spread awareness of the links between population, resources, and the environment; encourage governments to undertake periodic assessments of population trends, natural resources, and likely economic conditions, their interrelationships and the implications for the achievement of national goals; encourage governments to establish a population policy and to consider the special environmental problems of the urban and rural poor and to promote sustainable rural development; encourage nations to take effective action to obtain the basic right of all couples to have access to safe and effective family planning methods, as established in the World Population Plan of Action; and generally encourage national and international development policies which help create the conditions in which human population can successfully be brought into balance with carefully conserved natural resources.

Lebensraum: paradoxically, population growth may eventually end wars.

PubMed

Simon, J L

1989-03-01

Population growth may progressively reduce 1 of the motives for making war. Namely, population growth threatens shortages of resources, and especially land. Impending shortages cause a search for ways to mitigate the shortages. The discoveries eventually produce greater availability of resources than if population growth and pressure on resources had never occurred. The argument runs as follows: 1) Rhetoric about resources scarcity induced by population density has often contributed to international conflict, even if economics has not been the main motive in making war. 2) In the pre-modern era, war to obtain land and other resources may sometimes have been an economically sound policy. 3) Politicians and others in industrially developed nations believe resources may still be a casus belli. 4) Land and other productive resources are no longer worth acquiring at the cost of war.

Characterizing water resources of the Nile Basin using remotely sensed data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mekonnen, Z. T.; Gebremichael, M.; Demissie, S. S.

2015-12-01

The Nile is one of the largest river basin in the world with a rich biodiversity as well supporting the lives of 450 million people residing within the 11 riparian countries. This vital resource is under a growing stress due to population growth, rapid development and climate change. In this work, we explore the use of the latest various remote sensing products to capture the water resource of the basin: rainfall from GPM and TRMM, soil moisture from SMAP and SMOS, evapotranspiration from MODIS and EUMETSAT LSA-SAF, and total water storage variations from GRACE. The satellite estimates were supplemented and checked by ground measurements whenever possible. Our results show that spatiotemporal variations of the basin's water resources characteristics are well captured by remote sensing products rather than the scarce point measurements that currently exist. Several aspects of our results will be presented and discussed.

Trends in Volunteer Mentoring in the United States: Analysis of a Decade of Census Survey Data.

PubMed

Raposa, Elizabeth B; Dietz, Nathan; Rhodes, Jean E

2017-03-01

Over the past decade, considerable resources have been devoted to recruiting volunteer mentors and expanding mentoring programs. It is unclear whether these efforts have helped to counter the broader national trends of declining volunteer rates. The current study uses data from the Volunteering Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS), sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, to explore population-level trends in mentoring over the past decade. Results suggest that mentoring rates have remained relatively stable over the past decade, but that the population of mentors has changed somewhat in terms of age, ethnicity, educational background, and region of the United States. In addition, certain sectors of the mentor population show higher rates of attrition from 1 year to the next. Findings have important implications for the development of recruitment, training, and mentor support practices within mentoring organizations, as well as policies designed to meet the needs of at-risk youth in the U.S. © Society for Community Research and Action 2017.

A preliminary investigation to explore the cognitive resources of physicians experiencing difficulty in training.

PubMed

Patterson, Fiona; Cousans, Fran; Coyne, Iain; Jones, Jo; Macleod, Sheona; Zibarras, Lara

2017-05-15

Treating patients is complex, and research shows that there are differences in cognitive resources between physicians who experience difficulties, and those who do not. It is possible that differences in some cognitive resources could explain the difficulties faced by some physicians. In this study, we explore differences in cognitive resources between different groups of physicians (that is, between native (UK) physicians and International Medical Graduates (IMG); those who continue with training versus those who were subsequently removed from the training programme); and also between physicians experiencing difficulties compared with the general population. A secondary evaluation was conducted on an anonymised dataset provided by the East Midlands Professional Support Unit (PSU). One hundred and twenty one postgraduate trainee physicians took part in an Educational Psychology assessment through PSU. Referrals to the PSU were mainly on the basis of problems with exam progression and difficulties in communication skills, organisation and confidence. Cognitive resources were assessed using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV). Physicians were categorised into three PSU outcomes: 'Continued in training', 'Removed from training' and 'Active' (currently accessing the PSU). Using a one-sample Z test, we compared the referred physician sample to a UK general population sample on the WAIS-IV and found the referred sample significantly higher in Verbal Comprehension (VCI; z = 8.78) and significantly lower in Working Memory (WMI; z = -4.59). In addition, the native sample were significantly higher in Verbal Comprehension than the UK general population sample (VCI; native physicians: z = 9.95, p < .001, d = 1.25), whilst there was a lesser effect for the difference between the IMG sample and the UK general population (z = 2.13, p = .03, d = 0.29). Findings also showed a significant difference in VCI scores between those physicians who were 'Removed from training' and those who 'Continued in training'. Our results suggest it is important to understand the cognitive resources of physicians to provide a more focussed explanation of those who experience difficulties in training. This will help to implement more targeted interventions to help physicians develop compensatory strategies.

High Selection Pressure Promotes Increase in Cumulative Adaptive Culture

PubMed Central

Vegvari, Carolin; Foley, Robert A.

2014-01-01

The evolution of cumulative adaptive culture has received widespread interest in recent years, especially the factors promoting its occurrence. Current evolutionary models suggest that an increase in population size may lead to an increase in cultural complexity via a higher rate of cultural transmission and innovation. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the role of natural selection in the evolution of cultural complexity. Here we use an agent-based simulation model to demonstrate that high selection pressure in the form of resource pressure promotes the accumulation of adaptive culture in spite of small population sizes and high innovation costs. We argue that the interaction of demography and selection is important, and that neither can be considered in isolation. We predict that an increase in cultural complexity is most likely to occur under conditions of population pressure relative to resource availability. Our model may help to explain why culture change can occur without major environmental change. We suggest that understanding the interaction between shifting selective pressures and demography is essential for explaining the evolution of cultural complexity. PMID:24489724

Increasing population and declining biological resources in the context of global change and globalization.

PubMed

Ramakrishnan, P S

2001-11-01

In the context of over-consumption of natural resources in the name of development and rapid industrialization by a small section of the human population that is rapidly growing, the world is currently faced with a variety of environmental uncertainties. 'Global change' covering a whole variety of ecological issues, and 'globalization' in an economic sense, are two major phenomena that are responsible for these uncertainties. There is increasing evidence to suggest that the developing countries more than the developed, particularly the marginalized traditional (those living close to nature and natural resources) societies would be the worst sufferers. In order to cope with this problem in a situation where the traditional societies have to cope with rapidly depleting biodiversity on which they are dependant for their livelihood, there is an urgent need to explore additional pathways for sustainable management of natural resources and societal development. Such pathways should be based on a landscape management strategy, that takes into consideration the rich traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) that these societies have. This is critical because TEK is the connecting link between conservation and sustainable development. This paper explores the possibilities in this direction through a balanced approach to development, that links the 'traditional' with the 'modern', in a location-specific way.

The food production and consumption balance in sub-Saharan Africa under different SSPs, from 2010 to 2050

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wada, Y.; Luan, Y.; Fischer, G.; Sun, L.; Shi, P.

2015-12-01

Forcing with the population growth and consequently increasing food requirement, food security in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most emergent and challenging issues. The purposes of this work are 1) what's the future food requirement and their food security status in each sub-Saharan African countries? What is the distance from current and future food security status, corresponding to the food requirement, to the targeted food security status? 2) To what extent Sub-Saharan countries could meet their present and future food requirement, and whether they have potential to improve their food insecurity status on currently cultivated land? 3) Whether or, if there have, how the pressures on land resources from meeting the food requirements? To figure those questions out, we firstly use socio-economic pathways datasets, and historical food diet pattern classification to forecast the 2010-2050 food commodity and feed calories demand per country. A new food security indicator, which considered the influences of both the food energy and quality intake, was used to evaluate the food insecurity status and the distances to different targeted statuses of the specific country. The latest Global Agro-Ecological Zones (GAEZ) databases were used to estimate the current and future crop yield gap and crop potential production. For current to future scenario analysis, we considered population growth, dietary change, climate change, agricultural input level, and target food security status. Then the balance of food requirement with the current and potential crop production was analyzed for different scenarios. Land requirements were calculated for meeting those food requirements, and the pressures on land resources are evaluated. Our works are hoping to provide scientific-based evidences for policy recommendations for local government to tackle food insecurity problems in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Restructuring brain drain: strengthening governance and financing for health worker migration.

PubMed

Mackey, Tim K; Liang, Bryan A

2013-01-15

Health worker migration from resource-poor countries to developed countries, also known as ''brain drain'', represents a serious global health crisis and a significant barrier to achieving global health equity. Resource-poor countries are unable to recruit and retain health workers for domestic health systems, resulting in inadequate health infrastructure and millions of dollars in healthcare investment losses. Using acceptable methods of policy analysis, we first assess current strategies aimed at alleviating brain drain and then propose our own global health policy based solution to address current policy limitations. Although governments and private organizations have tried to address this policy challenge, brain drain continues to destabilise public health systems and their populations globally. Most importantly, lack of adequate financing and binding governance solutions continue to fail to prevent health worker brain drain. In response to these challenges, the establishment of a Global Health Resource Fund in conjunction with an international framework for health worker migration could create global governance for stable funding mechanisms encourage equitable migration pathways, and provide data collection that is desperately needed.

Current and future resources for functional metagenomics

PubMed Central

Lam, Kathy N.; Cheng, Jiujun; Engel, Katja; Neufeld, Josh D.; Charles, Trevor C.

2015-01-01

Functional metagenomics is a powerful experimental approach for studying gene function, starting from the extracted DNA of mixed microbial populations. A functional approach relies on the construction and screening of metagenomic libraries—physical libraries that contain DNA cloned from environmental metagenomes. The information obtained from functional metagenomics can help in future annotations of gene function and serve as a complement to sequence-based metagenomics. In this Perspective, we begin by summarizing the technical challenges of constructing metagenomic libraries and emphasize their value as resources. We then discuss libraries constructed using the popular cloning vector, pCC1FOS, and highlight the strengths and shortcomings of this system, alongside possible strategies to maximize existing pCC1FOS-based libraries by screening in diverse hosts. Finally, we discuss the known bias of libraries constructed from human gut and marine water samples, present results that suggest bias may also occur for soil libraries, and consider factors that bias metagenomic libraries in general. We anticipate that discussion of current resources and limitations will advance tools and technologies for functional metagenomics research. PMID:26579102

Current and future resources for functional metagenomics.

PubMed

Lam, Kathy N; Cheng, Jiujun; Engel, Katja; Neufeld, Josh D; Charles, Trevor C

2015-01-01

Functional metagenomics is a powerful experimental approach for studying gene function, starting from the extracted DNA of mixed microbial populations. A functional approach relies on the construction and screening of metagenomic libraries-physical libraries that contain DNA cloned from environmental metagenomes. The information obtained from functional metagenomics can help in future annotations of gene function and serve as a complement to sequence-based metagenomics. In this Perspective, we begin by summarizing the technical challenges of constructing metagenomic libraries and emphasize their value as resources. We then discuss libraries constructed using the popular cloning vector, pCC1FOS, and highlight the strengths and shortcomings of this system, alongside possible strategies to maximize existing pCC1FOS-based libraries by screening in diverse hosts. Finally, we discuss the known bias of libraries constructed from human gut and marine water samples, present results that suggest bias may also occur for soil libraries, and consider factors that bias metagenomic libraries in general. We anticipate that discussion of current resources and limitations will advance tools and technologies for functional metagenomics research.

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Kazakhstan: Trends and Analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karatayev, Marat; Rivotti, Pedro; Sobral Mourão, Zenaida; Konadu, D. Dennis; Clarke, Michèle

2017-04-01

The concept of the water, energy and food nexus is extremely relevant to Kazakhstan as the country faces population growth, economic progress and environmental challenges such as water scarcity, desertification, and climate change. Furthermore, poor sectoral coordination and institutional fragmentation have caused an unsustainable resource use and threaten the long-term sustainability of water, energy and food security in Kazakhstan. Specifically, low tariffs in the water and electricity sectors have led to under-investment in water and energy efficiency measures, leading to extensive water losses, soil salinity, as well as degradation of agricultural land. Using the nexus approach, this study aims to investigate and map the linkages between water resources, energy production and food security in Kazakhstan, with an emphasis on the current coordination framework. This will enable the identification of critical interdependency issues in the management of these resources. The results will provide a better understanding of the current interconnectedness of the sectors, and support the coordination of decision-making at various levels of governance and research of land, water and energy to meet sustainable development goals.

Restructuring brain drain: strengthening governance and financing for health worker migration

PubMed Central

Mackey, Tim K.; Liang, Bryan A.

2013-01-01

Background Health worker migration from resource-poor countries to developed countries, also known as ‘‘brain drain’’, represents a serious global health crisis and a significant barrier to achieving global health equity. Resource-poor countries are unable to recruit and retain health workers for domestic health systems, resulting in inadequate health infrastructure and millions of dollars in healthcare investment losses. Methods Using acceptable methods of policy analysis, we first assess current strategies aimed at alleviating brain drain and then propose our own global health policy based solution to address current policy limitations. Results Although governments and private organizations have tried to address this policy challenge, brain drain continues to destabilise public health systems and their populations globally. Most importantly, lack of adequate financing and binding governance solutions continue to fail to prevent health worker brain drain. Conclusions In response to these challenges, the establishment of a Global Health Resource Fund in conjunction with an international framework for health worker migration could create global governance for stable funding mechanisms encourage equitable migration pathways, and provide data collection that is desperately needed. PMID:23336617

Unlocking the Treasures of the Ocean: Current Assessment and Future Perspectives of Seafloor Resources (C.F Gauss Lecture)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jegen, Marion

2016-04-01

Oceans cover 70% of the Earth's surface, and there is reason to believe that the wealth of mineral and carbon resources on the seafloor is similar to deposits on land. While off-shore energy resources such as oil and gas are nowadays regarded as conventional, energy resources in form of methane hydrates and seafloor mineral deposits are yet unconventional and at best marginally economic. However, taking into account global population growth, geopolitics and technological development (both in terms of increasing industrialization and possibility to explore and mine seafloor resources), these resources might play a more fundamental role in the future. Resource assessment and understanding of the geological formation process of resources are topics in marine geosciences with broad relevance to society. The lecture presents an overview of the geophysical exploration of the seafloor and its resource potential. Starting from the link of physical parameter anomalies associated with resources, I will explore marine technological developments on how to sense them remotely from the seafloor. Also the question will be addressed of how well we can actually quantify the amount of resources from geophysical data. The process will be illustrated based on theoretical work as well as case studies from around the world.

Pneumococcal vaccine targeting strategy for older adults: customized risk profiling.

PubMed

Balicer, Ran D; Cohen, Chandra J; Leibowitz, Morton; Feldman, Becca S; Brufman, Ilan; Roberts, Craig; Hoshen, Moshe

2014-02-12

Current pneumococcal vaccine campaigns take a broad, primarily age-based approach to immunization targeting, overlooking many clinical and administrative considerations necessary in disease prevention and resource planning for specific patient populations. We aim to demonstrate the utility of a population-specific predictive model for hospital-treated pneumonia to direct effective vaccine targeting. Data was extracted for 1,053,435 members of an Israeli HMO, age 50 and older, during the study period 2008-2010. We developed and validated a logistic regression model to predict hospital-treated pneumonia using training and test samples, including a set of standard and population-specific risk factors. The model's predictive value was tested for prospectively identifying cases of pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), and was compared to the existing international paradigm for patient immunization targeting. In a multivariate regression, age, co-morbidity burden and previous pneumonia events were most strongly positively associated with hospital-treated pneumonia. The model predicting hospital-treated pneumonia yielded a c-statistic of 0.80. Utilizing the predictive model, the top 17% highest-risk within the study validation population were targeted to detect 54% of those members who were subsequently treated for hospitalized pneumonia in the follow up period. The high-risk population identified through this model included 46% of the follow-up year's IPD cases, and 27% of community-treated pneumonia cases. These outcomes were compared with international guidelines for risk for pneumococcal diseases that accurately identified only 35% of hospitalized pneumonia, 41% of IPD cases and 21% of community-treated pneumonia. We demonstrate that a customized model for vaccine targeting performs better than international guidelines, and therefore, risk modeling may allow for more precise vaccine targeting and resource allocation than current national and international guidelines. Health care managers and policy-makers may consider the strategic potential of utilizing clinical and administrative databases for creating population-specific risk prediction models to inform vaccination campaigns. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Temperature-dependent body size effects determine population responses to climate warming.

PubMed

Lindmark, Max; Huss, Magnus; Ohlberger, Jan; Gårdmark, Anna

2018-02-01

Current understanding of animal population responses to rising temperatures is based on the assumption that biological rates such as metabolism, which governs fundamental ecological processes, scale independently with body size and temperature, despite empirical evidence for interactive effects. Here, we investigate the consequences of interactive temperature- and size scaling of vital rates for the dynamics of populations experiencing warming using a stage-structured consumer-resource model. We show that interactive scaling alters population and stage-specific responses to rising temperatures, such that warming can induce shifts in population regulation and stage-structure, influence community structure and govern population responses to mortality. Analysing experimental data for 20 fish species, we found size-temperature interactions in intraspecific scaling of metabolic rate to be common. Given the evidence for size-temperature interactions and the ubiquity of size structure in animal populations, we argue that accounting for size-specific temperature effects is pivotal for understanding how warming affects animal populations and communities. © 2017 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by CNRS and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Small-scale fisheries, population dynamics, and resource use in Africa: the case of Moree, Ghana.

PubMed

Marquette, Catherine M; Koranteng, Kwame A; Overå, Ragnhild; Aryeetey, Ellen Bortei-Doku

2002-06-01

We consider population dynamics and sustainable use and development of fishery resources in Moree, a small-scale fishing and coastal community of 20,000 people in the Central Region of Ghana near Cape Coast. Moree suggests that relationships between population dynamics and fishery resources are more complex than the concept of Malthusian overfishing implies. Reasons include changing biophysical characteristics of the upwelling system along the coast of West Africa; qualitative as well as quantitative changes in fishing activity throughout the year; the market nature of fishing activity and nonlocal demands for fish; regular fishery migration; and institutions regulating fishery resource access at home and at migration destinations. Population and resource relationships in Moree may be the effects of fishery resource and economic changes on migration rather than population pressure on fishery resources. Fisheries management policies must take into account processes that lie beyond the influence of local fishermen.

Maximum Regional Emission Reduction Potential in Residential Sector Based on Spatial Distribution of Population and Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winijkul, E.; Bond, T. C.

2011-12-01

In the residential sector, major activities that generate emissions are cooking and heating, and fuels ranging from traditional (wood) to modern (natural gas, or electricity) are used. Direct air pollutant emissions from this sector are low when natural gas or electricity are the dominant energy sources, as is the case in developed countries. However, in developing countries, people may rely on solid fuels and this sector can contribute a large fraction of emissions. The magnitude of the health loss associated with exposure to indoor smoke as well as its concentration among rural population in developing countries have recently put preventive measures high on the agenda of international development and public health organizations. This study focuses on these developing regions: Central America, Africa, and Asia. Current and future emissions from the residential sector depend on both fuel and cooking device (stove) type. Availability of fuels, stoves, and interventions depends strongly on spatial distribution. However, regional emission calculations do not consider this spatial dependence. Fuel consumption data is presented at country level, without information about where different types of fuel are used. Moreover, information about stove types that are currently used and can be used in the future is not available. In this study, we first spatially allocate current emissions within residential sector. We use Geographic Information System maps of temperature, electricity availability, forest area, and population to determine the distribution of fuel types and availability of stoves. Within each country, consumption of different fuel types, such as fuelwood, coal, and LPG is distributed among different area types (urban, peri-urban, and rural area). Then, the cleanest stove technologies which could be used in the area are selected based on the constraints of each area, i.e. availability of resources. Using this map, the maximum emission reduction compared with current emission in residential sector can be estimated, based on the cleanest plausible fuels and stove availability.

Mapping traditional place names along the Koyukuk River: Koyukuk, Huslia, and Hughes, Western Interior Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCloskey, Sarah E.; Jones, Benjamin M.

2014-01-01

Koyukon Athabascan peoples have settled along the Koyukuk River in Western Interior Alaska for thousands of years using the surrounding landscape for subsistence and cultural resources. However, recent changes in climate, technology, resource availability, and way of life have affected land-use patterns in the region, as well as use of the Denaakk'e (Koyukon) language. The current Koyukon population is about 2,300, and about 150 still speak the language (the youngest of whom are in their fifties). In addition, Elders, important keepers of both language and traditional subsistence-use areas, are aging, and opportunities to record their knowledge are diminishing.

Evaluation of the Waste Tire Resources Recovery Program and Environmental Health Policy in Taiwan

PubMed Central

Chen, Chia-Ching; Yamada, Tetsuji; Chiu, I-Ming; Liu, Yi-Kuen

2009-01-01

This paper examines the effectiveness of Taiwanese environmental health policies, whose aim is to improve environmental quality by reducing tire waste via the Tire Resource Recovery Program. The results confirm that implemented environmental health policies improve the overall health of the population (i.e. a decrease in death caused by bronchitis and other respiratory diseases). Current policy expenditures are far below the optimal level, as it is estimated that a ten percent increase in the subsidy would decrease the number of deaths caused by bronchitis and other respiratory diseases by 0.58% per county/city per year on average. PMID:19440434

Water management: Current and future challenges and research directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cosgrove, William J.; Loucks, Daniel P.

2015-06-01

Water distinguishes our planet compared to all the others we know about. While the global supply of available freshwater is more than adequate to meet all current and foreseeable water demands, its spatial and temporal distributions are not. There are many regions where our freshwater resources are inadequate to meet domestic, economic development and environmental needs. In such regions, the lack of adequate clean water to meet human drinking water and sanitation needs is indeed a constraint on human health and productivity and hence on economic development as well as on the maintenance of a clean environment and healthy ecosystems. All of us involved in research must find ways to remove these constraints. We face multiple challenges in doing that, especially given a changing and uncertain future climate, and a rapidly growing population that is driving increased social and economic development, globalization, and urbanization. How best to meet these challenges requires research in all aspects of water management. Since 1965, the journal Water Resources Research has played an important role in reporting and disseminating current research related to managing the quantity and quality and cost of this resource. This paper identifies the issues facing water managers today and future research needed to better inform those who strive to create a more sustainable and desirable future.

Why bother about wildlife disease?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Friend, Milton

2014-01-01

In most developed countries, the maintenance of the numbers of wildlife1 is vested in the natural resource agencies of those countries. During earlier times, game species were the primary focus of natural resource agencies2,3 however, current wildlife conservation continues to transition towards a more holistic focus on biodiversity4 and environmental health5,6. Nevertheless, that transition lags behind in addressing wildlife disease in “…the struggle for existence between different forms of life…”.7 Thus, the primary objective of this presentation is to provide a pragmatic assessment of wildlife disease that is irrespective of one’s orientation towards wildlife conservation. A secondary objective is to highlight the changing role of disease over time as a wildlife conservation factor. That transition is relevant to the insights provided for current and future efforts focused on sustaining global biodiversity and desired levels of wildlife populations in nature.

Management of obstructive sleep apnea in the indigent population: a deviation of standard of care?

PubMed

Hamblin, John S; Sandulache, Vlad C; Alapat, Philip M; Takashima, Masayoshi

2014-03-01

Comprehensive management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) typically is managed best via a multidisciplinary approach, involving otolaryngologists, sleep psychologists/psychiatrists, pulmonologists, neurologists, oral surgeons, and sleep trained dentists. By utilizing these resources, one could fashion a treatment individualized to the patient, giving rise to the holistic phrase of "personalized medicine." Unfortunately, in situations and environments with limited resources, the treatment options in an otolaryngologist's armamentarium are restricted--typically to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) versus sleep surgery. However, a recent patient encounter highlighted here shows how a hospital's reimbursement policy effectively dictated a patient's medical management to sleep surgery. This occurred although the current gold standard for the initial treatment of OSA is CPAP. Changing the course of medical/surgical management by selectively restricting funding is a cause of concern, especially when it promotes patients to choose a treatment option that is not considered the current standard of care.

The Otolaryngologist's Role in Providing Gender-Affirming Care: An Opportunity for Improved Education and Training.

PubMed

Chaiet, Scott R; Yoshikawa, Noriko; Sturm, Angela; Flanary, Valerie; Ishman, Stacey; Streed, Carl G

2018-06-01

Currently, there are limited resources and training available for otolaryngologists and otolaryngology practice personnel to provide gender-affirming care for transgender or gender nonconforming patients. This unique patient population may present to our offices for gender-specific care or with complaints of the ear, nose, and throat unrelated to gender identity. Our current practice has unintentional but direct consequences on our patients care, as transgender patients often report negative experiences in the healthcare setting related to their gender identity. The absence of resources and training is also seen in other specialties. Physicians who create an environment where patients of all gender identities feel welcome can better meet their patients' health care needs. In addition, otolaryngologists can play a role in easing the gender dysphoria experienced by transgender patients. We suggest educational content should be created for and made available to otolaryngologists and office staff to provide gender-affirming care.

Culture, hydrology, and other situational controls on atoll freshwater availability (Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuster, W.

2016-12-01

The comparatively uncertain rainfall catch and rising seas in isolated North Pacific atoll communities has presented serious challenges to maintain human communities with freshwater volume. Moreover, the feudal hierarchy, which structures social and economic relationships among local governance and citizens contributes equally to problems and potential solutions. These relationships modulate the availability of critical ecosystem services generated by freshwater, with additional constraints contributed by climate change, rainfall variability (e.g., current El Niño climate pattern), and continuous threat of drought. The major freshwater resources for an atoll are the groundwater freshwater lens, residential and commercial rainwater harvesting, large-scale rainfall catchments (e.g., an airport runway), imported-virtual water, or desalinization subsidies. The significance of each of these resources scale across different atolls according to size, topography, soils, population, infrastructure, and land ownership. The potential integration and coordination of these water resources is largely unrealized due to land ownership, the lack of a contiguous catchment area, uneven and fractured governance. The situational aspects are further characterized by feuding among families and communities (some resource rich, some resource poor), and conflicting land use priorities where agriculture placement and practice can compromise the quality of already limited freshwater resources. This presentation uses the example of Majuro atoll (Republic of the Marshall Islands), field data and other observations, to illustrate sociohydrologic-drivers of freshwater availability, and suggests approaches that may improve on current and ongoing threats to public health and well-being.

Estimating current and future global urban domestic material consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baynes, Timothy Malcolm; Kaviti Musango, Josephine

2018-06-01

Urban material resource requirements are significant at the global level and these are expected to expand with future urban population growth. However, there are no global scale studies on the future material consumption of urban areas. This paper provides estimates of global urban domestic material consumption (DMC) in 2050 using three approaches based on: current gross statistics; a regression model; and a transition theoretic logistic model. All methods use UN urban population projections and assume a simple ‘business-as-usual’ scenario wherein historical aggregate trends in income and material flow continue into the future. A collation of data for 152 cities provided a year 2000 world average DMC/capita estimate, 12 tons/person/year (±22%), which we combined with UN population projections to produce a first-order estimation of urban DMC at 2050 of ~73 billion tons/year (±22%). Urban DMC/capita was found to be significantly correlated (R 2 > 0.9) to urban GDP/capita and area per person through a power law relation used to obtain a second estimate of 106 billion tons (±33%) in 2050. The inelastic exponent of the power law indicates a global tendency for relative decoupling of direct urban material consumption with increasing income. These estimates are global and influenced by the current proportion of developed-world cities in the global population of cities (and in our sample data). A third method employed a logistic model of transitions in urban DMC/capita with regional resolution. This method estimated global urban DMC to rise from approximately 40 billion tons/year in 2010 to ~90 billion tons/year in 2050 (modelled range: 66–111 billion tons/year). DMC/capita across different regions was estimated to converge from a range of 5–27 tons/person/year in the year 2000 to around 8–17 tons/person/year in 2050. The urban population does not increase proportionally during this period and thus the global average DMC/capita increases from ~12 to ~14 tons/person/year, challenging resource decoupling targets.

[Optimum population analysis of Jilin Province, China based on comprehensive carrying capacity.

PubMed

Li, Xiu Xia; Meng, Mei

2017-10-01

The regional moderate population model was constructed using state-space method, and the weights of relevant factors were obtained using principal component analysis. The optimum population of Jilin Province during 2005-2014 was calculated and the causes for its formation were discussed. The results showed that the optimum population of Jilin Province was in deficit from 2005-2014, and the imbalance existed between the population, resources and environment. The resources carrying population was significantly higher than the economic carrying and the ecological carrying population, indicating that the economic development of Jilin Province was established at the expense of destroying the environment. Moreover, the land resources carrying population was substantially higher than the water and energy carrying population, which was at a deficit, indicating that the economic development of Jilin Province was based on the depletion of energy and water resources. In the future, water resources carrying capacity should be improved according to the local conditions, the energy efficiency should be enhanced via the development of new energy sources, the extensive and consumption-based resource utilization should be transformed to the intensive and low-carbon type, and the production mode and consumption patterns should be changed to protect the ecological environment.

Projections of water stress based on an ensemble of socioeconomic growth and climate change scenarios: A case study in Asia

DOE PAGES

Fant, Charles; Schlosser, C. Adam; Gao, Xiang; ...

2016-03-30

The sustainability of future water resources is of paramount importance and is affected by many factors, including population, wealth and climate. Inherent in current methods to estimate these factors in the future is the uncertainty of their prediction. In this study, we integrate a large ensemble of scenarios—internally consistent across economics, emissions, climate, and population—to develop a risk portfolio of water stress over a large portion of Asia that includes China, India, and Mainland Southeast Asia in a future with unconstrained emissions. We isolate the effects of socioeconomic growth from the effects of climate change in order to identify themore » primary drivers of stress on water resources. We find that water needs related to socioeconomic changes, which are currently small, are likely to increase considerably in the future, often overshadowing the effect of climate change on levels of water stress. As a result, there is a high risk of severe water stress in densely populated watersheds by 2050, compared to recent history. There is strong evidence to suggest that, in the absence of autonomous adaptation or societal response, a much larger portion of the region’s population will live in water-stressed regions in the near future. Lastly, tools and studies such as these can effectively investigate large-scale system sensitivities and can be useful in engaging and informing decision makers.« less

Ancient Humans Influenced the Current Spatial Genetic Structure of Common Walnut Populations in Asia

PubMed Central

Pollegioni, Paola; Woeste, Keith E.; Chiocchini, Francesca; Del Lungo, Stefano; Olimpieri, Irene; Tortolano, Virginia; Clark, Jo; Hemery, Gabriel E.; Mapelli, Sergio; Malvolti, Maria Emilia

2015-01-01

Common walnut (Juglans regia L) is an economically important species cultivated worldwide for its wood and nuts. It is generally accepted that J. regia survived and grew spontaneously in almost completely isolated stands in its Asian native range after the Last Glacial Maximum. Despite its natural geographic isolation, J. regia evolved over many centuries under the influence of human management and exploitation. We evaluated the hypothesis that the current distribution of natural genetic resources of common walnut in Asia is, at least in part, the product of ancient anthropogenic dispersal, human cultural interactions, and afforestation. Genetic analysis combined with ethno-linguistic and historical data indicated that ancient trade routes such as the Persian Royal Road and Silk Road enabled long-distance dispersal of J. regia from Iran and Trans-Caucasus to Central Asia, and from Western to Eastern China. Ancient commerce also disrupted the local spatial genetic structure of autochthonous walnut populations between Tashkent and Samarkand (Central-Eastern Uzbekistan), where the northern and central routes of the Northern Silk Road converged. A significant association between ancient language phyla and the genetic structure of walnut populations is reported even after adjustment for geographic distances that could have affected both walnut gene flow and human commerce over the centuries. Beyond the economic importance of common walnut, our study delineates an alternative approach for understanding how the genetic resources of long-lived perennial tree species may be affected by the interaction of geography and human history. PMID:26332919

Bone health and HIV in resource-limited settings: a scoping review

PubMed Central

Matovu, Flavia Kiweewa; Wattanachanya, Lalita; Beksinska, Mags; Pettifor, John M.; Ruxrungtham, Kiat

2016-01-01

Purpose of review Sub-Saharan Africa and other resource-limited settings (RLS) bear the greatest burden of the HIV epidemic globally. Advantageously, the expanding access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) has resulted in increased survival of HIV individuals in the last 2 decades. Data from resource rich settings provide evidence of increased risk of comorbid conditions such as osteoporosis and fragility fractures among HIV-infected populations. We provide the first review of published and presented data synthesizing the current state of knowledge on bone health and HIV in RLS. Recent findings With few exceptions, we found a high prevalence of low bone mineral density (BMD) and hypovitaminosis D among HIV-infected populations in both RLS and resource rich settings. Although most recognized risk factors for bone loss are similar across settings, in certain RLS there is a high prevalence of both non-HIV-specific risk factors and HIV-specific risk factors, including advanced HIV disease and widespread use of ART, including tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, a non-BMD sparing ART. Of great concern, we neither found published data on the effect of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate initiation on BMD, nor any data on incidence and prevalence of fractures among HIV-infected populations in RLS. Summary To date, the prevalence and squeal of metabolic bone diseases in RLS are poorly described. This review highlights important gaps in our knowledge about HIV-associated bone health comorbidities in RLS. This creates an urgent need for targeted research that can inform HIV care and management guidelines in RLS. Video abstract: http://links.lww.com/COHA/A9. PMID:27023284

Food supply reliance on groundwater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalin, Carole; Puma, Michael; Wada, Yoshihide; Kastner, Thomas

2016-04-01

Water resources, essential to sustain human life, livelihoods and ecosystems, are under increasing pressure from population growth, socio-economic development and global climate change. As the largest freshwater resource on Earth, groundwater is key for human development and food security. Yet, excessive abstraction of groundwater for irrigation, driven by an increasing demand for food in recent decades, is leading to fast exhaustion of groundwater reserves in major agricultural areas of the world. Some of the highest depletion rates are observed in Pakistan, India, California Central Valley and the North China Plain aquifers. In addition, the growing economy and population of several countries, such as India and China, makes prospects of future available water and food worrisome. In this context, it is becoming particularly challenging to sustainably feed the world population, without exhausting our water resources. Besides, food production and consumption across the globe have become increasingly interconnected, with many areas' agricultural production destined to remote consumers. In this globalisation era, trade is crucial to the world's food system. As a transfer of water-intensive goods, across regions with varying levels of water productivity, food trade can save significant volumes of water resources globally. This situation makes it essential to address the issue of groundwater overuse for global food supply, accounting for international food trade. To do so, we quantify the current, global use of non-renewable groundwater for major crops, accounting for various water productivity and trade flows. This will highlight areas requiring quickest attention, exposing major exporters and importers of non-renewable groundwater, and thus help explore solutions to improve the sustainability of global food supply.

Genomic data for 78 chickens from 14 populations

PubMed Central

Li, Diyan; Che, Tiandong; Chen, Binlong; Tian, Shilin; Zhou, Xuming; Zhang, Guolong; Li, Miao; Gaur, Uma; Li, Yan; Luo, Majing; Zhang, Long; Xu, Zhongxian; Zhao, Xiaoling; Yin, Huadong; Wang, Yan; Jin, Long; Tang, Qianzi; Xu, Huailiang; Yang, Mingyao; Zhou, Rongjia; Li, Ruiqiang

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Since the domestication of the red jungle fowls (Gallus gallus; dating back to ∼10 000 B.P.) in Asia, domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) have been subjected to the combined effects of natural selection and human-driven artificial selection; this has resulted in marked phenotypic diversity in a number of traits, including behavior, body composition, egg production, and skin color. Population genomic variations through diversifying selection have not been fully investigated. Findings: The whole genomes of 78 domestic chickens were sequenced to an average of 18-fold coverage for each bird. By combining this data with publicly available genomes of five wild red jungle fowls and eight Xishuangbanna game fowls, we conducted a comprehensive comparative genomics analysis of 91 chickens from 17 populations. After aligning ∼21.30 gigabases (Gb) of high-quality data from each individual to the reference chicken genome, we identified ∼6.44 million (M) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for each population. These SNPs included 1.10 M novel SNPs in 17 populations that were absent in the current chicken dbSNP (Build 145) entries. Conclusions: The current data is important for population genetics and further studies in chickens and will serve as a valuable resource for investigating diversifying selection and candidate genes for selective breeding in chickens. PMID:28431039

Health impact assessment in Mongolia: current situation, directions, and challenges.

PubMed

Spickett, Jeff; Batmunkh, Tsetsegsaikhan; Jones, Sarah

2015-03-01

Many developing countries have limited capacity to adequately assess and manage health impacts associated with environmental change. In Mongolia, methodologies to introduce health impact assessment (HIA) as part of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process have been investigated, and a mechanism to incorporate HIA into the current EIA process is proposed. Some challenges to the implementation of HIA are discussed. The country is now in a position to incorporate HIA as part of the approvals process for development projects. Given the recent growth in population, industrial development, and urbanization together with the interest from international mining companies in the resources of the country, it is important for Mongolia to have such tools in place in order to take advantage of economic growth while improving health and well-being outcomes for the population. © 2012 APJPH.

Surprisingly little population genetic structure in a fungus-associated beetle despite its exploitation of multiple hosts

PubMed Central

Wood, Corlett W; Donald, Hannah M; Formica, Vincent A; Brodie, Edmund D

2013-01-01

In heterogeneous environments, landscape features directly affect the structure of genetic variation among populations by functioning as barriers to gene flow. Resource-associated population genetic structure, in which populations that use different resources (e.g., host plants) are genetically distinct, is a well-studied example of how environmental heterogeneity structures populations. However, the pattern that emerges in a given landscape should depend on its particular combination of resources. If resources constitute barriers to gene flow, population differentiation should be lowest in homogeneous landscapes, and highest where resources exist in equal proportions. In this study, we tested whether host community diversity affects population genetic structure in a beetle (Bolitotherus cornutus) that exploits three sympatric host fungi. We collected B. cornutus from plots containing the three host fungi in different proportions and quantified population genetic structure in each plot using a panel of microsatellite loci. We found no relationship between host community diversity and population differentiation in this species; however, we also found no evidence of resource-associated differentiation, suggesting that host fungi are not substantial barriers to gene flow. Moreover, we detected no genetic differentiation among B. cornutus populations separated by several kilometers, even though a previous study demonstrated moderate genetic structure on the scale of a few hundred meters. Although we found no effect of community diversity on population genetic structure in this study, the role of host communities in the structuring of genetic variation in heterogeneous landscapes should be further explored in a species that exhibits resource-associated population genetic structure. PMID:23789061

Evaluation of Water Resources Carrying Capacity in Shandong Province Based on Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Qiang; Gao, Qian; Zhu, Mingyue; Li, Xiumei

2018-06-01

Water resources carrying capacity is the maximum available water resources supporting by the social and economic development. Based on investigating and statisticing on the current situation of water resources in Shandong Province, this paper selects 13 factors including per capita water resources, water resources utilization, water supply modulus, rainfall, per capita GDP, population density, per capita water consumption, water consumption per million yuan, The water consumption of industrial output value, the agricultural output value of farmland, the irrigation rate of cultivated land, the water consumption rate of ecological environment and the forest coverage rate were used as the evaluation factors. Then,the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model was used to analyze the water resources carrying capacity Force status evaluation. The results showed : The comprehensive evaluation results of water resources in Shandong Province were lower than 0.6 in 2001-2009 and higher than 0.6 in 2010-2015, which indicating that the water resources carrying capacity of Shandong Province has been improved.; In addition, most of the years a value of less than 0.6, individual years below 0.4, the interannual changes are relatively large, from that we can see the level of water resources is generally weak, the greater the interannual changes in Shandong Province.

Stochastic population dynamics under resource constraints

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gavane, Ajinkya S., E-mail: ajinkyagavane@gmail.com; Nigam, Rahul, E-mail: rahul.nigam@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in

This paper investigates the population growth of a certain species in which every generation reproduces thrice over a period of predefined time, under certain constraints of resources needed for survival of population. We study the survival period of a species by randomizing the reproduction probabilities within a window at same predefined ages and the resources are being produced by the working force of the population at a variable rate. This randomness in the reproduction rate makes the population growth stochastic in nature and one cannot predict the exact form of evolution. Hence we study the growth by running simulations formore » such a population and taking an ensemble averaged over 500 to 5000 such simulations as per the need. While the population reproduces in a stochastic manner, we have implemented a constraint on the amount of resources available for the population. This is important to make the simulations more realistic. The rate of resource production then is tuned to find the rate which suits the survival of the species. We also compute the mean life time of the species corresponding to different resource production rate. Study for these outcomes in the parameter space defined by the reproduction probabilities and rate of resource production is carried out.« less

Novel RAD sequence data reveal a lack of genomic divergence between dietary ecotypes in a landlocked salmonid population

USGS Publications Warehouse

Limborg, Morten T.; Larson, Wesley; Shedd, Kyle; Seeb, Lisa W.; Seeb, James E.

2017-01-01

Preservation of heritable ecological diversity within species and populations is a key challenge for managing natural resources and wild populations. Salmonid fish are iconic and socio-economically important species for commercial, aquaculture, and recreational fisheries across the globe. Many salmonids are known to exhibit ecological divergence within species, including distinct feeding ecotypes within the same lakes. Here we used 5559 SNPs, derived from RAD sequencing, to perform population genetic comparisons between two dietary ecotypes of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in Jo-Jo Lake, Alaska (USA). We tested the standing hypothesis that these two ecotypes are currently diverging as a result of adaptation to distinct dietary niches; results support earlier conclusions of a single panmictic population. The RAD sequence data revealed 40 new SNPs not previously detected in the species, and our sequence data can be used in future studies of ecotypic diversity in salmonid species.

[Equity of Health Resources Allocation in Minority Regions of Sichuan Province].

PubMed

Chen, Nan; Tang, Wen; Liang, Zhi; Zou, Bo; Li, Xiao-song

2016-03-01

To determine equity of health resources allocation in minority regions of Sichuan province from 2009 to 2013. Health resources distribution equity among populations and across geographic catchments were measured using coefficients of Inter-Individual differences and Individual-Mean differences. Health resources, especially human resources, in minority regions increased slowly over the years. Poorer allocation equity was found in nursing resources compared with doctors and hospital beds. Better distribution equity was found among populations than across geographic catchments. High levels of equity in resource distributions among populations and across geographic catchments were found in Aba. In Liangshan, more equitable distributions were found in doctors and hospital beds compared with nurses. The rest of minority regions had poor absolute allocation equity in doctors and hospital beds among populations. Appropriate allocation of health resources can promote health development. Health resources allocation in minority regions of Sichuan province is unreasonable. The government and relevant departments should take actions to optimize health resources allocations.

WICCI Wildlife Working Group Report

USGS Publications Warehouse

LeDee, Olivia E.; Hagell, Suzanne; Martin, K.; McFarland, David; Meyer, Michael; Paulios, Andy; Ribic, Christine A.; Sample, D.; Van Deelen, Timothy R.

2013-01-01

Wisconsin is world-renowned for its diversity of ecological landscapes and wildlife populations.  The northern forests, southern prairies, and interior and coastal wetlands of the state are home to more than 500 terrestrial animal species.  These animals supply the Wisconsin public with aesthetic, cultural, and economic benefits; our identity and economy are intertwined with these natural resources.  Climate change is altering the behavior, distribution, development, reproduction, and survival of these animal populations.  In turn, these changes will alter the aesthetic, cultural, and economic benefits we receive from them.  The focus of the Wildlife Working Group is to document past and current impacts, anticipate changes in wildlife distribution and abundance, and develop adaptation strategies to maintain the vitality and diversity of Wisconsin's wildlife populations.

Moving forward in circles: challenges and opportunities in modelling population cycles.

PubMed

Barraquand, Frédéric; Louca, Stilianos; Abbott, Karen C; Cobbold, Christina A; Cordoleani, Flora; DeAngelis, Donald L; Elderd, Bret D; Fox, Jeremy W; Greenwood, Priscilla; Hilker, Frank M; Murray, Dennis L; Stieha, Christopher R; Taylor, Rachel A; Vitense, Kelsey; Wolkowicz, Gail S K; Tyson, Rebecca C

2017-08-01

Population cycling is a widespread phenomenon, observed across a multitude of taxa in both laboratory and natural conditions. Historically, the theory associated with population cycles was tightly linked to pairwise consumer-resource interactions and studied via deterministic models, but current empirical and theoretical research reveals a much richer basis for ecological cycles. Stochasticity and seasonality can modulate or create cyclic behaviour in non-intuitive ways, the high-dimensionality in ecological systems can profoundly influence cycling, and so can demographic structure and eco-evolutionary dynamics. An inclusive theory for population cycles, ranging from ecosystem-level to demographic modelling, grounded in observational or experimental data, is therefore necessary to better understand observed cyclical patterns. In turn, by gaining better insight into the drivers of population cycles, we can begin to understand the causes of cycle gain and loss, how biodiversity interacts with population cycling, and how to effectively manage wildly fluctuating populations, all of which are growing domains of ecological research. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Moving forward in circles: Challenges and opportunities in modeling population cycles

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barraquand, Frederic; Louca, Stilianos; Abbott, Karen C; Cobbold, Christina A; Cordoleani, Flora; DeAngelis, Donald L.; Elderd, Bret D; Fox, Jeremy W; Greenwood, Priscilla; Hilker, Frank M; Murray, Dennis; Stieha, Christopher R; Taylor, Rachel A; Vitense, Kelsey; Wolkowicz, Gail; Tyson, Rebecca C

2017-01-01

Population cycling is a widespread phenomenon, observed across a multitude of taxa in both laboratory and natural conditions. Historically, the theory associated with population cycles was tightly linked to pairwise consumer–resource interactions and studied via deterministic models, but current empirical and theoretical research reveals a much richer basis for ecological cycles. Stochasticity and seasonality can modulate or create cyclic behaviour in non-intuitive ways, the high-dimensionality in ecological systems can profoundly influence cycling, and so can demographic structure and eco-evolutionary dynamics. An inclusive theory for population cycles, ranging from ecosystem-level to demographic modelling, grounded in observational or experimental data, is therefore necessary to better understand observed cyclical patterns. In turn, by gaining better insight into the drivers of population cycles, we can begin to understand the causes of cycle gain and loss, how biodiversity interacts with population cycling, and how to effectively manage wildly fluctuating populations, all of which are growing domains of ecological research.

Diversity waves in collapse-driven population dynamics

DOE PAGES

Maslov, Sergei; Sneppen, Kim

2015-09-14

Populations of species in ecosystems are often constrained by availability of resources within their environment. In effect this means that a growth of one population, needs to be balanced by comparable reduction in populations of others. In neutral models of biodiversity all populations are assumed to change incrementally due to stochastic births and deaths of individuals. Here we propose and model another redistribution mechanism driven by abrupt and severe collapses of the entire population of a single species freeing up resources for the remaining ones. This mechanism may be relevant e.g. for communities of bacteria, with strain-specific collapses caused e.g.more » by invading bacteriophages, or for other ecosystems where infectious diseases play an important role. The emergent dynamics of our system is cyclic ‘‘diversity waves’’ triggered by collapses of globally dominating populations. The population diversity peaks at the beginning of each wave and exponentially decreases afterwards. Species abundances are characterized by a bimodal time-aggregated distribution with the lower peak formed by populations of recently collapsed or newly introduced species while the upper peak - species that has not yet collapsed in the current wave. In most waves both upper and lower peaks are composed of several smaller peaks. This self-organized hierarchical peak structure has a long-term memory transmitted across several waves. It gives rise to a scale-free tail of the time-aggregated population distribution with a universal exponent of 1.7. We show that diversity wave dynamics is robust with respect to variations in the rules of our model such as diffusion between multiple environments, species-specific growth and extinction rates, and bet-hedging strategies.« less

Diversity waves in collapse-driven population dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maslov, Sergei; Sneppen, Kim

Populations of species in ecosystems are often constrained by availability of resources within their environment. In effect this means that a growth of one population, needs to be balanced by comparable reduction in populations of others. In neutral models of biodiversity all populations are assumed to change incrementally due to stochastic births and deaths of individuals. Here we propose and model another redistribution mechanism driven by abrupt and severe collapses of the entire population of a single species freeing up resources for the remaining ones. This mechanism may be relevant e.g. for communities of bacteria, with strain-specific collapses caused e.g.more » by invading bacteriophages, or for other ecosystems where infectious diseases play an important role. The emergent dynamics of our system is cyclic ‘‘diversity waves’’ triggered by collapses of globally dominating populations. The population diversity peaks at the beginning of each wave and exponentially decreases afterwards. Species abundances are characterized by a bimodal time-aggregated distribution with the lower peak formed by populations of recently collapsed or newly introduced species while the upper peak - species that has not yet collapsed in the current wave. In most waves both upper and lower peaks are composed of several smaller peaks. This self-organized hierarchical peak structure has a long-term memory transmitted across several waves. It gives rise to a scale-free tail of the time-aggregated population distribution with a universal exponent of 1.7. We show that diversity wave dynamics is robust with respect to variations in the rules of our model such as diffusion between multiple environments, species-specific growth and extinction rates, and bet-hedging strategies.« less

Resilience-based performance metrics for water resources management under uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roach, Tom; Kapelan, Zoran; Ledbetter, Ralph

2018-06-01

This paper aims to develop new, resilience type metrics for long-term water resources management under uncertain climate change and population growth. Resilience is defined here as the ability of a water resources management system to 'bounce back', i.e. absorb and then recover from a water deficit event, restoring the normal system operation. Ten alternative metrics are proposed and analysed addressing a range of different resilience aspects including duration, magnitude, frequency and volume of related water deficit events. The metrics were analysed on a real-world case study of the Bristol Water supply system in the UK and compared with current practice. The analyses included an examination of metrics' sensitivity and correlation, as well as a detailed examination into the behaviour of metrics during water deficit periods. The results obtained suggest that multiple metrics which cover different aspects of resilience should be used simultaneously when assessing the resilience of a water resources management system, leading to a more complete understanding of resilience compared with current practice approaches. It was also observed that calculating the total duration of a water deficit period provided a clearer and more consistent indication of system performance compared to splitting the deficit periods into the time to reach and time to recover from the worst deficit events.

The Potential Wind Power Resource in Australia: A New Perspective

PubMed Central

Hallgren, Willow; Gunturu, Udaya Bhaskar; Schlosser, Adam

2014-01-01

Australia’s wind resource is considered to be very good, and the utilization of this renewable energy resource is increasing rapidly: wind power installed capacity increased by 35% from 2006 to 2011 and is predicted to account for over 12% of Australia’s electricity generation in 2030. Due to this growth in the utilization of the wind resource and the increasing importance of wind power in Australia’s energy mix, this study sets out to analyze and interpret the nature of Australia’s wind resources using robust metrics of the abundance, variability and intermittency of wind power density, and analyzes the variation of these characteristics with current and potential wind turbine hub heights. We also assess the extent to which wind intermittency, on hourly or greater timescales, can potentially be mitigated by the aggregation of geographically dispersed wind farms, and in so doing, lessen the severe impact on wind power economic viability of long lulls in wind and power generated. Our results suggest that over much of Australia, areas that have high wind intermittency coincide with large expanses in which the aggregation of turbine output does not mitigate variability. These areas are also geographically remote, some are disconnected from the east coast’s electricity grid and large population centers, which are factors that could decrease the potential economic viability of wind farms in these locations. However, on the eastern seaboard, even though the wind resource is weaker, it is less variable, much closer to large population centers, and there exists more potential to mitigate it’s intermittency through aggregation. This study forms a necessary precursor to the analysis of the impact of large-scale circulations and oscillations on the wind resource at the mesoscale. PMID:24988222

The potential wind power resource in Australia: a new perspective.

PubMed

Hallgren, Willow; Gunturu, Udaya Bhaskar; Schlosser, Adam

2014-01-01

Australia's wind resource is considered to be very good, and the utilization of this renewable energy resource is increasing rapidly: wind power installed capacity increased by 35% from 2006 to 2011 and is predicted to account for over 12% of Australia's electricity generation in 2030. Due to this growth in the utilization of the wind resource and the increasing importance of wind power in Australia's energy mix, this study sets out to analyze and interpret the nature of Australia's wind resources using robust metrics of the abundance, variability and intermittency of wind power density, and analyzes the variation of these characteristics with current and potential wind turbine hub heights. We also assess the extent to which wind intermittency, on hourly or greater timescales, can potentially be mitigated by the aggregation of geographically dispersed wind farms, and in so doing, lessen the severe impact on wind power economic viability of long lulls in wind and power generated. Our results suggest that over much of Australia, areas that have high wind intermittency coincide with large expanses in which the aggregation of turbine output does not mitigate variability. These areas are also geographically remote, some are disconnected from the east coast's electricity grid and large population centers, which are factors that could decrease the potential economic viability of wind farms in these locations. However, on the eastern seaboard, even though the wind resource is weaker, it is less variable, much closer to large population centers, and there exists more potential to mitigate it's intermittency through aggregation. This study forms a necessary precursor to the analysis of the impact of large-scale circulations and oscillations on the wind resource at the mesoscale.

Power-law Growth and Punctuated Equilibrium Dynamics in Water Resources Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parolari, A.; Katul, G. G.; Porporato, A. M.

2015-12-01

The global rise in population-driven water scarcity and recent appreciation of strong dynamic coupling between human and natural systems has called for new approaches to predict the future sustainability of regional and global water resources systems. The dynamics of coupled human-water systems are driven by a complex set of social, environmental, and technological factors. Present projections of water resources systems range from a finite carrying capacity regulated by accessible freshwater, or `peak renewable water,' to punctuated evolution with new supplied and improved efficiency gained from technological and social innovation. However, these projections have yet to be quantified from observations or in a comprehensive theoretical framework. Using data on global water withdrawals and storage capacity of regional water supply systems, non-trivial dynamics are identified in water resources systems development over time, including power-law growth and punctuated equilibria. Two models are introduced to explain this behavior: (1) a delay differential equation and (2) a power-law with log-periodic oscillations, both of which rely on past conditions (or system memory) to describe the present rate of growth in the system. In addition, extension of the first model demonstrates how system delays and punctuated equilibria can emerge from coupling between human population growth and associated resource demands. Lastly, anecdotal evidence is used to demonstrate the likelihood of power-law growth in global water use from the agricultural revolution 3000 BC to the present. In a practical sense, the presence of these patterns in models with delayed oscillations suggests that current decision-making related to water resources development results from the historical accumulation of resource use decisions, technological and social changes, and their consequences.

Shining India?: Assessing and addressing the risks from an unsustainable trajectory of climate, water, food, energy and income inequity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lall, U.

2012-12-01

Climate and demographics are primary drivers of regional resource sustainability. In today's global economy, increasing trade has provided a mechanism to alleviate regional stresses. However, increasing regional income promotes consumption, aggravating regional and global resource pressures. South Asia, has the highest population density at a sub-continent scale. Given its monsoonal climate, and high intensity of agriculture it faces perhaps the most severe population weighted water stress in the world. Rapidly declining groundwater tables and the associated high energy use for pumping for irrigated agriculture translate into unsustainable energy imports and expenditure that contributed to the two largest blackouts in global history in summer 2012. Access to water has been progressively declining for both rural and urban populations for the last 3 decades. The increasing energy imports and poor grid reliability translate into limits to the growth of manufacturing and exports of goods and services. The growing income inequity within the population and across national borders, and the impacts of floods and droughts on access to water, food and energy collectively suggest a very high risk for social unrest and a conflict flashpoint. I present a scenario analysis that establishes this case for the emergence of internal and external strife in the region as an outcome of the current resource and natural disaster management policies in the region. Prospects for strategic policy changes for water and energy management and the design of a food procurement and distribution system that could lead to a better future are discussed.

Population, Resources, Environment: An Uncertain Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Repetto, Robert

1987-01-01

The links between population growth, resource use, and environmental quality are too complex to permit straightforward generalizations about causal relationships. However, rapid population growth has increased the number of poor people in developing countries, thus contributing to the degradation of the environment and the renewable resources of…

The interaction between the spatial distribution of resource patches and population density: consequences for intraspecific growth and morphology.

PubMed

Jacobson, Bailey; Grant, James W A; Peres-Neto, Pedro R

2015-07-01

How individuals within a population distribute themselves across resource patches of varying quality has been an important focus of ecological theory. The ideal free distribution predicts equal fitness amongst individuals in a 1 : 1 ratio with resources, whereas resource defence theory predicts different degrees of monopolization (fitness variance) as a function of temporal and spatial resource clumping and population density. One overlooked landscape characteristic is the spatial distribution of resource patches, altering the equitability of resource accessibility and thereby the effective number of competitors. While much work has investigated the influence of morphology on competitive ability for different resource types, less is known regarding the phenotypic characteristics conferring relative ability for a single resource type, particularly when exploitative competition predominates. Here we used young-of-the-year rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to test whether and how the spatial distribution of resource patches and population density interact to influence the level and variance of individual growth, as well as if functional morphology relates to competitive ability. Feeding trials were conducted within stream channels under three spatial distributions of nine resource patches (distributed, semi-clumped and clumped) at two density levels (9 and 27 individuals). Average trial growth was greater in high-density treatments with no effect of resource distribution. Within-trial growth variance had opposite patterns across resource distributions. Here, variance decreased at low-population, but increased at high-population densities as patches became increasingly clumped as the result of changes in the levels of interference vs. exploitative competition. Within-trial growth was related to both pre- and post-trial morphology where competitive individuals were those with traits associated with swimming capacity and efficiency: larger heads/bodies/caudal fins and less angled pectoral fins. The different degrees of within-population growth variance at the same density level found here, as a function of spatial resource distribution, provide an explanation for the inconsistencies in within-site growth variance and population regulation often noted with regard to density dependence in natural landscapes. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2015 British Ecological Society.

Water transparency drives intra-population divergence in Eurasian Perch (Perca fluviatilis).

PubMed

Bartels, Pia; Hirsch, Philipp E; Svanbäck, Richard; Eklöv, Peter

2012-01-01

Trait combinations that lead to a higher efficiency in resource utilization are important drivers of divergent natural selection and adaptive radiation. However, variation in environmental features might constrain foraging in complex ways and therefore impede the exploitation of critical resources. We tested the effect of water transparency on intra-population divergence in morphology of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) across seven lakes in central Sweden. Morphological divergence between near-shore littoral and open-water pelagic perch substantially increased with increasing water transparency. Reliance on littoral resources increased strongly with increasing water transparency in littoral populations, whereas littoral reliance was not affected by water transparency in pelagic populations. Despite the similar reliance on pelagic resources in pelagic populations along the water transparency gradient, the utilization of particular pelagic prey items differed with variation in water transparency in pelagic populations. Pelagic perch utilized cladocerans in lakes with high water transparency and copepods in lakes with low water transparency. We suggest that under impaired visual conditions low utilization of littoral resources by littoral perch and utilization of evasive copepods by pelagic perch may lead to changes in morphology. Our findings indicate that visual conditions can affect population divergence in predator populations through their effects on resource utilization.

The impact of population growth on environment: the debate heats up.

PubMed

Shaw, R P

1992-02-01

A proposed framework, which was introduced at the 1989 meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, included political constraints as well as population growth as a proximate cause with potentially important impacts on the environment in Paul and Ann Ehrlich's well-known PAT equation. PAT limitations are identified as the 1.2 billion people caught in the debt-poverty trap, less developed countries' balance of payments deficits, and "distortionary factors" that undermined economic incentives and contributed to mismanagement of resources. Such factors could be keeping farm prices low and have an impact on deterring use of environmentally sound traditional agricultural practices. Mismanagement of public lands occurs when large commercial enterprises or large scale mechanization displace population onto marginal or less productive lands. Intergroup warfare is a new form impacting on the environment. In Burma loggers are authorized to clear cut large tracts of teak forests in order to ferret out Karen guerrillas. Over 15 million refugees were thus displaced and forced to live in encampments that require trees for shelter, firewood for survival, and overgrazing of livestock. Social and economic environments are also undermined by "dependency" factors such as trade protectionism, brain drain, and limited foreign aid. The Group of 77 Non-Aligned Developing Countries proposed that discussions of the links between population and the environment be omitted from the agenda of the 1994 UN Conference on Population and Development. Basic clarifications are needed to distinguish ultimate versus proximate factors and current versus future concerns. The debate ignores distribution patterns, migration, or changing age structures. The debate blames unjustifiably rapid population growth as the ultimate cause of global environmental degradation and links population growth to a host of other social problems such as famine and refugees, while ignoring civil unrest. The evidence suggests that population limitation will probably prevent environmental degradation in poor, resource constrained countries from getting worse. Resource conservation will remain unaffected. The World Bank proposes National Environmental Action Plans or the Cleaver Schreiber proposal for a "nexus strategy" for balancing food supply and population in Africa.

[Population models of mental health in the Russian population: assessment of an impact of living conditions and psychiatric care resources].

PubMed

Mitikhin, V G; Yastrebov, V S; Mitikhina, I A

ОBJECTIVE: The development and use of population models of mental health in the Russian population to analyze the relationship between indicators of mental disorders, psychiatric care resources taking into account medical/demographic and socio-economic factors in the period of 1992-2015. The sources of information were: 1) the data of the Russian medical statistics on the main indicators of mental health of the Russian population and psychiatric care resources; 2) government statistics on the demographic and socio-economic situation of the population of Russia during this period. The study used system data analysis, correlation and regression analyses. Linear and nonlinear models with a high level of significance were obtained to assess the impact of socio-economic, health and demographic (population, life expectancy, migration, mortality) factors and resources of the service (primarily, manpower) on the dynamics of the main indicators (prevalence, incidence) of mental health of the population. In recent years, a decline in the prevalence and incidence of the Russian population is a consequence of the scarcity of mental health services, in particular, personnel resources.

RACE/ETHNICITY AND U.S. ADULT MORTALITY

PubMed Central

Hummer, Robert A.; Chinn, Juanita J.

2011-01-01

Although there have been significant decreases in U.S. mortality rates, racial/ethnic disparities persist. The goals of this study are to: (1) elucidate a conceptual framework for the study of racial/ethnic differences in U.S. adult mortality, (2) estimate current racial/ethnic differences in adult mortality, (3) examine empirically the extent to which measures of socioeconomic status and other risk factors impact the mortality differences across groups, and (4) utilize findings to inform the policy community with regard to eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in mortality. Relative Black-White differences are modestly narrower when compared to a decade or so ago, but remain very wide. The majority of the Black-White adult mortality gap can be accounted for by measures of socioeconomic resources that reflect the historical and continuing significance of racial socioeconomic stratification. Further, when controlling for socioeconomic resources, MexicanAmericans and Mexican immigrants exhibit significantly lower mortality risk than non-Hispanic Whites. Without aggressive efforts to create equality in socioeconomic and social resources, Black-White disparities in mortality will remain wide, and mortality among the Mexican-origin population will remain higher than what would be the case if that population achieved socioeconomic equality with Whites. PMID:21687782

Effects of dispersal on total biomass in a patchy, heterogeneous system: Analysis and experiment.

PubMed

Zhang, Bo; Liu, Xin; DeAngelis, D L; Ni, Wei-Ming; Wang, G Geoff

2015-06-01

An intriguing recent result from mathematics is that a population diffusing at an intermediate rate in an environment in which resources vary spatially will reach a higher total equilibrium biomass than the population in an environment in which the same total resources are distributed homogeneously. We extended the current mathematical theory to apply to logistic growth and also showed that the result applies to patchy systems with dispersal among patches, both for continuous and discrete time. This allowed us to make specific predictions, through simulations, concerning the biomass dynamics, which were verified by a laboratory experiment. The experiment was a study of biomass growth of duckweed (Lemna minor Linn.), where the resources (nutrients added to water) were distributed homogeneously among a discrete series of water-filled containers in one treatment, and distributed heterogeneously in another treatment. The experimental results showed that total biomass peaked at an intermediate, relatively low, diffusion rate, higher than the total carrying capacity of the system and agreeing with the simulation model. The implications of the experiment to dynamics of source, sink, and pseudo-sink dynamics are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Water savings of redistributing global crop production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Kyle; Seveso, Antonio; Rulli, Maria Cristina; D'Odorico, Paolo

2016-04-01

Human demand for crop production is expected to increase substantially in the coming decades as a result of population growth, richer diets and biofuel use. For food production to keep pace, unprecedented amounts of resources - water, fertilizers, energy - will be required. This has led to calls for 'sustainable intensification' in which yields are increased on existing croplands while seeking to minimize impacts on water and other agricultural resources. Recent studies have quantified aspects of this, showing that there is a large potential to improve crop yields and increase harvest frequencies to better meet human demand. Though promising, both solutions would necessitate large additional inputs of water and fertilizer in order to be achieved under current technologies. However, the question of whether the current distribution of crops is, in fact, the best for realizing maximized production has not been considered to date. To this end, we ask: Is it possible to minimize water demand by simply growing crops where soil and climate conditions are best suited? Here we use maps of agro-ecological suitability - a measure of physical and chemical soil fertility - for 15 major food crops to identify differences between current crop distributions and where they can most suitably be planted. By redistributing crops across currently cultivated lands, we determine what distribution of crops would maintain current calorie production and agricultural value while minimizing the water demand of crop production. In doing this, our study provides a novel tool for policy makers and managers to integrate food security, environmental sustainability, and rural livelihoods by improving the use of freshwater resources without compromising crop calorie production or rural livelihoods.

Calorie increase and water savings of redistributing global crop production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, K. F.; Seveso, A.; Rulli, M. C.; D'Odorico, P.

2015-12-01

Human demand for crop production is expected to increase substantially in the coming decades as a result of population growth, richer diets and biofuel use. In order for food production to keep pace, unprecedented amounts of resources - water, fertilizers, energy - will be required. This has led to calls for 'sustainable intensification' in which yields are increased on existing croplands while seeking to minimize impacts on water and other agricultural resources. Recent studies have quantified aspects of this, showing that there is a large potential to improve crop yields and increase harvest frequencies to better meet human demand. Though promising, both solutions would necessitate large additional inputs of water and fertilizer in order to be achieved under current technologies. However, the question of whether the current distribution of crops is, in fact, the best for realizing maximized production has not been considered to date. To this end, we ask: Is it possible to increase calorie production and minimize water demand by simply growing crops where soil and climate conditions are best suited? Here we use maps of agro-ecological suitability - a measure of physical and chemical soil fertility - for 15 major food crops to identify differences between current crop distributions and where they can most suitably be planted. By redistributing crops across currently cultivated lands, we determine the potential improvement in calorie production as well as the associated change in water demand. We also consider what distribution of crops would maintain current calorie production while minimizing crop water demand. In doing all of this, our study provides a novel tool for improving crop calorie production without necessarily increasing resource demands.

A new resource for developing and strengthening large-scale community health worker programs.

PubMed

Perry, Henry; Crigler, Lauren; Lewin, Simon; Glenton, Claire; LeBan, Karen; Hodgins, Steve

2017-01-12

Large-scale community health worker programs are now growing in importance around the world in response to the resurgence of interest and growing evidence of the importance of community-based primary health care for improving the health of populations in resource-constrained, high-mortality settings. These programs, because of their scale and operational challenges, merit special consideration by the global health community, national policy-makers, and program implementers. A new online resource is now available to assist in that effort: Developing and Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs at Scale: A Reference Guide and Case Studies for Program Managers and Policymakers ( http://www.mchip.net/CHWReferenceGuide ). This CHW Reference Guide is the product of 27 different collaborators who, collectively, have a formidable breadth and depth of experience and knowledge about CHW programming around the world. It provides a thoughtful discussion about the many operational issues that large-scale CHW programs need to address as they undergo the process of development, expansion or strengthening. Detailed case studies of 12 national CHW programs are included in the Appendix-the most current and complete cases studies as a group that are currently available. Future articles in this journal will highlight many of the themes in the CHW Reference Guide and provide an update of recent advances and experiences. These articles will serve, we hope, to (1) increase awareness about the CHW Reference Guide and its usefulness and (2) connect a broader audience to the critical importance of strengthening large-scale CHW programs for the health benefits that they can bring to underserved populations around the world.

The dynamic influence of human resources on evidence-based intervention sustainability and population outcomes: an agent-based modeling approach.

PubMed

McKay, Virginia R; Hoffer, Lee D; Combs, Todd B; Margaret Dolcini, M

2018-06-05

Sustaining evidence-based interventions (EBIs) is an ongoing challenge for dissemination and implementation science in public health and social services. Characterizing the relationship among human resource capacity within an agency and subsequent population outcomes is an important step to improving our understanding of how EBIs are sustained. Although human resource capacity and population outcomes are theoretically related, examining them over time within real-world experiments is difficult. Simulation approaches, especially agent-based models, offer advantages that complement existing methods. We used an agent-based model to examine the relationships among human resources, EBI delivery, and population outcomes by simulating provision of an EBI through a hypothetical agency and its staff. We used data from existing studies examining a widely implemented HIV prevention intervention to inform simulation design, calibration, and validity. Once we developed a baseline model, we used the model as a simulated laboratory by systematically varying three human resource variables: the number of staff positions, the staff turnover rate, and timing in training. We tracked the subsequent influence on EBI delivery and the level of population risk over time to describe the overall and dynamic relationships among these variables. Higher overall levels of human resource capacity at an agency (more positions) led to more extensive EBI delivery over time and lowered population risk earlier in time. In simulations representing the typical human resource investments, substantial influences on population risk were visible after approximately 2 years and peaked around 4 years. Human resources, especially staff positions, have an important impact on EBI sustainability and ultimately population health. A minimum level of human resources based on the context (e.g., size of the initial population and characteristics of the EBI) is likely needed for an EBI to have a meaningful impact on population outcomes. Furthermore, this model demonstrates how ABMs may be leveraged to inform research design and assess the impact of EBI sustainability in practice.

An overview of the situation in radiotherapy with emphasis on the developing countries.

PubMed

Hanson, G P; Stjernswärd, J; Nofal, M; Durosinmi-Etti, F

1990-11-01

Radiotherapy services are closely linked to the level of medical care which, in turn, is an important component of the overall health care program, with its development related to social, economic, and educational factors. As a basis for understanding the situation regarding adequate coverage of the population by radiotherapy services, general information about the world population (currently 5 billion), age distribution, frequency of cancer occurrence, and causes of death is presented. For an appreciation of the obstacles that must be overcome, the situation with regard to Gross National Product (GNP), transfer of economic resources, and per capita expenditures for health services is shown. For example, in the developing world, most countries spend less than 5% of their GNP for health, and on a macro scale at least 20 billion U.S. dollars per year are being transferred from the poor nations of the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere. Information about the wide range of population coverage with radiotherapy resources and the trend regarding high-energy radiotherapy machines is presented. For example, in North America (USA) there are six high-energy machines for each one million persons, and each machine is used to treat about 230 new patients per year. In other parts of the world, such as large areas of Africa and South-East Asia, there may only be one high-energy radiotherapy machine for 20 to 40 million people, and one machine may be used to treat more than 600 new patients per year. Many cancer patients have no access to radiotherapy services. When estimates of the need for radiotherapy services in the developing world as a consequence of cancer incidence are compared with the current health expenditures, it is concluded that a combined effort of national authorities, donor and financial institutions, professional and scientific societies, and international organizations is required. The knowledge, skills, and technology are available in many excellent radiotherapy centers throughout the world. The key issues are priority and the commitment of sufficient resources.

Developing educational resources for population genetics in R: An open and collaborative approach

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The R computing and statistical language community has developed a myriad of resources for conducting populations genetic analyses. However, resources for learning how to carry out population genetic analyses in R are scattered and often incomplete, which can make acquiring this skill unnecessarily ...

The evolutionary and behavioral modification of consumer responses to environmental change.

PubMed

Abrams, Peter A

2014-02-21

How will evolution or other forms of adaptive change alter the response of a consumer species' population density to environmentally driven changes in population growth parameters? This question is addressed by analyzing some simple consumer-resource models to separate the ecological and evolutionary components of the population's response. Ecological responses are always decreased population size, but evolution of traits that have effects on both resource uptake rate and another fitness-related parameter may magnify, offset, or reverse this population decrease. Evolution can change ecologically driven decreases in population size to increases; this is likely when: (1) resources are initially below the density that maximizes resource growth, and (2) the evolutionary response decreases the consumer's resource uptake rate. Evolutionary magnification of the ecological decreases in population size can occur when the environmental change is higher trait-independent mortality. Such evolution-driven decreases are most likely when uptake-rate traits increase and the resource is initially below its maximum growth density. It is common for the difference between the new eco-evolutionary equilibrium and the new ecological equilibrium to be larger than that between the original and new ecological equilibrium densities. The relative magnitudes of ecological and evolutionary effects often depend sensitively on the magnitude of the environmental change and the nature of resource growth. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Population genetics of Sargassum horneri (Fucales, Phaeophyta) in China revealed by ISSR and SRAP markers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Shenhui; Chong, Zhuo; Zhao, Fengjuan; Yao, Jianting; Duan, Delin

2013-05-01

Sargassum horneri is a common brown macro-alga that is found in the inter-tidal ecosystems of China. To investigate the current status of seaweed resources and provide basic data for its sustainable development, ISSR (inter simple sequence repeat) and SRAP (sequence related amplified polymorphism) markers were used to analyze the population genetics among nine natural populations of S. horneri. The nine studied populations were distributed over 2 000 km from northeast to south China. The percentage of polymorphic loci P % (ISSR, 99.44%; SRAP, 100.00%), Nei's genetic diversity H (ISSR, 0.107-0.199; SRAP, 0.100-0.153), and Shannon's information index I (ISSR, 0.157-0.291; SRAP, 0.148-0.219) indicated a fair amount of genetic variability among the nine populations. Moreover, the high degree of gene differentiation G st (ISSR, 0.654; SRAP, 0.718) and low gene flow N m (ISSR, 0.265; SRAP, 0.196) implied that there was significant among-population differentiation, possibly as a result of habitat fragmentation. The matrices of genetic distances and fixation indices ( F st) among the populations correlated well with their geographical distribution (Mantel test R =0.541 5, 0.541 8; P =0.005 0, 0.002 0 and R =0.728 6, 0.641 2; P =0.001 0, 0.001 0, respectively); the Rongcheng population in the Shandong peninsula was the only exception. Overall, the genetic differentiation agreed with the geographic isolation. The fair amount of genetic diversity that was revealed in the S. horneri populations in China indicated that the seaweed resources had not been seriously affected by external factors.

The role of genomics in the neonatal ICU.

PubMed

Maresso, Karen; Broeckel, Ulrich

2009-03-01

Results of both the Human Genome and International HapMap Projects have provided the technology and resources necessary to enable fundamental advances through the study of DNA sequence variation in almost all fields of medicine, including neonatology. Genome-wide association studies are now practical, and the first of these studies are appearing in the literature. This article provides the reader with an overview of the issues in technology and study design relating to genome-wide association studies and summarizes the current state of association studies in neonatal ICU populations with a brief review of the relevant literature. Future recommendations for genomic association studies in neonatal ICU populations are also provided.

Food security and sustainable resource management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLaughlin, Dennis; Kinzelbach, Wolfgang

2015-07-01

The projected growth in global food demand until mid-century will challenge our ability to continue recent increases in crop yield and will have a significant impact on natural resources. The water and land requirements of current agriculture are significantly less than global reserves but local shortages are common and have serious impacts on food security. Recent increases in global trade have mitigated some of the effects of spatial and temporal variability. However, trade has a limited impact on low-income populations who remain dependent on subsistence agriculture and local resources. Potential adverse environmental impacts of increased agricultural production include unsustainable depletion of water and soil resources, major changes in the global nitrogen and phosphorous cycles, human health problems related to excessive nutrient and pesticide use, and loss of habitats that contribute to agricultural productivity. Some typical case studies from China illustrate the connections between the need for increased food production and environmental stress. Sustainable options for decreasing food demand and for increasing production include reduction of food losses on both the producer and consumer ends, elimination of unsustainable practices such as prolonged groundwater overdraft, closing of yield gaps with controlled expansions of fertilizer application, increases in crop yield and pest resistance through advances in biotechnology, and moderate expansion of rain fed and irrigated cropland. Calculations based on reasonable assumptions suggest that such measures could meet the food needs of an increasing global population while protecting the environment.

Strategies for antiviral stockpiling for future influenza pandemics: a global epidemic-economic perspective

PubMed Central

Carrasco, Luis R.; Lee, Vernon J.; Chen, Mark I.; Matchar, David B.; Thompson, James P.; Cook, Alex R.

2011-01-01

Influenza pandemics present a global threat owing to their potential mortality and substantial economic impacts. Stockpiling antiviral drugs to manage a pandemic is an effective strategy to offset their negative impacts; however, little is known about the long-term optimal size of the stockpile under uncertainty and the characteristics of different countries. Using an epidemic–economic model we studied the effect on total mortality and costs of antiviral stockpile sizes for Brazil, China, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, the USA and Zimbabwe. In the model, antivirals stockpiling considerably reduced mortality. There was greater potential avoidance of expected costs in the higher resourced countries (e.g. from $55 billion to $27 billion over a 30 year time horizon for the USA) and large avoidance of fatalities in those less resourced (e.g. from 11.4 to 2.3 million in Indonesia). Under perfect allocation, higher resourced countries should aim to store antiviral stockpiles able to cover at least 15 per cent of their population, rising to 25 per cent with 30 per cent misallocation, to minimize fatalities and economic costs. Stockpiling is estimated not to be cost-effective for two-thirds of the world's population under current antivirals pricing. Lower prices and international cooperation are necessary to make the life-saving potential of antivirals cost-effective in resource-limited countries. PMID:21296791

Strategies for antiviral stockpiling for future influenza pandemics: a global epidemic-economic perspective.

PubMed

Carrasco, Luis R; Lee, Vernon J; Chen, Mark I; Matchar, David B; Thompson, James P; Cook, Alex R

2011-09-07

Influenza pandemics present a global threat owing to their potential mortality and substantial economic impacts. Stockpiling antiviral drugs to manage a pandemic is an effective strategy to offset their negative impacts; however, little is known about the long-term optimal size of the stockpile under uncertainty and the characteristics of different countries. Using an epidemic-economic model we studied the effect on total mortality and costs of antiviral stockpile sizes for Brazil, China, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, the USA and Zimbabwe. In the model, antivirals stockpiling considerably reduced mortality. There was greater potential avoidance of expected costs in the higher resourced countries (e.g. from $55 billion to $27 billion over a 30 year time horizon for the USA) and large avoidance of fatalities in those less resourced (e.g. from 11.4 to 2.3 million in Indonesia). Under perfect allocation, higher resourced countries should aim to store antiviral stockpiles able to cover at least 15 per cent of their population, rising to 25 per cent with 30 per cent misallocation, to minimize fatalities and economic costs. Stockpiling is estimated not to be cost-effective for two-thirds of the world's population under current antivirals pricing. Lower prices and international cooperation are necessary to make the life-saving potential of antivirals cost-effective in resource-limited countries.

Accommodating environmental variation in population models: metaphysiological biomass loss accounting.

PubMed

Owen-Smith, Norman

2011-07-01

1. There is a pressing need for population models that can reliably predict responses to changing environmental conditions and diagnose the causes of variation in abundance in space as well as through time. In this 'how to' article, it is outlined how standard population models can be modified to accommodate environmental variation in a heuristically conducive way. This approach is based on metaphysiological modelling concepts linking populations within food web contexts and underlying behaviour governing resource selection. Using population biomass as the currency, population changes can be considered at fine temporal scales taking into account seasonal variation. Density feedbacks are generated through the seasonal depression of resources even in the absence of interference competition. 2. Examples described include (i) metaphysiological modifications of Lotka-Volterra equations for coupled consumer-resource dynamics, accommodating seasonal variation in resource quality as well as availability, resource-dependent mortality and additive predation, (ii) spatial variation in habitat suitability evident from the population abundance attained, taking into account resource heterogeneity and consumer choice using empirical data, (iii) accommodating population structure through the variable sensitivity of life-history stages to resource deficiencies, affecting susceptibility to oscillatory dynamics and (iv) expansion of density-dependent equations to accommodate various biomass losses reducing population growth rate below its potential, including reductions in reproductive outputs. Supporting computational code and parameter values are provided. 3. The essential features of metaphysiological population models include (i) the biomass currency enabling within-year dynamics to be represented appropriately, (ii) distinguishing various processes reducing population growth below its potential, (iii) structural consistency in the representation of interacting populations and (iv) capacity to accommodate environmental variation in space as well as through time. Biomass dynamics provide a common currency linking behavioural, population and food web ecology. 4. Metaphysiological biomass loss accounting provides a conceptual framework more conducive for projecting and interpreting the population consequences of climatic shifts and human transformations of habitats than standard modelling approaches. © 2011 The Author. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2011 British Ecological Society.

Stress-Induced Tradeoffs in a Free-Living Lizard across a Variable Landscape: Consequences for Individuals and Populations

PubMed Central

Lucas, LeiLani D.; French, Susannah S.

2012-01-01

Current life history theory suggests that the allocation of energetic resources between competing physiological needs should be dictated by an individual’s longevity and pace of life. One key physiological pathway likely to contribute to the partitioning of resources is the vertebrate stress response. By increasing circulating glucocorticoids the stress response can exert a suite of physiological effects, such as altering immune function. We investigated the effects of stress physiology on individual immunity, reproduction and oxidative stress, across an urban landscape. We sampled populations in and around St. George, Utah, examining corticosterone in response to restraint stress, two innate immune measures, reproductive output, and the presence of both reactive oxygen metabolites and antioxidant binding capacity, in populations of common side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana) experiencing variable levels of environmental stress. Additionally, using capture-mark-recapture techniques, we examined the relationships between these physiological parameters and population-level differences. Our results reveal elevated physiological stress corresponds with suppressed immunity and increased oxidative stress. Interestingly, urban populations experiencing the most physiological stress also exhibited greater reproductive output and decreased survival relative to rural populations experiencing less physiological stress, demonstrating a tradeoff between reproduction and life maintenance processes. Our results suggest that environmental stress may augment life history strategy in this fast-paced species, and that shifts in life history strategy can in turn affect the population at large. Finally, the urban environment poses definite challenges for organisms, and while it appears that side-blotched lizards are adjusting physiologically, it is unknown what fitness costs these physiological adjustments accrue. PMID:23185478

Genetic structure among greater white-fronted goose populations of the Pacific Flyway

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ely, Craig R.; Wilson, Robert E.; Talbot, Sandra L.

2017-01-01

An understanding of the genetic structure of populations in the wild is essential for long-term conservation and stewardship in the face of environmental change. Knowledge of the present-day distribution of genetic lineages (phylogeography) of a species is especially important for organisms that are exploited or utilize habitats that may be jeopardized by human intervention, including climate change. Here, we describe mitochondrial (mtDNA) and nuclear genetic (microsatellite) diversity among three populations of a migratory bird, the greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons), which breeds discontinuously in western and southwestern Alaska and winters in the Pacific Flyway of North America. Significant genetic structure was evident at both marker types. All three populations were differentiated for mtDNA, whereas microsatellite analysis only differentiated geese from the Cook Inlet Basin. In sexual reproducing species, nonrandom mate selection, when occurring in concert with fine-scale resource partitioning, can lead to phenotypic and genetic divergence as we observed in our study. If mate selection does not occur at the time of reproduction, which is not uncommon in long-lived organisms, then mechanisms influencing the true availability of potential mates may be obscured, and the degree of genetic and phenotypic diversity may appear incongruous with presumed patterns of gene flow. Previous investigations revealed population-specific behavioral, temporal, and spatial mechanisms that likely influence the amount of gene flow measured among greater white-fronted goose populations. The degree of observed genetic structuring aligns well with our current understanding of population differences pertaining to seasonal movements, social structure, pairing behavior, and resource partitioning.

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Rice Varieties Cultivated in Temperate Regions.

PubMed

Reig-Valiente, Juan L; Viruel, Juan; Sales, Ester; Marqués, Luis; Terol, Javier; Gut, Marta; Derdak, Sophia; Talón, Manuel; Domingo, Concha

2016-12-01

After its domestication, rice cultivation expanded from tropical regions towards northern latitudes with temperate climate in a progressive process to overcome limiting photoperiod and temperature conditions. This process has originated a wide range of diversity that can be regarded as a valuable resource for crop improvement. In general, current rice breeding programs have to deal with a lack of both germplasm accessions specifically adapted to local agro-environmental conditions and adapted donors carrying desired agronomical traits. Comprehensive maps of genome variability and population structure would facilitate genome-wide association studies of complex traits, functional gene investigations and the selection of appropriate donors for breeding purposes. A collection of 217 rice varieties mainly cultivated in temperate regions was generated. The collection encompasses modern elite and old cultivars, as well as traditional landraces covering a wide genetic diversity available for rice breeders. Whole Genome Sequencing was performed on 14 cultivars representative of the collection and the genomic profiles of all cultivars were constructed using a panel of 2697 SNPs with wide coverage throughout the rice genome, obtained from the sequencing data. The population structure and genetic relationship analyses showed a strong substructure in the temperate rice population, predominantly based on grain type and the origin of the cultivars. Dendrogram also agrees population structure results. Based on SNP markers, we have elucidated the genetic relationship and the degree of genetic diversity among a collection of 217 temperate rice varieties possessing an enormous variety of agromorphological and physiological characters. Taken together, the data indicated the occurrence of relatively high gene flow and elevated rates of admixture between cultivars grown in remote regions, probably favoured by local breeding activities. The results of this study significantly expand the current genetic resources available for temperate varieties of rice, providing a valuable tool for future association mapping studies.

The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in China.

PubMed

Piao, Shilong; Ciais, Philippe; Huang, Yao; Shen, Zehao; Peng, Shushi; Li, Junsheng; Zhou, Liping; Liu, Hongyan; Ma, Yuecun; Ding, Yihui; Friedlingstein, Pierre; Liu, Chunzhen; Tan, Kun; Yu, Yongqiang; Zhang, Tianyi; Fang, Jingyun

2010-09-02

China is the world's most populous country and a major emitter of greenhouse gases. Consequently, much research has focused on China's influence on climate change but somewhat less has been written about the impact of climate change on China. China experienced explosive economic growth in recent decades, but with only 7% of the world's arable land available to feed 22% of the world's population, China's economy may be vulnerable to climate change itself. We find, however, that notwithstanding the clear warming that has occurred in China in recent decades, current understanding does not allow a clear assessment of the impact of anthropogenic climate change on China's water resources and agriculture and therefore China's ability to feed its people. To reach a more definitive conclusion, future work must improve regional climate simulations-especially of precipitation-and develop a better understanding of the managed and unmanaged responses of crops to changes in climate, diseases, pests and atmospheric constituents.

Intergenerational Efforts to Develop a Healthy Environment for Everyone: Sustainability as a Human Rights Issue.

PubMed

Kruger, Tina M; Savage, Caroline E; Newsham, Patrick

2014-12-01

As climate change proceeds at an unprecedented rate, concern for the natural environment has increased. The world's population aging also continues to rise at an unprecedented rate, giving greater attention to the implications of an older population. The two trends are linked through the fact that changes to the environment affect older adults, and older adults affect the environment. Sustainability is, therefore, an intergenerational phenomenon, and protecting resources today leaves a positive legacy and enhances quality of life for future generations. Older adults have much to share with younger generations about behaviors that promote sustainable living, yet few sustainability efforts are intergenerational in nature. As large numbers of people currently subsist without secure access to basic needs, ensuring equitable resource consumption for all generations is urgent and aligns with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Through exploring linkages between aging and sustainability, we identify intergenerational strategies to protect the environment and promote human rights and quality of life for older adults. © The Author(s) 2015.

Water-use data for the Red River of the North Basin, North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota, 1979-2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Macek-Rowland, Kathleen M.; Arntson, Allan D.; Ryberg, Karen R.; Dahl, Ann L.; Lieb, Amy

2004-01-01

The Red River of the North, located in the north-central plains of the United States, plays an important role in population growth and economic development of the region. Because of recent and projected growth in population, industry, and agriculture in the Red River of the North Basin, alternatives to additional water resources will be needed to supplement future water needs. Past and current water-use data are needed to help select the most viable water-resource alternatives. Withdrawal and return flow data were collected from various sources throughout the Red River of the North Basin from 1979 through 2001. The withdrawal data were aggregated by subbasin, monthly totals, and water-use categories. The return flow data were aggregated by subbasin and monthly totals. The Red River of the North Basin was divided into subbasins based on locations of U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations and by specifically-identified reaches. Results of the water-use compilation are provided in this report.

The impact of resource dependence of the mechanisms of life on the spatial population dynamics of an in silico microbial community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daly, Aisling J.; Baetens, Jan M.; De Baets, Bernard

2016-12-01

Biodiversity has a critical impact on ecosystem functionality and stability, and thus the current biodiversity crisis has motivated many studies of the mechanisms that sustain biodiversity, a notable example being non-transitive or cyclic competition. We therefore extend existing microscopic models of communities with cyclic competition by incorporating resource dependence in demographic processes, characteristics of natural systems often oversimplified or overlooked by modellers. The spatially explicit nature of our individual-based model of three interacting species results in the formation of stable spatial structures, which have significant effects on community functioning, in agreement with experimental observations of pattern formation in microbial communities.

Associations of variable coloration with niche breadth and conservation status among Australian reptiles.

PubMed

Forsman, Anders; Aberg, Viktor

2008-05-01

We evaluate predictions concerning the evolutionary and ecological consequences of color polymorphisms. Previous endeavors have aimed at identifying conditions that promote the evolution and maintenance within populations of alternative variants. But the polymorphic condition may also influence important population processes. We consider the prediction that populations that consist of alternative "ecomorphs" with coadapted gene complexes will utilize more diverse resources and display higher rates of colonization success, population persistence, and range expansions, while being less vulnerable to range contractions and extinctions, compared with monomorphic populations. We perform pairwise comparative analyses based on information for 323 species of Australian lizards and snakes. We find that species with variable color patterns have larger ranges, utilize a greater diversity of habitat types, and are underrepresented among species currently listed as threatened. These results are consistent with the proposition that the co-occurrence of multiple color variants may promote the ecological success of populations and species, but there are also alternative interpretations.

Unique disease heritage of the Dutch-German Mennonite population.

PubMed

Orton, Noelle C; Innes, A Micheil; Chudley, Albert E; Bech-Hansen, N Torben

2008-04-15

The Dutch-German Mennonites are a religious isolate with foundational roots in the 16th century. A tradition of endogamy, large families, detailed genealogical records, and a unique disease history all contribute to making this a valuable population for genetic studies. Such studies in the Dutch-German Mennonite population have already contributed to the identification of the causative genes in several conditions such as the incomplete form of X-linked congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB2; previously iCSNB) and hypophosphatasia (HOPS), as well as the discovery of founder mutations within established disease genes (MYBPC1, CYP17alpha). The Dutch-German Mennonite population provides a strong resource for gene discovery and could lead to the identification of additional disease genes with relevance to the general population. In addition, further research developments should enhance delivery of clinical genetic services to this unique community. In the current review we discuss 31 genetic conditions, including 17 with identified gene mutations, within the Dutch-German Mennonite population. Copyright 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Conflict in the Currents: The Cross-boundary Consequences of Larval Dispersal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rising, J. A.; Ramesh, N.; Dookie, D.

2016-02-01

As commercial fish populations decline in many regions, the increasing demand for ocean resources can create conflicts along international boundaries. Because fish stock ranges do not respect political boundaries, neighboring countries can impact each other through the management of the stocks within their exclusive economic zones. By combining spawning and larvae information from the FishBase database with current velocities from ocean reanalyses using a particle tracking scheme, we construct a measure of the cross-boundary diffusion of fish larvae for 40 major exploited species. These flows represent important connections both for fish populations and for fisheries and the people who depend on them, but these connections rely on fisheries management in the 'source' countries. We then use socioeconomic data on the national importance of these fish to identify hotspots for potential conflict. Finally, we consider how ranges will shift under climate change, and the social impacts of these shifts.

Asian water futures - Multi scenarios, models and criteria assessment -

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satoh, Yusuke; Burek, Peter; Wada, Yoshihide; Flrörke, Martina; Eisner, Stephanie; Hanasaki, Naota; Kahil, Taher; Tramberend, Sylvia; Fischer, Günther; Wiberg, David

2016-04-01

A better understanding of the current and future availability of water resources is essential for the implementation of the recently agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Long-term/efficient strategies for coping with current and potential future water-related challenges are urgently required. Although Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) were develop for the impact assessment of climate change, very few assessments have yet used the SSPs to assess water resources. Then the IIASA Water Futures and Solutions Initiative (WFaS), developed a set of water use scenarios consistent with RCPs and SSPs and applying the latest climate changes scenarios. Here this study focuses on results for Asian countries for the period 2010-2050. We present three conceivable future pathways of Asian water resources, determined by feasible combinations of two RCPs and three SSPs. Such a scenario approach provides valuable insights towards identifying appropriate strategies as gaps between a "scenario world" and reality. In addition, for the assessment of future water resources a multi-criteria analysis is applied. A classification system for countries and watershed that consists of two broad dimensions: (i) economic and institutional adaptive capacity, (ii) hydrological complexity. The latter is composed of several sub-indexes including total renewable water resources per capita, the ratio of water demand to renewable water resource, variability of runoff and dependency ratio to external. Furthermore, this analysis uses a multi-model approach to estimate runoff and discharge using 5 GCMs and 5 global hydrological models (GHMs). Three of these GHMs calculate water use based on a consistent set of scenarios in addition to water availability. As a result, we have projected hot spots of water scarcity in Asia and their spatial and temporal change. For example, in a scenario based on SSP2 and RCP6.0, by 2050, in total 2.1 billion people (46% of Asian population) are going to live in countries classified as high hydrological complexity. In particular, in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Pakistan, then home to 370 million people, hydrological complexity will be high while adaptation capacity is still low. On the other hand, a part of people however who live in countries with higher expected adaptive capacities may have better futures depending on policies and investment. Besides country scale, grid scale analyses clearly highlighted that a large part of population living under strong water stress in highly populated areas of Asia, such as east and coastal areas in China and large parts of India. Our preliminary results show that a significant impact of socioeconomic scenarios on each of the indexes which is comparable to that of climate scenarios. For instance, the least timing, trend and spatial distribution of water resource per capita are highly affected by projected population. This study shows that features of time series change in each indexes are also informative particularly for decision makers because they support in optimal timing of investment for countermeasures. In this presentation, we are showing our analysis framework and results of each integrated indexes.

[The fear of numbers or the challenge of population growth?].

PubMed

Loriaux, M

1991-12-01

Africa, currently one of the least densely populated continents, is growing so rapidly that its population will comprise some 1.5 billion inhabitants around 2020, and Africans will be more numerous than the population of the developed world. Attitudes about Africa's population size vary widely; many educated Africans believe that low density is a greater disadvantage than overpopulation, but most specialists believe the population of the developing world, and of Africa especially, to be too large, the prospects of significant voluntary reduction are dim. The rate of population growth has thus attracted attention as a factor amenable to modification. Africa's demographic transition remains largely in the future. Its case is unique because of the rate of demographic growth and because the phase of rapid growth will apparently continue far longer in Africa than in any other continent. The widening gap between population growth rates and rates of economic development in Africa inspires great pessimism about the future wellbeing of the population. Population officials urge that demographic growth be slowed in order to reduce pressure on economic and ecological resources and to gain time for social and economic development. But despite the consensus of international organizations, such as the UN Fund for Population, on the desirability of slowing population growth to encourage and permit economic growth, there has actually been relatively little progress since the time of Malthus in understanding the relationship between population, development, and the environment. Some recent works suggest that demographic growth has benefits as well as disadvantages, and the net impact on development is uncertain. Demographic pressure is in this view a far more potent force for innovation than is usually recognized. Population is not just an exogenous variable in development, but it is at the heart of the process. There can be no true integration of population into development until the value of human resources everywhere is reaffirmed. The recognition by international organizations that per capita income or other economic indicators alone are not adequate measures of progress is a favorable sign. The failure of structural adjustment programs to attain their stated goals and the new resolve to lessen their effects on the most vulnerable population sectors are also promising. New orientations toward development in which human resources are given greater prominence may be as ideologically inspired as those they replaced, but they have the merit of greater neutrality concerning the content and form of development and they do not accept the process of development in the West as their sole reference.

Sexual segregation in North American elk: the role of density dependence

PubMed Central

Stewart, Kelley M; Walsh, Danielle R; Kie, John G; Dick, Brian L; Bowyer, R Terry

2015-01-01

We investigated how density-dependent processes and subsequent variation in nutritional condition of individuals influenced both timing and duration of sexual segregation and selection of resources. During 1999–2001, we experimentally created two population densities of North American elk (Cervus elaphus), a high-density population at 20 elk/km2, and a low-density population at 4 elk/km2 to test hypotheses relative to timing and duration of sexual segregation and variation in selection of resources. We used multi-response permutation procedures to investigate patterns of sexual segregation, and resource selection functions to document differences in selection of resources by individuals in high- and low-density populations during sexual segregation and aggregation. The duration of sexual segregation was 2 months longer in the high-density population and likely was influenced by individuals in poorer nutritional condition, which corresponded with later conception and parturition, than at low density. Males and females in the high-density population overlapped in selection of resources to a greater extent than in the low-density population, probably resulting from density-dependent effects of increased intraspecific competition and lower availability of resources. PMID:25691992

Water Transparency Drives Intra-Population Divergence in Eurasian Perch (Perca fluviatilis)

PubMed Central

Bartels, Pia; Hirsch, Philipp E.; Svanbäck, Richard; Eklöv, Peter

2012-01-01

Trait combinations that lead to a higher efficiency in resource utilization are important drivers of divergent natural selection and adaptive radiation. However, variation in environmental features might constrain foraging in complex ways and therefore impede the exploitation of critical resources. We tested the effect of water transparency on intra-population divergence in morphology of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) across seven lakes in central Sweden. Morphological divergence between near-shore littoral and open-water pelagic perch substantially increased with increasing water transparency. Reliance on littoral resources increased strongly with increasing water transparency in littoral populations, whereas littoral reliance was not affected by water transparency in pelagic populations. Despite the similar reliance on pelagic resources in pelagic populations along the water transparency gradient, the utilization of particular pelagic prey items differed with variation in water transparency in pelagic populations. Pelagic perch utilized cladocerans in lakes with high water transparency and copepods in lakes with low water transparency. We suggest that under impaired visual conditions low utilization of littoral resources by littoral perch and utilization of evasive copepods by pelagic perch may lead to changes in morphology. Our findings indicate that visual conditions can affect population divergence in predator populations through their effects on resource utilization. PMID:22912895

Accurate Prediction of Drug-Induced Liver Injury Using Stem Cell-Derived Populations

PubMed Central

Szkolnicka, Dagmara; Farnworth, Sarah L.; Lucendo-Villarin, Baltasar; Storck, Christopher; Zhou, Wenli; Iredale, John P.; Flint, Oliver

2014-01-01

Despite major progress in the knowledge and management of human liver injury, there are millions of people suffering from chronic liver disease. Currently, the only cure for end-stage liver disease is orthotopic liver transplantation; however, this approach is severely limited by organ donation. Alternative approaches to restoring liver function have therefore been pursued, including the use of somatic and stem cell populations. Although such approaches are essential in developing scalable treatments, there is also an imperative to develop predictive human systems that more effectively study and/or prevent the onset of liver disease and decompensated organ function. We used a renewable human stem cell resource, from defined genetic backgrounds, and drove them through developmental intermediates to yield highly active, drug-inducible, and predictive human hepatocyte populations. Most importantly, stem cell-derived hepatocytes displayed equivalence to primary adult hepatocytes, following incubation with known hepatotoxins. In summary, we have developed a serum-free, scalable, and shippable cell-based model that faithfully predicts the potential for human liver injury. Such a resource has direct application in human modeling and, in the future, could play an important role in developing renewable cell-based therapies. PMID:24375539

Enclaves of opportunity or "ghettos of last resort?" Assessing the effects of immigrant segregation on violent crime rates.

PubMed

Feldmeyer, Ben; Harris, Casey T; Scroggins, Jennifer

2015-07-01

A growing body of research indicates that immigration to the U.S. has crime-reducing effects on aggregate levels of violence, which researchers have often attributed to the protective and revitalizing effects of immigrants settling in spatially concentrated neighborhoods. However, recent scholarship suggests that growing shares of the foreign-born population are bypassing these segregated immigrant enclaves and are dispersing more widely to other urban neighborhoods. Moreover, some scholars suggest that spatially isolating immigrant populations may not always be protective, but could actually contribute to social problems like crime, particularly in disadvantaged contexts. The current study offers one of the first analyses exploring the way that segregation of immigrant populations (relative to the U.S.-born) is related to year 2000 violent crime rates for nearly 500 census places in California and New York. Results of our analysis reveal no direct link between immigrant segregation and macro-level violence, but instead show that these effects are highly contextualized and depend on the resources present in locales. Specifically, immigrant segregation contributes to violence in highly disadvantaged places but is linked to lower violence in areas with greater resources. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Determining the functional form of density dependence: deductive approaches for consumer-resource systems having a single resource.

PubMed

Abrams, Peter A

2009-09-01

Consumer-resource models are used to deduce the functional form of density dependence in the consumer population. A general approach to determining the form of consumer density dependence is proposed; this involves determining the equilibrium (or average) population size for a series of different harvest rates. The relationship between a consumer's mortality and its equilibrium population size is explored for several one-consumer/one-resource models. The shape of density dependence in the resource and the shape of the numerical and functional responses all tend to be "inherited" by the consumer's density dependence. Consumer-resource models suggest that density dependence will very often have both concave and convex segments, something that is impossible under the commonly used theta-logistic model. A range of consumer-resource models predicts that consumer population size often declines at a decelerating rate with mortality at low mortality rates, is insensitive to or increases with mortality over a wide range of intermediate mortalities, and declines at a rapidly accelerating rate with increased mortality when mortality is high. This has important implications for management and conservation of natural populations.

Modeling Resource Hotspots: Critical Linkages and Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daher, B.; Mohtar, R.; Pistikopoulos, E.; McCarl, B. A.; Yang, Y.

2017-12-01

Growing demands for interconnected resources emerge in the form of hotspots of varying characteristics. The business as usual allocation model cannot address the current, let alone anticipated, complex and highly interconnected resource challenges we face. A new paradigm for resource allocation must be adopted: one that identifies cross-sectoral synergies and, that moves away from silos to recognition of the nexus and integration of it. Doing so will result in new opportunities for business growth, economic development, and improved social well-being. Solutions and interventions must be multi-faceted; opportunities should be identified with holistic trade-offs in mind. No single solution fits all: different hotspots will require distinct interventions. Hotspots have varying resource constraints, stakeholders, goals and targets. The San Antonio region represents a complex resource hotspot with promising potential: its rapidly growing population, the Eagle Ford shale play, and the major agricultural activity there makes it a hotspot with many competing demands. Stakeholders need tools to allow them to knowledgeably address impending resource challenges. This study will identify contemporary WEF nexus questions and critical system interlinkages that will inform the modeling of the tightly interconnected resource systems and stresses using the San Antonio Region as a base; it will conceptualize a WEF nexus modeling framework, and develop assessment criteria to inform integrative planning and decision making.

Double Trouble at High Density: Cross-Level Test of Resource-Related Adaptive Plasticity and Crowding-Related Fitness

PubMed Central

Gergs, André; Preuss, Thomas G.; Palmqvist, Annemette

2014-01-01

Population size is often regulated by negative feedback between population density and individual fitness. At high population densities, animals run into double trouble: they might concurrently suffer from overexploitation of resources and also from negative interference among individuals regardless of resource availability, referred to as crowding. Animals are able to adapt to resource shortages by exhibiting a repertoire of life history and physiological plasticities. In addition to resource-related plasticity, crowding might lead to reduced fitness, with consequences for individual life history. We explored how different mechanisms behind resource-related plasticity and crowding-related fitness act independently or together, using the water flea Daphnia magna as a case study. For testing hypotheses related to mechanisms of plasticity and crowding stress across different biological levels, we used an individual-based population model that is based on dynamic energy budget theory. Each of the hypotheses, represented by a sub-model, is based on specific assumptions on how the uptake and allocation of energy are altered under conditions of resource shortage or crowding. For cross-level testing of different hypotheses, we explored how well the sub-models fit individual level data and also how well they predict population dynamics under different conditions of resource availability. Only operating resource-related and crowding-related hypotheses together enabled accurate model predictions of D. magna population dynamics and size structure. Whereas this study showed that various mechanisms might play a role in the negative feedback between population density and individual life history, it also indicated that different density levels might instigate the onset of the different mechanisms. This study provides an example of how the integration of dynamic energy budget theory and individual-based modelling can facilitate the exploration of mechanisms behind the regulation of population size. Such understanding is important for assessment, management and the conservation of populations and thereby biodiversity in ecosystems. PMID:24626228

Staggered work shifts: a way to downsize and restructure an emergency department workforce yet maintain current operational performance.

PubMed

Sinreich, David; Jabali, Ola

2007-09-01

Starting from the last decade of the twentieth century, most hospital Emergency Department (ED) budgets did not keep up with the demand for ED services made by growing populations and aging societies. Since labor consumes over 50% of the total monies invested in EDs and other healthcare systems, any downsizing, streamlining and reorganization plan needs to first address staffing issues such as determining the correct size of the workforce and its work shift scheduling. In this context, it is very important to remember that downsizing certainly does not mean a general cut-across-the-board. This study shows that a selective downsizing process in which each resource is treated separately (increasing the work capacity of some resources is also possible), based on its unique contribution to the overall ED operational performance, can approximately maintain current ED operational measures in terms patient length of stay (LOS) despite an overall reduction in staff hours. A linear optimization model (S-model) and a heuristic iterative simulation based algorithm (SWSSA) are used in this study for scheduling the resources' work shifts, one resource at a time. The algorithm was tested using data that was gathered from five general hospital EDs. By leveling the workload of the different resources in the ED, SWSSA was able to achieve LOS values within -19 to 4% of the original values despite a reduction of 8-17.5% in physicians' work hours and a reduction of 13-47% in the nurses' work hours.

The Use of Megamelus scutellaris Berg in the Southern United States as a Biocontrol Agent of Waterhyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.))

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

spread to include the southern and western United States and disjunct northern populations ( US Department of Agriculture/ Natural Resources...waterhyacinth in Louisiana currently exceeds $4 million.3 Primary control methods include the use of herbicides and release of insect biological control...C with natural daylight (Figure 4). Reverse osmosis (RO) water was used in the tanks with periodic application of nutrients. Waterhyacinth was

Review: Towards the agroecological management of ruminants, pigs and poultry through the development of sustainable breeding programmes. II. Breeding strategies.

PubMed

Phocas, F; Belloc, C; Bidanel, J; Delaby, L; Dourmad, J Y; Dumont, B; Ezanno, P; Fortun-Lamothe, L; Foucras, G; Frappat, B; González-García, E; Hazard, D; Larzul, C; Lubac, S; Mignon-Grasteau, S; Moreno, C R; Tixier-Boichard, M; Brochard, M

2016-11-01

Agroecology uses ecological processes and local resources rather than chemical inputs to develop productive and resilient livestock and crop production systems. In this context, breeding innovations are necessary to obtain animals that are both productive and adapted to a broad range of local contexts and diversity of systems. Breeding strategies to promote agroecological systems are similar for different animal species. However, current practices differ regarding the breeding of ruminants, pigs and poultry. Ruminant breeding is still an open system where farmers continue to choose their own breeds and strategies. Conversely, pig and poultry breeding is more or less the exclusive domain of international breeding companies which supply farmers with hybrid animals. Innovations in breeding strategies must therefore be adapted to the different species. In developed countries, reorienting current breeding programmes seems to be more effective than developing programmes dedicated to agroecological systems that will struggle to be really effective because of the small size of the populations currently concerned by such systems. Particular attention needs to be paid to determining the respective usefulness of cross-breeding v. straight breeding strategies of well-adapted local breeds. While cross-breeding may offer some immediate benefits in terms of improving certain traits that enable the animals to adapt well to local environmental conditions, it may be difficult to sustain these benefits in the longer term and could also induce an important loss of genetic diversity if the initial pure-bred populations are no longer produced. As well as supporting the value of within-breed diversity, we must preserve between-breed diversity in order to maintain numerous options for adaptation to a variety of production environments and contexts. This may involve specific public policies to maintain and characterize local breeds (in terms of both phenotypes and genotypes), which could be used more effectively if they benefited from the scientific and technical resources currently available for more common breeds. Last but not least, public policies need to enable improved information concerning the genetic resources and breeding tools available for the agroecological management of livestock production systems, and facilitate its assimilation by farmers and farm technicians.

Paper-based analytical devices for clinical diagnosis: recent advances in the fabrication techniques and sensing mechanisms

PubMed Central

Sher, Mazhar; Zhuang, Rachel; Demirci, Utkan; Asghar, Waseem

2017-01-01

Introduction There is a significant interest in developing inexpensive portable biosensing platforms for various applications including disease diagnostics, environmental monitoring, food safety, and water testing at the point-of-care (POC) settings. Current diagnostic assays available in the developed world require sophisticated laboratory infrastructure and expensive reagents. Hence, they are not suitable for resource-constrained settings with limited financial resources, basic health infrastructure, and few trained technicians. Cellulose and flexible transparency paper-based analytical devices have demonstrated enormous potential for developing robust, inexpensive and portable devices for disease diagnostics. These devices offer promising solutions to disease management in resource-constrained settings where the vast majority of the population cannot afford expensive and highly sophisticated treatment options. Areas covered In this review, the authors describe currently developed cellulose and flexible transparency paper-based microfluidic devices, device fabrication techniques, and sensing technologies that are integrated with these devices. The authors also discuss the limitations and challenges associated with these devices and their potential in clinical settings. Expert commentary In recent years, cellulose and flexible transparency paper-based microfluidic devices have demonstrated the potential to become future healthcare options despite a few limitations such as low sensitivity and reproducibility. PMID:28103450

Paper-based analytical devices for clinical diagnosis: recent advances in the fabrication techniques and sensing mechanisms.

PubMed

Sher, Mazhar; Zhuang, Rachel; Demirci, Utkan; Asghar, Waseem

2017-04-01

There is a significant interest in developing inexpensive portable biosensing platforms for various applications including disease diagnostics, environmental monitoring, food safety, and water testing at the point-of-care (POC) settings. Current diagnostic assays available in the developed world require sophisticated laboratory infrastructure and expensive reagents. Hence, they are not suitable for resource-constrained settings with limited financial resources, basic health infrastructure, and few trained technicians. Cellulose and flexible transparency paper-based analytical devices have demonstrated enormous potential for developing robust, inexpensive and portable devices for disease diagnostics. These devices offer promising solutions to disease management in resource-constrained settings where the vast majority of the population cannot afford expensive and highly sophisticated treatment options. Areas covered: In this review, the authors describe currently developed cellulose and flexible transparency paper-based microfluidic devices, device fabrication techniques, and sensing technologies that are integrated with these devices. The authors also discuss the limitations and challenges associated with these devices and their potential in clinical settings. Expert commentary: In recent years, cellulose and flexible transparency paper-based microfluidic devices have demonstrated the potential to become future healthcare options despite a few limitations such as low sensitivity and reproducibility.

Applied reproductive technologies and genetic resource banking for amphibian conservation.

PubMed

Kouba, Andrew J; Vance, Carrie K

2009-01-01

As amphibian populations continue to decline, both government and non-government organisations are establishing captive assurance colonies to secure populations deemed at risk of extinction if left in the wild. For the most part, little is known about the nutritional ecology, reproductive biology or husbandry needs of the animals placed into captive breeding programs. Because of this lack of knowledge, conservation biologists are currently facing the difficult task of maintaining and reproducing these species. Academic and zoo scientists are beginning to examine different technologies for maintaining the genetic diversity of founder populations brought out of the wild before the animals become extinct from rapidly spreading epizootic diseases. One such technology is genetic resource banking and applied reproductive technologies for species that are difficult to reproduce reliably in captivity. Significant advances have been made in the last decade for amphibian assisted reproduction including the use of exogenous hormones for induction of spermiation and ovulation, in vitro fertilisation, short-term cold storage of gametes and long-term cryopreservation of spermatozoa. These scientific breakthroughs for a select few species will no doubt serve as models for future assisted breeding protocols and the increasing number of amphibians requiring conservation intervention. However, the development of specialised assisted breeding protocols that can be applied to many different families of amphibians will likely require species-specific modifications considering their wide range of reproductive modes. The purpose of this review is to summarise the current state of knowledge in the area of assisted reproduction technologies and gene banking for the conservation of amphibians.

A knowledge base for tracking the impact of genomics on population health.

PubMed

Yu, Wei; Gwinn, Marta; Dotson, W David; Green, Ridgely Fisk; Clyne, Mindy; Wulf, Anja; Bowen, Scott; Kolor, Katherine; Khoury, Muin J

2016-12-01

We created an online knowledge base (the Public Health Genomics Knowledge Base (PHGKB)) to provide systematically curated and updated information that bridges population-based research on genomics with clinical and public health applications. Weekly horizon scanning of a wide variety of online resources is used to retrieve relevant scientific publications, guidelines, and commentaries. After curation by domain experts, links are deposited into Web-based databases. PHGKB currently consists of nine component databases. Users can search the entire knowledge base or search one or more component databases directly and choose options for customizing the display of their search results. PHGKB offers researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and the general public a way to find information they need to understand the complicated landscape of genomics and population health.Genet Med 18 12, 1312-1314.

Vulnerability of the Metropolitan District of Quito's Water Resources in the face of Climatic and Anthropogenic Uncertainties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Depsky, N. J.; Flores-Lopez, F.

2014-12-01

Earlier this year the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) concluded a vulnerability analysis for the Metropolitan District of Quito (DMQ) in Ecuador. Vulnerability assessments were done for five sectors in the region: water resources, public health, agriculture, ecosystems and forest fires. This abstract focuses specifically on the vulnerability of the DMQ's water resources to climatic and anthropogenic uncertainties. This analysis focused on vulnerability of potable water supply for the city of Quito, as well as industrial and agricultural water needs. Current and future vulnerability was assessed in the face of a number of scenarios of climatic and non-climatic uncertainties. The assessment used an integrated water resources model developed by Quito's National Polytechnic University for the surrounding Guayllabamba river basin. The model was built using the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) software, and encompasses the urban, rural/agricultural, and industrial demands throughout the basin, linking them with existing surface and ground-water supplies. Five future scenarios were constructed in the WEAP basin model out the year 2050 in order to assess their effects: Urban population growth (~70% by 2050). Urban population growth + rising mean air temperatures (~+2°C by 2050). Urban population growth + rising temperatures + drought (recurring 3-year drought cycles built into the projection) Urban population growth + rising temperatures + conversion of 'paramo' alpine tundra ecosystem into cultivated land. (WEAP allows the user to define various types of land cover extent throughout the basin, along with their unique physical characteristics to simulate rainfall-runoff. Conversion of 'paramo' land cover to agriculture was evaluated to see potential effects it may have on the system's hydrology) Urban population growth + rising temperatures + drought + conversion of 'paramos' Coverage of demands in the model was used as the primary vulnerability metric, with urban demands experiencing supply shortages of up to 20-25% under the most stressful scenarios, a shortage which is dampened by significantly increased groundwater pumping. Rural and industrial demands suffer much more severe shortages, with nearly all demands going unmet in a number of scenarios.

Contrasting Role of Temperature in Structuring Regional Patterns of Invasive and Native Pestilential Stink Bugs

PubMed Central

Venugopal, P. Dilip; Dively, Galen P.; Herbert, Ames; Malone, Sean; Whalen, Joanne; Lamp, William O.

2016-01-01

Objectives Assessment and identification of spatial structures in the distribution and abundance of invasive species is important for unraveling the underlying ecological processes. The invasive agricultural insect pest Halyomorpha halys that causes severe economic losses in the United States is currently expanding both within United States and across Europe. We examined the drivers of H. halys invasion by characterizing the distribution and abundance patterns of H. halys and native stink bugs (Chinavia hilaris and Euschistus servus) across eight different spatial scales. We then quantified the interactive and individual influences of temperature, and measures of resource availability and distance from source populations, and their relevant spatial scales. We used Moran’s Eigenvector Maps based on Gabriel graph framework to quantify spatial relationships among the soybean fields in mid-Atlantic Unites States surveyed for stink bugs. Findings Results from the multi-spatial scale, multivariate analyses showed that temperature and its interaction with resource availability and distance from source populations structures the patterns in H. halys at very broad spatial scale. H. halys abundance decreased with increasing average June temperature and distance from source population. H. halys were not recorded at fields with average June temperature higher than 23.5°C. In parts with suitable climate, high H. halys abundance was positively associated with percentage developed open area and percentage deciduous forests at 250m scale. Broad scale patterns in native stink bugs were positively associated with increasing forest cover and, in contrast to the invasive H. halys, increasing mean July temperature. Our results identify the contrasting role of temperature in structuring regional patterns in H. halys and native stink bugs, while demonstrating its interaction with resource availability and distance from source populations for structuring H. halys patterns. Conclusion These results help predicting the pest potential of H. halys and vulnerability of agricultural systems at various regions, given the climatic conditions, and its interaction with resource availability and distance from source populations. Monitoring and control efforts within parts of the United States and Europe with more suitable climate could focus in areas of peri-urban developments with deciduous forests and other host plants, along with efforts to reduce propagule pressure. PMID:26928562

Genetic conservation in applied tree breeding programs.

Treesearch

R. Johnson; B. St. Clair; S. Lipow

2001-01-01

This paper reviews how population size and structure impacts the maintenance of genetic variation in breeding and gene resource populations. We discuss appropriate population sizes for low frequency alleles and point out some examples of low frequency alleles in the literature. Development of appropriate breeding populations and gene resource populations are discussed...

Evolution of mating systems in coral reef gobies and constraints on mating system plasticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernaman, V.; Munday, P. L.

2007-09-01

Social and mating systems can be influenced by the distribution, abundance, and economic defendability of breeding partners and essential resources. Polygyny is predicted where males can economically defend multiple females or essential resources used by females. In contrast, monogamy is predicted where neither sex can monopolise multiple partners, either directly or through resource control, but where one mate is economically defendable. The mating system and reproductive behaviour of five species of coral reef goby were investigated and contrasted with population density and individual mobility. The two most abundant species ( Asterropteryx semipunctatus and Istigobius goldmanni) were polygynous. In contrast, the less populous and more widely dispersed epibenthic species ( Amblygobius bynoensis, Amblygobius phalaena and Valenciennea muralis) were pair forming and monogamous. All five species had low mobility, mostly remaining within metres (3 epibenthic species) or centimetres (2 cryptobenthic species) of a permanent shelter site. Interspecific differences in the mating system may have been shaped by differences in population density and the ability of reproductive individuals to economically defend breeding partners/sites. However, in a test of mating system plasticity, males of the three monogamous species did not mate polygynously when given the opportunity to do so in experimental manipulations of density and sex ratio. Mate guarding and complex spawning characteristics, which have likely co-evolved with the monogamous mating system, could contribute to mating system inflexibility by making polygynous mating unprofitable for individuals of the pair forming species, even when presented with current-day ecological conditions that usually favour polygyny.

The brave new world of older patients: preparing general practice training for an ageing population.

PubMed

Bonney, Andrew; Phillipson, Lyn; Jones, Sandra C; Hall, Julie; Sharma, Rashmi

2015-11-01

Develop and pilot test evidence-based resources for general practice training practices to enhance older patients' (65+ years) interactions with General Practice Registrars (GPRs). In Australia, general practice trainees, referred to as GPRs, see fewer older patients and patients with chronic conditions than doctors who have completed their specialist GP training. This reduces learning opportunities for GPRs in the management of these important patient groups. Therefore, developing effective strategies to improve GPR-older patient interaction is critical to primary care training, to meet the current and future needs of an ageing population. Adopting a social marketing approach, GPR practice resources were developed to address knowledge and attitudinal barriers at the practice and patient level to improve older patient comfort, and willingness to engage, with GPR care. Two focus groups with older patients (n=18) and interviews with staff of training practices (n=12) were utilised to pre-test resources. Amended resources were pilot tested and evaluated in a naturalistic GPR training practice setting using a structured patient questionnaire (n=44). Pilot evaluation suggests improved comfort and willingness of older patients to interact with GPRs. In all, 54% of survey participants indicated they would be more likely to make an appointment with a Registrar in the future as a result of exposure to the resources. In all, 40% of patients would feel comfortable having a GPR manage a complex or chronic condition, which compares favourably with 28% of similarly aged patients in previous research. The use of tailored, engaging and informative GPR resources for older patients and practice staff may be an important contributor to addressing the growing problem of ensuring GPRs are adequately engaged in treating older patients. The adoption of a social marketing framework was instrumental in enhancing the acceptance and effectiveness of this intervention.

Rheumatology in the community of Madrid: current availability of rheumatologists and future needs using a predictive model.

PubMed

Lázaro y De Mercado, Pablo; Blasco Bravo, Antonio Javier; Lázaro y De Mercado, Ignacio; Castañeda, Santos; López Robledillo, Juan Carlos

2013-01-01

To: 1) describe the distribution of the public sector rheumatologists; 2) identify variables on which the workload in Rheumatology depends; and 3) build a predictive model on the need of rheumatologists for the next 10 years, in the Community of Madrid (CM). The information was obtained through structured questionnaires sent to all services/units of Rheumatology of public hospitals in the CM. The population figures, current and forecasted, were obtained from the National Statistics Institute. A predictive model was built based on information about the current and foreseeable supply, current and foreseeable demand, and the assumptions and criteria used to match supply with demand. The underlying uncertainty in the model was assessed by sensitivity analysis. In the CM in 2011 there were 150 staff rheumatologists and 49 residents in 27 centers, which is equivalent to one rheumatologist for every 33,280 inhabitants in the general population, and one for every 4,996 inhabitants over 65 years. To keep the level of assistance of 2011 in 2021 in the general population, it would be necessary to train more residents or hire more rheumatologists in scenarios of demand higher than 15%. However, to keep the level of assistance in the population over 65 years of age it would be necessary to train more residents or hire more specialists even without increased demand. The model developed may be very useful for planning, with the CM policy makers, the needs of human resources in Rheumatology in the coming years. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Resource Trends and Population Policy: A Time for Reassessment. Worldwatch Paper 29.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Lester R.

Population growth and resource depletion are discussed. The need is stressed for policy makers to understand how population projections relate to the carrying capacity of the earth's basic biological systems. Because the earth's resources are limited, it is essential that policy makers in developed and developing nations be able to analyze the…

The impact of health care resources, socioeconomic status, and demographics on life expectancy: a cross-country study in three Southeast Asian countries.

PubMed

Chan, Moon Fai

2015-03-01

This study aimed to examine the impact of health care resources, socioeconomic status, and demographic changes on life expectancy in Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam. This was a cross-country study to collect annual data (1980-2008) from each target country. Life expectancy was the dependent variable and health care resources, socioeconomic status, and demographics were the 3 main determinants. Structural equation modeling was employed, and the results indicate that the availability of more health care resources (Indonesia: coefficient = .47, P = .008; Philippines: coefficient = .48, P = .017; Vietnam: coefficient = .48, P = .004) and higher levels of socioeconomic advantages (Indonesia: coefficient = .41, P = .014; Vietnam: coefficient = .34, P = .026) are more likely to increase life expectancy. In contrast, demographic changes are more likely to increase life expectancy because of the wide range of health care resources. These findings suggest that more effort, particularly during economic downturns, should be put into removing the barriers that impede access to health care services and increasing preventive care for the population that currently has less access to health care in communities where there is a shortage of medical resources. © 2013 APJPH.

Resource consumption, sustainability, and cancer.

PubMed

Kareva, Irina; Morin, Benjamin; Castillo-Chavez, Carlos

2015-02-01

Preserving a system's viability in the presence of diversity erosion is critical if the goal is to sustainably support biodiversity. Reduction in population heterogeneity, whether inter- or intraspecies, may increase population fragility, either decreasing its ability to adapt effectively to environmental changes or facilitating the survival and success of ordinarily rare phenotypes. The latter may result in over-representation of individuals who may participate in resource utilization patterns that can lead to over-exploitation, exhaustion, and, ultimately, collapse of both the resource and the population that depends on it. Here, we aim to identify regimes that can signal whether a consumer-resource system is capable of supporting viable degrees of heterogeneity. The framework used here is an expansion of a previously introduced consumer-resource type system of a population of individuals classified by their resource consumption. Application of the Reduction Theorem to the system enables us to evaluate the health of the system through tracking both the mean value of the parameter of resource (over)consumption, and the population variance, as both change over time. The article concludes with a discussion that highlights applicability of the proposed system to investigation of systems that are affected by particularly devastating overly adapted populations, namely cancerous cells. Potential intervention approaches for system management are discussed in the context of cancer therapies.

Climate, Energy, Water, Land and the Spill-Over Effect (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tidwell, V. C.; Backus, G.; Bier, A.; Brune, N.; Brown, T. J.

2013-12-01

Developing nations incur a greater risk to climate stress than the developed world due to poorly managed natural resources, unreliable infrastructure and brittle governing/economic institutions. When fragile states are stressed these vulnerabilities are often manifest in a 'domino effect' of reduced natural resource production-leading to economic hardship-followed by desperate emigration, social unrest, and humanitarian crises. The impact is not limited to a single nation or region but 'spills over' to adjoining areas with even broader impact on global markets and security. Toward this problem we are developing a model of climate aggravated spill-over that couples social, economic, infrastructure and resource dynamics and constraints. The model integrates system dynamics and agent based simulation to identify regions vulnerable to the spill-over effect and to explore potential mitigating and/or adaptive measures. At the heart of the analysis is human migration which is modeled by combining aspects of the Protection Motivation Theory and Theory of Planned Behavior within the mechanistic framework of Fick's first law of diffusion. Agents in the current model are distinguished at the country level by country of residence, country of origin, gender, education/skill, age, and rural/urban roots. The model of the environment in which the agents operate endogenously simulates economy, labor, population, disease, violence, energy, water, and food sectors. Various climate scenarios distinguished by differences in temperature, precipitation and extreme events, are simulated over a 50 year time horizon. Results allow exploration of the nexus between climate change, resource provisioning, especially energy, water and land, and the resultant adaptive response of the impacted population. Current modeling efforts are focused on the developing nations of West Africa. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. Schematic of spill-over effects model.

From office tools to community supports: The need for infrastructure to address the social determinants of health in paediatric practice.

PubMed

Fazalullasha, Fatima; Taras, Jillian; Morinis, Julia; Levin, Leo; Karmali, Karima; Neilson, Barbara; Muskat, Barbara; Bloch, Gary; Chan, Kevin; McDonald, Maureen; Makin, Sue; Ford-Jones, E Lee

2014-04-01

Previous research has highlighted the importance of addressing the social determinants of health to improve child health outcomes. However, significant barriers exist that limit the paediatrician's ability to properly address these issues. Barriers include a lack of clinical time, resources, training and education with regard to the social determinants of health; awareness of community resources; and case-management capacity. General practice recommendations to help the health care provider link patients to the community are insufficient. The objective of the current article was to present options for improving the link between the office and the community, using screening questions incorporating physician-based tools that link community resources. Simple interventions, such as routine referral to early-year centres and selected referral to public health home-visiting programs, may help to address populations with the greatest needs.

From office tools to community supports: The need for infrastructure to address the social determinants of health in paediatric practice

PubMed Central

Fazalullasha, Fatima; Taras, Jillian; Morinis, Julia; Levin, Leo; Karmali, Karima; Neilson, Barbara; Muskat, Barbara; Bloch, Gary; Chan, Kevin; McDonald, Maureen; Makin, Sue; Ford-Jones, E Lee

2014-01-01

Previous research has highlighted the importance of addressing the social determinants of health to improve child health outcomes. However, significant barriers exist that limit the paediatrician’s ability to properly address these issues. Barriers include a lack of clinical time, resources, training and education with regard to the social determinants of health; awareness of community resources; and case-management capacity. General practice recommendations to help the health care provider link patients to the community are insufficient. The objective of the current article was to present options for improving the link between the office and the community, using screening questions incorporating physician-based tools that link community resources. Simple interventions, such as routine referral to early-year centres and selected referral to public health home-visiting programs, may help to address populations with the greatest needs. PMID:24855416

Co-Occurring Disorders in Substance Abuse Treatment: Issues and Prospects

PubMed Central

Flynn, Patrick M.; Brown, Barry S.

2008-01-01

This paper explores the epidemiology of co-occurring disorders with an emphasis on the implications of study findings for the functioning and potential of substance abuse treatment. Severity of disorder is discussed as an issue that may have particular significance for the selection of specialized as opposed to traditional substance abuse treatment forms. Exploration is made, as well, of the resources currently available to substance abuse treatment, especially the human resources available, and the implications of resource availability for undertaking initiatives specific to co-occurring disorder. Findings from standard and enhanced treatment for comorbid individuals are examined in an effort to clarify areas of need for specialized and typical treatment personnel. Issues are raised for consideration by the clinical research and treatment provider communities in terms of assessment and diagnosis, manpower and training, and response to the challenge of relapse in this population. PMID:17574791

VectorBase: an updated bioinformatics resource for invertebrate vectors and other organisms related with human diseases

PubMed Central

Giraldo-Calderón, Gloria I.; Emrich, Scott J.; MacCallum, Robert M.; Maslen, Gareth; Dialynas, Emmanuel; Topalis, Pantelis; Ho, Nicholas; Gesing, Sandra; Madey, Gregory; Collins, Frank H.; Lawson, Daniel

2015-01-01

VectorBase is a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases supported Bioinformatics Resource Center (BRC) for invertebrate vectors of human pathogens. Now in its 11th year, VectorBase currently hosts the genomes of 35 organisms including a number of non-vectors for comparative analysis. Hosted data range from genome assemblies with annotated gene features, transcript and protein expression data to population genetics including variation and insecticide-resistance phenotypes. Here we describe improvements to our resource and the set of tools available for interrogating and accessing BRC data including the integration of Web Apollo to facilitate community annotation and providing Galaxy to support user-based workflows. VectorBase also actively supports our community through hands-on workshops and online tutorials. All information and data are freely available from our website at https://www.vectorbase.org/. PMID:25510499

Canada's population: growth and dualism.

PubMed

Beaujot, R P

1978-04-01

In Canada the current 1.3% population growth rate is causing some concern. Those concerned argue that such a rate of growth in combination with high levels of consumption could jeopardize the country's resource base and its comfortable style of living. Many Canadians are questioning high levels of immigration, for now that the fertility level is below replacement level, net immigration contributes substantially to population growth (over 1/3 in 1976). The growing proportion of non-Europeans among recent immigrants is causing resentment, and, in a tight job market, immigrants are regarded as threats to the World War 2 baby boom cohort who are now at working ages. The baby boom generation also puts stress on housing and health services, and it will increase the need for pension checks as it ages. Although French fertility is no longer high and immigration is no longer dominated by the British, the French group's 200-year struggle to preserve its identity continues on in the current effort of the Quebec government to enforce the use of French language by law within that province. Geography and climate dictate another demographic fact that divides the country and pervades its history. In addition to intense regionalism, uneven population distribution is responsible for 2 other concerns: the rapid growth of several already large cities and depopulation of many small communities. Focus in this discussion is on Canada's population growth in the past and as projected for the future, historical and current fertility, mortality and immigration trends, the search for a new immigration policy, the impact of the baby boom generation on the population's age structure and the problems this creates, and recent shifts in population distribution and in the country's ethnic and linguistic makeup. The population policy proposals evolved thus far involve to a great extent the use of immigration as a lever for achieving given population objectives.

Establishing a library of resources to help people understand key concepts in assessing treatment claims-The "Critical thinking and Appraisal Resource Library" (CARL).

PubMed

Castle, John C; Chalmers, Iain; Atkinson, Patricia; Badenoch, Douglas; Oxman, Andrew D; Austvoll-Dahlgren, Astrid; Nordheim, Lena; Krause, L Kendall; Schwartz, Lisa M; Woloshin, Steven; Burls, Amanda; Mosconi, Paola; Hoffmann, Tammy; Cusack, Leila; Albarqouni, Loai; Glasziou, Paul

2017-01-01

People are frequently confronted with untrustworthy claims about the effects of treatments. Uncritical acceptance of these claims can lead to poor, and sometimes dangerous, treatment decisions, and wasted time and money. Resources to help people learn to think critically about treatment claims are scarce, and they are widely scattered. Furthermore, very few learning-resources have been assessed to see if they improve knowledge and behavior. Our objectives were to develop the Critical thinking and Appraisal Resource Library (CARL). This library was to be in the form of a database containing learning resources for those who are responsible for encouraging critical thinking about treatment claims, and was to be made available online. We wished to include resources for groups we identified as 'intermediaries' of knowledge, i.e. teachers of schoolchildren, undergraduates and graduates, for example those teaching evidence-based medicine, or those communicating treatment claims to the public. In selecting resources, we wished to draw particular attention to those resources that had been formally evaluated, for example, by the creators of the resource or independent research groups. CARL was populated with learning-resources identified from a variety of sources-two previously developed but unmaintained inventories; systematic reviews of learning-interventions; online and database searches; and recommendations by members of the project group and its advisors. The learning-resources in CARL were organised by 'Key Concepts' needed to judge the trustworthiness of treatment claims, and were made available online by the James Lind Initiative in Testing Treatments interactive (TTi) English (www.testingtreatments.org/category/learning-resources).TTi English also incorporated the database of Key Concepts and the Claim Evaluation Tools developed through the Informed Healthcare Choices (IHC) project (informedhealthchoices.org). We have created a database of resources called CARL, which currently contains over 500 open-access learning-resources in a variety of formats: text, audio, video, webpages, cartoons, and lesson materials. These are aimed primarily at 'Intermediaries', that is, 'teachers', 'communicators', 'advisors', 'researchers', as well as for independent 'learners'. The resources included in CARL are currently accessible at www.testingtreatments.org/category/learning-resources. We hope that ready access to CARL will help to promote the critical thinking about treatment claims, needed to help improve healthcare choices.

Establishing a library of resources to help people understand key concepts in assessing treatment claims—The “Critical thinking and Appraisal Resource Library” (CARL)

PubMed Central

Chalmers, Iain; Atkinson, Patricia; Badenoch, Douglas; Oxman, Andrew D.; Austvoll-Dahlgren, Astrid; Nordheim, Lena; Krause, L. Kendall; Schwartz, Lisa M.; Woloshin, Steven; Burls, Amanda; Mosconi, Paola; Hoffmann, Tammy; Cusack, Leila; Albarqouni, Loai; Glasziou, Paul

2017-01-01

Background People are frequently confronted with untrustworthy claims about the effects of treatments. Uncritical acceptance of these claims can lead to poor, and sometimes dangerous, treatment decisions, and wasted time and money. Resources to help people learn to think critically about treatment claims are scarce, and they are widely scattered. Furthermore, very few learning-resources have been assessed to see if they improve knowledge and behavior. Objectives Our objectives were to develop the Critical thinking and Appraisal Resource Library (CARL). This library was to be in the form of a database containing learning resources for those who are responsible for encouraging critical thinking about treatment claims, and was to be made available online. We wished to include resources for groups we identified as ‘intermediaries’ of knowledge, i.e. teachers of schoolchildren, undergraduates and graduates, for example those teaching evidence-based medicine, or those communicating treatment claims to the public. In selecting resources, we wished to draw particular attention to those resources that had been formally evaluated, for example, by the creators of the resource or independent research groups. Methods CARL was populated with learning-resources identified from a variety of sources—two previously developed but unmaintained inventories; systematic reviews of learning-interventions; online and database searches; and recommendations by members of the project group and its advisors. The learning-resources in CARL were organised by ‘Key Concepts’ needed to judge the trustworthiness of treatment claims, and were made available online by the James Lind Initiative in Testing Treatments interactive (TTi) English (www.testingtreatments.org/category/learning-resources).TTi English also incorporated the database of Key Concepts and the Claim Evaluation Tools developed through the Informed Healthcare Choices (IHC) project (informedhealthchoices.org). Results We have created a database of resources called CARL, which currently contains over 500 open-access learning-resources in a variety of formats: text, audio, video, webpages, cartoons, and lesson materials. These are aimed primarily at ‘Intermediaries’, that is, ‘teachers’, ‘communicators’, ‘advisors’, ‘researchers’, as well as for independent ‘learners’. The resources included in CARL are currently accessible at www.testingtreatments.org/category/learning-resources Conclusions We hope that ready access to CARL will help to promote the critical thinking about treatment claims, needed to help improve healthcare choices. PMID:28738058

The 21st Century Challenges and the Food-Energy-Water-Security (FEWS) Nexus in the Middle East Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moradkhani, H.; Hameed, M.

2017-12-01

Developing countries have experienced crucial conditions in meeting the needs for food, energy, and water security. This paper presents a country-level quantitative assessment of the current issues associated with the Food-Energy-Water-Security (FEWS) Nexus in the Middle East region. In this study, sixteen countries in the Middle East region are chosen, namely, Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, and Turkey. The most recent datasets are used to study and analyze the factors that have emerged the demand to understand and manage the linkage of FEW systems in the region. Water scarcity, extreme events, population growth, urbanization, economic growth, poverty, and political stability are found to be the key drivers of the current challenges in the Middle East region. Additionally, the results suggest that these factors have created a subsequent stress on FEW resources specifically on water sector in the region. Therefore, more attention is required to sustain the FEW resources and cope with the socio-economic development.

Will the Needs-Based Planning of Health Human Resources Currently Undertaken in Several Countries Lead to Excess Supply and Inefficiency?

PubMed

Basu, Kisalaya; Pak, Maxwell

2016-01-01

Recently, the emphasis on health human resources (HHR) planning has shifted away from a utilization-based approach toward a needs-based one in which planning is based on the projected health needs of the population. However, needs-based models that are currently in use rely on a definition of 'needs' that include only the medical circumstances of individuals and not personal preferences or other socio-economic factors. We examine whether planning based on such a narrow definition will maximize social welfare. We show that, in a publicly funded healthcare system, if the planner seeks to meet the aggregate need without taking utilization into consideration, then oversupply of HHR is likely because 'needs' do not necessarily translate into 'usage.' Our result suggests that HHR planning should track the healthcare system as access gradually improves because, even if health care is fully accessible, individuals may not fully utilize it to the degree prescribed by their medical circumstances. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[The effects of "The Work" meditation technique on psychological scales among a non-clinical sample].

PubMed

Mitnik, Inbal; Lev-Ari, Shahar

2015-01-01

"The Work" is a meditative technique developed by Byron Katie in 1986 and is practiced by hundreds of thousands of people in more than 30 countries. The technique trains individuals to identify the thoughts that cause stress and suffering in a systematic and comprehensive way and to meditatively "investigate" these thoughts, thus enabling them to experience a different interpretation of reality. The current study aimed to assess the effect of "The Work" meditation on psychological scales among a non-clinical sample. This was a prospective research study conducted without a control group. The intervention consisted of a 9-day workshop of "The Work" meditation technique. Fifty-eight participants completed the following questionnaires before and after the intervention: satisfaction with life (SWLS), sense of coherence (SOC), general well-being (MHI), self-esteem (SES) and demographics. A significant improvement was obtained in all measures after "The Work" intervention: SWLS (21.6 to 25.07, p<0.001); SOC-comprehensibility subscale (4.05 to 4.55, p<0.001), SOC-manageability subscale (4.39 to 4.9, p<0.001) and meaningfulness subscale (4.58 to 5.07, p<0.001); SES (17.61 to 21.56, p<0.001); General wellbeing-well-being subscale (4.34 to 4.87, p<0.001) and distress subscale (3.42 to 2.79, p<0.001). A sense of coherence is an important resource for coping with challenging life events and promoting well-being and health. This resource can be influenced by mind-body interventions. Satisfaction with life is a subjective judgment of satisfaction with one's life in relation to one's own unique criteria. It is a central resource in mental and physical health promotion. "The Work" meditation technique includes cognitive conceptualization and processes, which may have contributed to the increase demonstrated in this scale. Psychological well-being scales also improved--a finding which has health, social and economic implications in the general population. The findings of the current study should be evaluated in light of its limitations, mainly the lack of a control group. The current pilot study shows the potentially beneficial effects of "The Work" technique as a method of intervention for improving results on psychological scales and promoting mental health among the general population. Future randomized controlled studies should examine the effectiveness of "The Work" intervention in this population.

Promoting Community Health Resources: Preferred Communication Strategies

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background: Community health promotion efforts involve communicating resource information to priority populations. Which communication strategies are most effective is largely unknown for specific populations. Objective: A random-dialed telephone survey was conducted to assess health resource comm...

Human Needs and Nature's Balance: Population, Resources, and the Environment. A Population Learning Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crews, Kimberly A.

One of the challenges that face humanity is how to manage resource and environmental endowments in a way that will guarantee continued survival and ensure the well-being of future generations. Those resources most important to human survival are food, water, and energy. When the population of the world reached 5 billion in 1987, approximately 87…

Impact of trends in resources, environment and development on demographic prospects.

PubMed

Keyfitz, N

1984-01-01

This paper addresses the impact of trends in resources, environment and development on demographic prospects by investigating whether ecological considerations can improve the accuracy of population projections. It identifies the degree to which population is resources-determined. The basic classic relationship that resources determine population is increasingly inapplicable as the level of technology rises and institutions are formed. The major defect in attmepts to relate population directly to land and energy flow is that they suppose all other factors remain constant. If, however, the increase of population on the fixed land itself pushes technology, and that in turn makes it possible for a larger population to live on the same land, the attempt to express population as a pure function of land is entirely frustrated. Given a challenge that is severe but not overwhelming, a natural environment that is difficult but not impossible, plus a culture that builds responsiveness into its children in each generation, the inert adjustment of population numbers to food supplies seems to give way to the active adjustment of food supplies to population. Those who need the most because of their poverty are the ones who advance the least. Government is another intermediate agent between the environment that would limit population and the population itself. It acts as an agent of adaptation of population to land. The emergence of the world grain market, which has detached individuals from dependence on their local ecological base, has lifted the resource constraint. A method to improve the accuracy of population projections is proposed, based on projecting the condition of resources and the environment, followed by the intermediate variables of technology and institutions for a given future time. Population projection for each year to that date would be done by interpolation, rather than by extrapolation. Birth control, the effect of urbanization and the impact of development on population are examined.

Savanna elephant numbers are only a quarter of their expected values

PubMed Central

Robson, Ashley S.; Trimble, Morgan J.; Purdon, Andrew; Young-Overton, Kim D.; Pimm, Stuart L.; van Aarde, Rudi J.

2017-01-01

Savannas once constituted the range of many species that human encroachment has now reduced to a fraction of their former distribution. Many survive only in protected areas. Poaching reduces the savanna elephant, even where protected, likely to the detriment of savanna ecosystems. While resources go into estimating elephant populations, an ecological benchmark by which to assess counts is lacking. Knowing how many elephants there are and how many poachers kill is important, but on their own, such data lack context. We collated savanna elephant count data from 73 protected areas across the continent estimated to hold ~50% of Africa’s elephants and extracted densities from 18 broadly stable population time series. We modeled these densities using primary productivity, water availability, and an index of poaching as predictors. We then used the model to predict stable densities given current conditions and poaching for all 73 populations. Next, to generate ecological benchmarks, we predicted such densities for a scenario of zero poaching. Where historical data are available, they corroborate or exceed benchmarks. According to recent counts, collectively, the 73 savanna elephant populations are at 75% of the size predicted based on current conditions and poaching levels. However, populations are at <25% of ecological benchmarks given a scenario of zero poaching (~967,000)—a total deficit of ~730,000 elephants. Populations in 30% of the 73 protected areas were <5% of their benchmarks, and the median current density as a percentage of ecological benchmark across protected areas was just 13%. The ecological context provided by these benchmark values, in conjunction with ongoing census projects, allow efficient targeting of conservation efforts. PMID:28414784

Environmental and occupational exposures in immigrant health.

PubMed

Eamranond, Pracha P; Hu, Howard

2008-09-23

Immigrants comprise vulnerable populations that are frequently exposed to a multitude of environmental and occupational hazards. The historical context behind state and federal legislation has helped to foster an environment that is particularly hostile toward caring for immigrant health. Current hazards include toxic exposures, air and noise pollution, motor vehicle accidents, crowded living and work environments with inadequate ventilation, poor sanitation, mechanical injury, among many others. Immigrants lack the appropriate training, materials, health care access, and other resources to reduce their exposure to preventable environmental and occupational health risks. This dilemma is exacerbated by current anti-immigrant sentiments, miscommunication between native and immigrant populations, and legislation denying immigrants access to publicly funded medical care. Given that current health policy has failed to address immigrant health appropriately and political impetus is lacking, efforts should also focus on alternative solutions, including organized labor. Labor unions that serve to educate workers, survey work environments, and defend worker rights will greatly alleviate and prevent the burden of disease incurred by immigrants. The nation's health will benefit from improved regulation of living and workplace environments to improve the health of immigrants, regardless of legal status.

Biosensors for Sustainable Food Engineering: Challenges and Perspectives.

PubMed

Neethirajan, Suresh; Ragavan, Vasanth; Weng, Xuan; Chand, Rohit

2018-03-12

Current food production faces tremendous challenges from growing human population, maintaining clean resources and food qualities, and protecting climate and environment. Food sustainability is mostly a cooperative effort resulting in technology development supported by both governments and enterprises. Multiple attempts have been promoted in tackling challenges and enhancing drivers in food production. Biosensors and biosensing technologies with their applications, are being widely applied to tackling top challenges in food production and its sustainability. Consequently, a growing demand in biosensing technologies exists in food sustainability. Microfluidics represents a technological system integrating multiple technologies. Nanomaterials, with its technology in biosensing, is thought to be the most promising tool in dealing with health, energy, and environmental issues closely related to world populations. The demand of point of care (POC) technologies in this area focus on rapid, simple, accurate, portable, and low-cost analytical instruments. This review provides current viewpoints from the literature on biosensing in food production, food processing, safety and security, food packaging and supply chain, food waste processing, food quality assurance, and food engineering. The current understanding of progress, solution, and future challenges, as well as the commercialization of biosensors are summarized.

Balancing influence between actors in healthcare decision making.

PubMed

Kaplan, Robert M; Babad, Yair M

2011-04-19

Healthcare costs in most developed countries are not clearly linked to better patient and public health outcomes, but are rather associated with service delivery orientation. In the U.S. this has resulted in large variation in healthcare availability and use, increased cost, reduced employer participation in health insurance programs, and reduced overall population health outcomes. Recent U.S. healthcare reform legislation addresses only some of these issues. Other countries face similar healthcare issues. A major goal of healthcare is to enhance patient health outcomes. This objective is not realized in many countries because incentives and structures are currently not aligned for maximizing population health. The misalignment occurs because of the competing interests between "actors" in healthcare. In a simplified model these are individuals motivated to enhance their own health; enterprises (including a mix of nonprofit, for profit and government providers, payers, and suppliers, etc.) motivated by profit, political, organizational and other forces; and government which often acts in the conflicting roles of a healthcare payer and provider in addition to its role as the representative and protector of the people. An imbalance exists between the actors, due to the resources and information control of the enterprise and government actors relative to the individual and the public. Failure to use effective preventive interventions is perhaps the best example of the misalignment of incentives. We consider the current Pareto efficient balance between the actors in relation to the Pareto frontier, and show that a significant change in the healthcare market requires major changes in the utilities of the enterprise and government actors. A variety of actions are necessary for maximizing population health within the constraints of available resources and the current balance between the actors. These actions include improved transparency of all aspects of medical decision making, greater involvement of patients in shared medical decision making, greater oversight of guideline development and coverage decisions, limitations on direct to consumer advertising, and the need for an enhanced role of the government as the public advocate.

Analysis of aeromedical retrieval coverage using elliptical isochrones: An evaluation of helicopter fleet size configurations in Scotland.

PubMed

Dodds, Naomi; Emerson, Philip; Phillips, Stephanie; Green, David R; Jansen, Jan O

2017-03-01

Trauma systems in remote and rural regions often rely on helicopter emergency medical services to facilitate access to definitive care. The siting of such resources is key, but often relies on simplistic modeling of coverage, using circular isochrones. Scotland is in the process of implementing a national trauma network, and there have been calls for an expansion of aeromedical retrieval capacity. The aim of this study was to analyze population and area coverage of the current retrieval service configuration, with three aircraft, and a configuration with an additional helicopter, in the North East of Scotland, using a novel methodology. Both overall coverage and coverage by physician-staffed aircraft, with enhanced clinical capability, were analyzed. This was a geographical analysis based on calculation of elliptical isochrones, which consider the "open-jaw" configuration of many retrieval flights. Helicopters are not always based at hospitals. We modeled coverage based on different outbound and inbound flights. Areally referenced population data were obtained from the Scottish Government. The current helicopter network configuration provides 94.2% population coverage and 59.0% area coverage. The addition of a fourth helicopter would marginally increase population coverage to 94.4% and area coverage to 59.1%. However, when considering only physician-manned aircraft, the current configuration provides only 71.7% population coverage and 29.4% area coverage, which would be increased to 91.1% and 51.2%, respectively, with a second aircraft. Scotland's current helicopter network configuration provides good population coverage for retrievals to major trauma centers, which would only be increased minimally by the addition of a fourth aircraft in the North East. The coverage provided by the single physician-staffed aircraft is more limited, however, and would be increased considerably by a second physician-staffed aircraft in the North East. Elliptical isochrones provide a useful means of modeling "open-jaw" retrieval missions and provide a more realistic estimate of coverage. Epidemiological study, level IV; therapeutic study, level IV.

Multi-model assessment of water scarcity under climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schewe, J.; Heinke, J.; Gerten, D.; Haddeland, I.; Arnell, N. W.; Clark, D. B.; Dankers, R.; Eisner, S.; Fekete, B. M.; Colon-Gonzalez, F. J.; Gosling, S. N.; KIM, H.; Liu, X.; Masaki, Y.; Portmann, F. T.; Satoh, Y.; Stacke, T.; Tang, Q.; Wada, Y.; Wisser, D.; albrecht, T.; Frieler, K.; Piontek, F.; Warszawski, L.; Kabat, P.

2013-12-01

Water scarcity severely impairs food security and economic prosperity in many countries today. Expected future population changes will, in many countries as well as globally, increase the pressure on available water resources. On the supply side, renewable water resources will be affected by projected changes in precipitation patterns, temperature, and other climate variables. In the framework of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISI-MIP) we use a large ensemble of global hydrological models (GHMs) forced by five global climate models (GCMs) and the latest greenhouse--gas concentration scenarios (RCPs) to synthesize the current knowledge about climate change impacts on water resources. We show that climate change is likely to exacerbate regional and global water scarcity considerably. In particular, the ensemble average projects that up to a global warming of 2°C above present (approx. 2.7°C above pre--industrial), each additional degree of warming will confront an additional approx. 7% of the global population with a severe decrease in water resources; and that climate change will increase the number of people living under absolute water scarcity (<500m3/capita/year) by another 40% (according to some models, more than 100%) compared to the effect of population growth alone. For some indicators of moderate impacts, the steepest increase is seen between present--day and 2°C, while indicators of very severe impacts increase unabated beyond 2°C. At the same time, the study highlights large uncertainties associated with these estimates, with both GCMs and GHMs contributing to the spread. GHM uncertainty is particularly dominant in many regions affected by declining water resources, suggesting a high potential for improved water resource projections through hydrological model development. Relative change in annual discharge at 2°C compared to present-day, under RCP8.5, from an ensemble of 11 global hydrological models (GHMs) driven by five global climate models (GCMs). Color hues show the multi-model mean change, and saturation shows the agreement on the sign of change across all GHM-GCM combinations (percentage of model runs agreeing on the sign).

Response of Yellowstone grizzly bears to changes in food resources: A synthesis. Final report to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee and Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee

USGS Publications Warehouse

,; van Manen, Frank T.; Costello, Cecily M.; Haroldson, Mark A.; Bjornlie, Daniel D.; Ebinger, Michael R.; Gunther, Kerry A.; Mahalovich, Mary Frances; Thompson, Daniel J.; Higgs, Megan D.; Irvine, Kathryn M.; Legg, Kristin; Tyers, Daniel B.; Landenburger, Lisa; Cain, Steven L.; Frey, Kevin L.; Aber, Bryan C.; Schwartz, Charles C.

2013-01-01

The Yellowstone grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) was listed as a threatened species in 1975 (Federal Register 40 FR:31734-31736). Since listing, recovery efforts have focused on increasing population size, improving habitat security, managing bear mortalities, and reducing bear-human conflicts. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC; partnership of federal and state agencies responsible for grizzly bear recovery in the lower 48 states) and its Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommitte (YES; federal, state, county, and tribal partners charged with recovery of grizzly bears in the Greater Yelowston Ecosystem [GYE]) tasked the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team to provide information and further research relevant to three concerns arising from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals November 2011 decision: 1) the ability of grizzly bears as omnivores to find alternative foods to whitebark pine seeds; 2) literature to support their conclusions; and 3) the non-intuitive biological reality that impacts can occur to individuals without causing the overall population to decline. Specifically, the IGBC and YES requested a comprehensive synthesis of the current state of knowledge regarding whitebark pinbe decline and individual and population-level responses of grizzly bears to changing food resources in the GYE. This research was particularly relevant to grizzly bear conservation given changes in the population trajectory observed during the last decade.

Current and projected water demand and water availability estimates under climate change scenarios in the Weyib River basin in Bale mountainous area of Southeastern Ethiopia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serur, Abdulkerim Bedewi; Sarma, Arup Kumar

2017-07-01

This study intended to estimate the spatial and temporal variation of current and projected water demand and water availability under climate change scenarios in Weyib River basin, Bale mountainous area of Southeastern Ethiopia. Future downscaled climate variables from three Earth System Models under the three RCP emission scenarios were inputted into ArcSWAT hydrological model to simulate different components of water resources of a basin whereas current and projected human and livestock population of the basin is considered to estimate the total annual water demand for various purposes. Results revealed that the current total annual water demand of the basin is found to be about 289 Mm3, and this has to increase by 83.47% after 15 years, 200.67% after 45 years, and 328.78% after 75 years by the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s, respectively, from base period water demand mainly due to very rapid increasing population (40.81, 130.80, and 229.12% by the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s, respectively) and climatic variability. The future average annual total water availability in the basin is observed to be increased by ranging from 15.04 to 21.61, 20.08 to 23.34, and 16.21 to 39.53% by the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s time slice, respectively, from base period available water resources (2333.39 Mm3). The current water availability per capita per year of the basin is about 3112.23 m3 and tends to decline ranging from 11.78 to 17.49, 46.02 to 47.45, and 57.18 to 64.34% by the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s, respectively, from base period per capita per year water availability. This indicated that there might be possibility to fall the basin under water stress condition in the long term.

High burden and unmet patient needs in chronic kidney disease

PubMed Central

Braun, LeeAnn; Sood, Vipan; Hogue, Susan; Lieberman, Bonnie; Copley-Merriman, Catherine

2012-01-01

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a complex debilitating condition affecting more than 70 million people worldwide. With the increased prevalence in risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease in an aging population, CKD prevalence is also expected to increase. Increased awareness and understanding of the overall CKD burden by health care teams (patients, clinicians, and payers) is warranted so that overall care and treatment management may improve. This review of the burden of CKD summarizes available evidence of the clinical, humanistic, and economic burden of CKD and the current unmet need for new treatments and serves as a resource on the overall burden. Across countries, CKD prevalence varies considerably and is dependent upon patient characteristics. The prevalence of risk factors including diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and congestive heart failure is noticeably higher in patients with lower estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) and results in highly complex CKD patient populations. As CKD severity worsens, there is a subsequent decline in patient health-related quality of life and an increased use of health care resources as well as burgeoning costs. With current treatment, nearly half of patients progress to unfavorable renal and cardiovascular outcomes. Although curative treatment that will arrest kidney deterioration is desired, innovative agents under investigation for CKD to slow kidney deterioration, such as atrasentan, bardoxolone methyl, and spherical carbon adsorbent, may offer patients healthier and more productive lives. PMID:23293534

Public health systems under attack in Canada: Evidence on public health system performance challenges arbitrary reform.

PubMed

Guyon, Ak'ingabe; Perreault, Robert

2016-10-20

Public health is currently being weakened in several Canadian jurisdictions. Unprecedented and arbitrary cuts to the public health budget in Quebec in 2015 were a striking example of this. In order to support public health leaders and citizens in their capacity to advocate for evidence-informed public health reforms, we propose a knowledge synthesis of elements of public health systems that are significantly associated with improved performance. Research consistently and significantly associates four elements of public health systems with improved productivity: 1) increased financial resources, 2) increased staffing per capita, 3) population size between 50,000 and 500,000, and 4) specific evidence-based organizational and administrative features. Furthermore, increased financial resources and increased staffing per capita are significantly associated with improved population health outcomes. We contend that any effort at optimization of public health systems should at least be guided by these four evidence-informed factors. Canada already has existing capacity in carrying out public health systems and services research. Further advancement of our academic and professional expertise on public health systems will allow Canadian public health jurisdictions to be inspired by the best public health models and become stronger advocates for public health's resources, interventions and outcomes when they need to be celebrated or defended.

Assessing Suicide Attempts and Depression Among Chinese Speakers Over the Internet

PubMed Central

Liu, Nancy H.; Contreras, Omar; Muñoz, Ricardo F.; Leykin, Yan

2015-01-01

Background In populations where mental health resources are scarce or unavailable, or where stigma prevents help-seeking, the Internet may be a way to identify and reach at-risk persons using self-report validated screening tools as well as to characterize individuals seeking health information online. Aims We examined the feasibility of delivering an Internet-based Chinese-language depression and suicide screener and described its users. Method An Internet-based depression and suicide screener was created and advertised primarily through Google AdWords. Participants completed a suicide and depression screening measure and received individualized feedback, which, if necessary, included the suggestion to seek additional mental health resources. Results In 7 months, 11,631 individuals visited the site; 4,709 provided valid information. Nearly half reported a current major depressive episode (MDE) and 18.3% a recent suicide attempt; however, over 75% reported never having sought help, including 77.7% of those with MDEs and 75.9% of those reporting a suicide attempt. As participants found the site by searching for depression information online, results may not generalize to the entire Chinese-speaking population. Conclusion Online screening can feasibly identify and reach many at-risk Chinese-speaking persons. It may provide resources to those with limited access to services or to those reluctant to seek such services. PMID:25115490

The average cost of pressure ulcer management in a community dwelling spinal cord injury population.

PubMed

Chan, Brian C; Nanwa, Natasha; Mittmann, Nicole; Bryant, Dianne; Coyte, Peter C; Houghton, Pamela E

2013-08-01

Pressure ulcers (PUs) are a common secondary complication experienced by community dwelling individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). There is a paucity of literature on the health economic impact of PU in SCI population from a societal perspective. The objective of this study was to determine the resource use and costs in 2010 Canadian dollars of a community dwelling SCI individual experiencing a PU from a societal perspective. A non-comparative cost analysis was conducted on a cohort of community dwelling SCI individuals from Ontario, Canada. Medical resource use was recorded over the study period. Unit costs associated with these resources were collected from publicly available sources and published literature. Average monthly cost was calculated based on 7-month follow-up. Costs were stratified by age, PU history, severity level, location of SCI, duration of current PU and PU surface area. Sensitivity analyses were also carried out. Among the 12 study participants, total average monthly cost per community dwelling SCI individual with a PU was $4745. Hospital admission costs represented the greatest percentage of the total cost (62%). Sensitivity analysis showed that the total average monthly costs were most sensitive to variations in hospitalisation costs. © 2012 The Authors. International Wound Journal © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Medicalhelplines.com Inc.

Population Dynamics of an Insect Herbivore over 32 Years are Driven by Precipitation and Host-Plant Effects: Testing Model Predictions.

PubMed

Price, Peter W; Hunter, Mark D

2015-06-01

The interaction between the arroyo willow, Salix lasiolepis Bentham, and its specialist herbivore, the arroyo willow stem-galling sawfly, Euura lasiolepis Smith (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), was studied for 32 yr in Flagstaff, AZ, emphasizing a mechanistic understanding of insect population dynamics. Long-term weather records were evaluated to provide a climatic context for this study. Previously, predictive models of sawfly dynamics were developed from estimates of sawfly gall density made between 1981 and 2002; one model each for drier and wetter sites. Predictor variables in these models included winter precipitation and the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which impact the willow growth, with strong bottom-up effects on sawflies. We now evaluate original model predictions of sawfly population dynamics using new data (from 2003-2012). Additionally, willow resources were evaluated in 1986 and in 2012, using as criteria clone area, shoot density, and shoot length. The dry site model accounted for 40% of gall population density variation between 2003 and 2012 (69% over the 32 yr), providing strong support for the bottom-up, mechanistic hypothesis that water supply to willow hosts impacts sawfly populations. The current drying trend stressed willow clones: in drier sites, willow resources declined and gall density decreased by 98%. The wet site model accounted for 23% of variation in gall population density between 2003 and 2012 (48% over 30 yr), consistent with less water limitation. Nonetheless, gall populations were reduced by 72%. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Petroleum Scarcity and Public Health: Considerations for Local Health Departments

PubMed Central

Parker, Cindy L.; Caine, Virginia A.; McKee, Mary; Shirley, Lillian M.; Links, Jonathan M.

2011-01-01

Recognition of petroleum as a finite global resource has spurred increasing interest in the intersection between petroleum scarcity and public health. Local health departments represent a critical yet highly vulnerable component of the public health infrastructure. These frontline agencies currently face daunting resource constraints and rely heavily on petroleum for vital population-based health services. Against this backdrop, petroleum scarcity may necessitate reconfiguring local public health service approaches. We describe the anticipated impacts of petroleum scarcity on local health departments, recommend the use of the 10 Essential Public Health Services as a framework for examining attendant operational challenges and potential responses to them, and describe approaches that local health departments and their stakeholders could consider as part of timely planning efforts. PMID:21778471

[Research on ecological population capacity based on food and water in Shandong province].

PubMed

Lin, C

1991-02-01

The population carrying capacity in Shandong Province, China, based on current food production and water supply is discusses. In 1988, the staple food production exceeded the amount needed for the minimum subsistence level of 300 kg/person. But if the food supply were to be kept at 500 kilos/person, the amount considered to be abundant, the province had a surplus population of 16.11 million. Based on a population projection of medium scenario, the projected level of food production would meet the needs for adequate food consumption. But if the level of abundant supply were to be kept, there would be 12.4 million surplus population. The shortage of water supply is a more acute problem. On the basis of the current water consumption of 514 cubic m/person, the water supply of the province could only meet the needs of 44.9 million. But the population in the province was already 80.6 million in 1988. If the water consumption was 1000 cubic m/person, which was the consumption level of the Soviet Union, the supply can only meet the needs of 23 million population. Even if the potential water resources were fully developed, the supply can only meet the needs of 65.4 million people at the end of the century. The 92.5 million projected population at the time would far exceed the water supply capacity. The severe shortage of water supply of the province would be the most serious ecological problem. Such constraint may also have considerable impact on the sustained socioeconomic development of the province.

How to meet the increasing demands of water, food and energy in the future?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Haiyun; Chen, Ji; Sivakumar, Bellie; Peart, Mervyn

2017-04-01

Regarded as a driving force in water, food and energy demands, the world's population has been increasing rapidly since the beginning of the 20th century. According to the medium-growth projection scenario of the United Nations, the world's population will reach 9.5 billion by 2050. In response to the continuously growing population during this century, water, food and energy demands have also been increasing rapidly, and social problems (e.g., water, food, and energy shortages) will be most likely to occur, especially if no proper management strategies are adopted. Then, how to meet the increasing demands of water, food and energy in the future? This study focuses on the sustainable developments of population, water, food, energy and dams, and the significances of this study can be concluded as follows: First, we reveal the close association between dams and social development through analysing the related data for the period 1960-2010, and argue that construction of additional large dams will have to be considered as one of the best available options to meet the increasing water, food and energy demands in the future. We conduct the projections of global water, food and energy consumptions and dam development for the period 2010-2050, and the results show that, compared to 2010, the total water, food and energy consumptions in 2050 will increase by 20%, 34% and 37%, respectively. Moreover, it is projected that additional 4,340 dams will be constructed by 2050 all over the world. Second, we analyse the current situation of global water scarcity based on the related data representing water resources availability (per capita available water resources), dam development (the number of dams), and the level of economic development (per capita gross domestic product). At the global scale, water scarcity exists in more than 70% of the countries around the world, including 43 countries suffering from economic water scarcity and 129 countries suffering from physical water scarcity. At the continental scale, most countries of Africa, the south and west Asia, and the central Europe are suffering from water scarcity. Third, with comprehensive consideration of population growth as the major driving force, water resources availability as the basic supporting factor, and topography as the important constraint, we address the question of future dam development and predict the locations of future large dams around the world. The results show that there will be 1,433 large dams built in the future, mainly in the Tibet Plateau and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in Asia, the East African Plateau and the western part of Africa, the Andes Mountains and the Brazilian Plateau region in South America, the Rocky Mountains in North America, the Alps in Europe, and the Murray-Darling Basin in Oceania. Taking into account of the current situation of global water scarcity, these large dams are most likely to be constructed in countries that have abundant total available water resources or per capita available water resources, no matter whether they are experiencing "economic water scarcity" or have sufficient financial support.

What can we learn from resource pulses?

PubMed

Yang, Louie H; Bastow, Justin L; Spence, Kenneth O; Wright, Amber N

2008-03-01

An increasing number of studies in a wide range of natural systems have investigated how pulses of resource availability influence ecological processes at individual, population, and community levels. Taken together, these studies suggest that some common processes may underlie pulsed resource dynamics in a wide diversity of systems. Developing a common framework of terms and concepts for the study of resource pulses may facilitate greater synthesis among these apparently disparate systems. Here, we propose a general definition of the resource pulse concept, outline some common patterns in the causes and consequences of resource pulses, and suggest a few key questions for future investigations. We define resource pulses as episodes of increased resource availability in space and time that combine low frequency (rarity), large magnitude (intensity), and short duration (brevity), and emphasize the importance of considering resource pulses at spatial and temporal scales relevant to specific resource-onsumer interactions. Although resource pulses are uncommon events for consumers in specific systems, our review of the existing literature suggests that pulsed resource dynamics are actually widespread phenomena in nature. Resource pulses often result from climatic and environmental factors, processes of spatiotemporal accumulation and release, outbreak population dynamics, or a combination of these factors. These events can affect life history traits and behavior at the level of individual consumers, numerical responses at the population level, and indirect effects at the community level. Consumers show strategies for utilizing ephemeral resources opportunistically, reducing resource variability by averaging over larger spatial scales, and tolerating extended interpulse periods of reduced resource availability. Resource pulses can also create persistent effects in communities through several mechanisms. We suggest that the study of resource pulses provides opportunities to understand the dynamics of many specific systems, and may also contribute to broader ecological questions at individual, population, and community levels.

Defining Health in the Era of Value-based Care: Lessons from England of Relevance to Other Health Systems.

PubMed

Gentry, Sarah; Badrinath, Padmanabhan

2017-03-06

The demand for healthcare is rising due to aging populations, rising chronic disease prevalence, and technological innovations. There are currently more effective and cost-effective interventions available than can be afforded within limited budgets. A new way of thinking about the optimal use of resources is needed. Ensuring that available resources are used for interventions that provide outcomes that patient's most value, rather than a focus just on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, may help to ensure that resources are used optimally. Value-based healthcare puts what patients value at the center of healthcare. It helps ensure that they receive the care that can provide them with outcomes they think are important and that limited resources are focused on high-value interventions. In order to do this, we need flexible definitions of 'health', personalized and tailored to patient values. We review the current status of value-based health care in England and identify lessons applicable to a variety of health systems. For this, we draw upon the work of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the National Health Service (NHS), Right Care Initiative, and our local experience in promoting value-based health care for specific conditions in our region. Combining the best available evidence with open and honest dialogue between patients, clinicians, and others, whilst requiring considerable time and resources are essential to building a consensus around the value that allows the best use of limited budgets. Values have been present in healthcare since its beginnings. Placing value and values at the center of healthcare could help to ensure available resources are used to provide the greatest possible benefit to patients.

Non-local competition drives both rapid divergence and prolonged stasis in a model of speciation in populations with degenerate resource consumption

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

The theory of speciation is dominated by adaptationist thinking, with less attention to mechanisms that do not affect species adaptation. Degeneracy – the imperfect specificity of interactions between diverse elements of biological systems and their environments – is key to the adaptability of populations. A mathematical model was explored in which population and resource were distributed one-dimensionally according to trait value. Resource consumption was degenerate – neither strictly location-specific nor location-independent. As a result, the competition for resources among the elements of the population was non-local. Two modeling approaches, a modified differential-integral Verhulstian equation and a cellular automata model, showed similar results: narrower degeneracy led to divergent dynamics with suppression of intermediate forms, whereas broader degeneracy led to suppression of diversifying forms, resulting in population stasis with increasing phenotypic homogeneity. Such behaviors did not increase overall adaptation because they continued after the model populations achieved maximal resource consumption rates, suggesting that degeneracy-driven distributed competition for resources rather than selective pressure toward more efficient resource exploitation was the driving force. The solutions were stable in the presence of limited environmental stochastic variability or heritable phenotypic variability. A conclusion was made that both dynamic diversification and static homogeneity of populations may be outcomes of the same process – distributed competition for resource not affecting the overall adaptation – with the difference between them defined by the spread of trait degeneracy in a given environment. Thus, biological degeneracy is a driving force of both speciation and stasis in biology, which, by themselves, are not necessarily adaptive in nature. PMID:23268831

FORT Molecular Ecology Laboratory

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Stevens, P.D.

2011-01-01

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the Fort Collins Science Center Molecular Ecology Laboratory is to use the tools and concepts of molecular genetics to address a variety of complex management questions and conservation issues facing the management of the Nation's fish and wildlife resources. Together with our partners, we design and implement studies to document genetic diversity and the distribution of genetic variation among individuals, populations, and species. Information from these studies is used to support wildlife-management planning and conservation actions. Current and past studies have provided information to assess taxonomic boundaries, inform listing decisions made under the Endangered Species Act, identify unique or genetically depauperate populations, estimate population size or survival rates, develop management or recovery plans, breed wildlife in captivity, relocate wildlife from one location to another, and assess the effects of environmental change.

Spatial-temporal variability in groundwater abstraction across Uganda: Implications to sustainable water resources management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nanteza, J.; Thomas, B. F.; Mukwaya, P. I.

2017-12-01

The general lack of knowledge about the current rates of water abstraction/use is a challenge to sustainable water resources management in many countries, including Uganda. Estimates of water abstraction/use rates over Uganda, currently available from the FAO are not disaggregated according to source, making it difficult to understand how much is taken out of individual water stores, limiting effective management. Modelling efforts have disaggregated water use rates according to source (i.e. groundwater and surface water). However, over Sub-Saharan Africa countries, these model use estimates are highly uncertain given the scale limitations in applying water use (i.e. point versus regional), thus influencing model calibration/validation. In this study, we utilize data from the water supply atlas project over Uganda to estimate current rates of groundwater abstraction across the country based on location, well type and other relevant information. GIS techniques are employed to demarcate areas served by each water source. These areas are combined with past population distributions and average daily water needed per person to estimate water abstraction/use through time. The results indicate an increase in groundwater use, and isolate regions prone to groundwater depletion where improved management is required to sustainably management groundwater use.

Interactive effects of reactive nitrogen and climate change on US water resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baron, J.; Bernhardt, E. S.; Finlay, J. C.; Chan, F.; Nolan, B. T.; Howarth, B.; Hall, E.; Boyer, E. W.

2011-12-01

Water resources and aquatic ecosystems are increasingly strained by withdrawals for agriculture and drinking water supply, nitrogen and other pollutant inputs, and climate change. We describe current and projected effects of the interactions of reactive nitrogen (N) and climate change on water resources of the United States. As perturbations to the N cycle intensify in a warmer less predictable climate, interactions will negatively affect the services we expect of our water resources. There are also feedbacks to the climate system itself through the production of greenhouse gases. We conclude: 1. Nitrogen concentrations will increase in the nation's waters from increased N loading and higher N mineralization rates. N export from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems exhibits a high sensitivity to climate variations. 2. Consequences range from eutrophication and acidification, which reduce natural biodiversity and harm economically valuable fisheries, to adverse impacts on human health. 3. Extreme flood events have the potential to transport N rapidly long distances downstream from its source. 4. A recent national assessment found 67% of streams derived more than 37% of their total nitrate load from base flow often derived from groundwater. Long residence times for groundwater nitrate below agricultural fields may cause benefits from proper N management practices to take decades to be realized under current and future climates. 5. Streams, wetlands, rivers, lakes, estuaries and continental shelves are hotspots for denitrification. Maintenance of N removal capacity thus a critical component of eutrophication management under changing climate and land use conditions. 6. The amount of N inputs from fertilizer and manure use, human population, and deposition is tightly coupled with hydrology to influence the rates and proportion of N emitted to the atmosphere as N2O. About 20% of global N2O emissions come from groundwater, lakes, rivers, and estuaries; stream and wetland emissions add to this value. 7. If current patterns of N and water resource management continue, nitrogen loading to inland waters is expected to increase while the nitrogen retention efficiency within aquatic ecosystems will decline as a function of nitrogen saturation of biological demand. 8. Management that reduces N loss to the nation's water will reduce environmental and economic damage, reduce the risk to human health, and prevent the production of some N2O. Preventing the loss of N to aquatic systems is likely to be most effective at its point of origin. Reducing reactive nitrogen emissions to the atmosphere, increasing N uptake efficiency of crops and greater N retention in soils, better animal management, and improved sewage treatment to remove N from urban waste waters will be increasingly important approaches for the provision of water resources and services in a warmer and highly populated world.

IMF / World Bank boards of governors discuss population, migration.

PubMed

1994-05-01

A brief presentation was given of the statements Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the UN Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and Secretary General of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), made before a meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank on resource flows to developing countries, population, international trade, and migration. The meeting was attended by finance ministers from 24 countries. The IMF Managing Director gave an overview at the meeting of the world economic situation and the need for international assistance for effective population and family planning programs. Dr. Sadik emphasized this need as a requirement for implementation of the 20-year ICPD Programme of Action. The increased investment was considered beneficial because it would increase life expectancy, lower demand for health and education services, reduce pressure in the job market, reduce economic hardship, and increase social stability. The growth of prosperity was considered by Dr. Sadik to be tied to increased demand for housing, energy, and utilities. A slower and more balanced population growth would allow for government services to meet demands and for the world to adjust to increasing numbers of people. Several ministers supported the call for increased funding of population programs and poverty reduction programs. A special communique by ministers recognized that the connections between economic growth, population, poverty reduction, health, investment in human resources, and environmental degradation must be integrated into population policy. Ministers urged the ICPD to emphasize improvements in primary school enrollment in low income countries, in access to family planning and health services, and in maternal and child mortality rates. Ministers wanted to see increases in the proportion of aid directed to population programs above the current 1.25%. Requests were made for more research into the social, political, and economic impact of international migration among both host and origin countries.

Wolf population dynamics in the U.S. Northern Rocky Mountains are affected by recruitment and human-caused mortality

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gude, J.A.; Mitchell, M.S.; Russell, R.E.; Sime, C.A.; Bangs, E.E.; Mech, L.D.; Ream, R.R.

2012-01-01

Reliable analyses can help wildlife managers make good decisions, which are particularly critical for controversial decisions such as wolf (Canis lupus) harvest. Creel and Rotella (2010) recently predicted substantial population declines in Montana wolf populations due to harvest, in contrast to predictions made by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP). We replicated their analyses considering only those years in which field monitoring was consistent, and we considered the effect of annual variation in recruitment on wolf population growth. Rather than assuming constant rates, we used model selection methods to evaluate and incorporate models of factors driving recruitment and human-caused mortality rates in wolf populations in the Northern Rocky Mountains. Using data from 27 area-years of intensive wolf monitoring, we show that variation in both recruitment and human-caused mortality affect annual wolf population growth rates and that human-caused mortality rates have increased with the sizes of wolf populations. We document that recruitment rates have decreased over time, and we speculate that rates have decreased with increasing population sizes and/or that the ability of current field resources to document recruitment rates has recently become less successful as the number of wolves in the region has increased. Estimates of positive wolf population growth in Montana from our top models are consistent with field observations and estimates previously made by MFWP for 2008-2010, whereas the predictions for declining wolf populations of Creel and Rotella (2010) are not. Familiarity with limitations of raw data, obtained first-hand or through consultation with scientists who collected the data, helps generate more reliable inferences and conclusions in analyses of publicly available datasets. Additionally, development of efficient monitoring methods for wolves is a pressing need, so that analyses such as ours will be possible in future years when fewer resources will be available for monitoring. ?? 2011 The Wildlife Society. Copyright ?? The Wildlife Society, 2011.

Population Education: Lessons for a Changing World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wasserman, Pamela

1996-01-01

Considers the global effects of a rapidly growing population combined with dwindling natural resources and how these issues might be addressed in the classroom. Includes a population education lesson plan, guiding principles, list of resources, and suggested activities. (MJP)

Evolution of specialization under non-equilibrium population dynamics.

PubMed

Nurmi, Tuomas; Parvinen, Kalle

2013-03-21

We analyze the evolution of specialization in resource utilization in a mechanistically underpinned discrete-time model using the adaptive dynamics approach. We assume two nutritionally equivalent resources that in the absence of consumers grow sigmoidally towards a resource-specific carrying capacity. The consumers use resources according to the law of mass-action with rates involving trade-off. The resulting discrete-time model for the consumer population has over-compensatory dynamics. We illuminate the way non-equilibrium population dynamics affect the evolutionary dynamics of the resource consumption rates, and show that evolution to the trimorphic coexistence of a generalist and two specialists is possible due to asynchronous non-equilibrium population dynamics of the specialists. In addition, various forms of cyclic evolutionary dynamics are possible. Furthermore, evolutionary suicide may occur even without Allee effects and demographic stochasticity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health profiles, lifestyles and use of health resources by the immigrant population resident in Spain.

PubMed

Carrasco-Garrido, P; De Miguel, A Gil; Barrera, V Hernández; Jiménez-García, R

2007-10-01

Our study aimed at describing the health profiles, life styles and use of health resources by the immigrant population resident in Spain. Cross-sectional, epidemiological study from the Spanish National Health Survey (NHS) in 2003. We analysed 1506 subjects of both sexes, aged > or =16 years, resident in Spain. The immigrant population present diseases that are similar to those of the autochthonous population. The autochthonous population had significantly higher values for alcohol consumption and smoking (60.8 and 39.6%) than immigrants (39.6 and 27.5%). The percentage of immigrants hospitalized in the preceding 12 months was observed to be higher than that of the Spanish population (11.4 vs. 8.2%, P < 0.05). The immigrant population consumed fewer medical drugs than the Spanish population (42.6 and 49.9%, respectively). Immigrants in Spain display better lifestyle-related parameters, in that they consume less alcohol and smoke less than the autochthonous population. As for the use of health-care resources, while immigrants register higher percentages of hospitalization compared with the Spanish population, there is no evidence of excessive and inappropriate use of other health-care resources.

The Evolving Landscape of HIV Drug Resistance Diagnostics for Expanding Testing in Resource-Limited Settings.

PubMed

Inzaule, Seth C; Hamers, Ralph L; Paredes, Roger; Yang, Chunfu; Schuurman, Rob; Rinke de Wit, Tobias F

2017-01-01

Global scale-up of antiretroviral treatment has dramatically changed the prospects of HIV/AIDS disease, rendering life-long chronic care and treatment a reality for millions of HIV-infected patients. Affordable technologies to monitor antiretroviral treatment are needed to ensure long-term durability of limited available drug regimens. HIV drug resistance tests can complement existing strategies in optimizing clinical decision-making for patients with treatment failure, in addition to facilitating population-based surveillance of HIV drug resistance. This review assesses the current landscape of HIV drug resistance technologies and discusses the strengths and limitations of existing assays available for expanding testing in resource-limited settings. These include sequencing-based assays (Sanger sequencing assays and nextgeneration sequencing), point mutation assays, and genotype-free data-based prediction systems. Sanger assays are currently considered the gold standard genotyping technology, though only available at a limited number of resource-limited setting reference and regional laboratories, but high capital and test costs have limited their wide expansion. Point mutation assays present opportunities for simplified laboratory assays, but HIV genetic variability, extensive codon redundancy at or near the mutation target sites with limited multiplexing capability have restricted their utility. Next-generation sequencing, despite high costs, may have potential to reduce the testing cost significantly through multiplexing in high-throughput facilities, although the level of bioinformatics expertise required for data analysis is currently still complex and expensive and lacks standardization. Web-based genotype-free prediction systems may provide enhanced antiretroviral treatment decision-making without the need for laboratory testing, but require further clinical field evaluation and implementation scientific research in resource-limited settings.

Using dynamic population simulations to extend resource selection analyses and prioritize habitats for conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heinrichs, Julie; Aldridge, Cameron L.; O'Donnell, Michael; Schumaker, Nathan

2017-01-01

Prioritizing habitats for conservation is a challenging task, particularly for species with fluctuating populations and seasonally dynamic habitat needs. Although the use of resource selection models to identify and prioritize habitat for conservation is increasingly common, their ability to characterize important long-term habitats for dynamic populations are variable. To examine how habitats might be prioritized differently if resource selection was directly and dynamically linked with population fluctuations and movement limitations among seasonal habitats, we constructed a spatially explicit individual-based model for a dramatically fluctuating population requiring temporally varying resources. Using greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Wyoming as a case study, we used resource selection function maps to guide seasonal movement and habitat selection, but emergent population dynamics and simulated movement limitations modified long-term habitat occupancy. We compared priority habitats in RSF maps to long-term simulated habitat use. We examined the circumstances under which the explicit consideration of movement limitations, in combination with population fluctuations and trends, are likely to alter predictions of important habitats. In doing so, we assessed the future occupancy of protected areas under alternative population and habitat conditions. Habitat prioritizations based on resource selection models alone predicted high use in isolated parcels of habitat and in areas with low connectivity among seasonal habitats. In contrast, results based on more biologically-informed simulations emphasized central and connected areas near high-density populations, sometimes predicted to be low selection value. Dynamic models of habitat use can provide additional biological realism that can extend, and in some cases, contradict habitat use predictions generated from short-term or static resource selection analyses. The explicit inclusion of population dynamics and movement propensities via spatial simulation modeling frameworks may provide an informative means of predicting long-term habitat use, particularly for fluctuating populations with complex seasonal habitat needs. Importantly, our results indicate the possible need to consider habitat selection models as a starting point rather than the common end point for refining and prioritizing habitats for protection for cyclic and highly variable populations.

Population Consultation: A Powerful Means to Ensure that Health Strategies are Oriented Towards Universal Health Coverage.

PubMed

Rohrer, Katja; Rajan, Dheepa; Schmets, Gerard

2017-01-01

We seek to highlight why population consultations need to be promoted more strongly as a powerful means to move health reforms towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). However, despite this increasing recognition that the "population" is the key factor of successful health planning and high-quality service delivery, there has been very little systematic reflection and only limited (international) attention brought to the idea of specifically consulting the population to improve the quality and soundness of health policies and strategies and to strengthen the national health planning process and implementation. So far, research has done little to assess the significance of population consultations for the health sector and its importance for strategic planning and implementation processes; in addition, there has been insufficient evaluation of population consultations in the health sector or health-related areas. We drew on ongoing programmatic work of World Health Organization (WHO) offices worldwide, as most population consultations are not well-documented. In addition, we analyzed any existing documentation available on population consultations in health. We then elaborate on the potential benefits of bringing the population's voice into national health planning. We briefly mention the key methods used for population consultations, and we put forward recent country examples showing that population consultation is an effective way of assessing the population's needs and expectations, and should be more widely used in strategizing health. Giving the voice to the population is a means to strengthen accountability, to reinforce the commitment of policy makers, decision-makers and influencers (media, political parties, academics, etc.) to the health policy objectives of UHC, and, in the specific case of donor-dependent countries, to sensitize donors' engagement and alignment with national health strategies. The consequence of the current low international interest for population consultations probably has the most negative effect on resource-poor countries, as this analytical oversight comes with a high price. However, a population consultation has the potential to give more benefit and added value to contexts where resources are scarce and where planning processes pose a high extra burden, and should thus be promoted among international donor agencies.

Impact of glycemic control on healthcare resource utilization and costs of type 2 diabetes: current and future pharmacologic approaches to improving outcomes.

PubMed

Banerji, Mary Ann; Dunn, Jeffrey D

2013-09-01

The incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes continue to grow in the United States and worldwide, along with the growing prevalence of obesity. Patients with type 2 diabetes are at greater risk for comorbid cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD), which dramatically affects overall healthcare costs. To review the impact of glycemic control and medication adherence on morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs of patients with type 2 diabetes, and to highlight the need for new drug therapies to improve outcomes in this patient population. This comprehensive literature search was conducted for the period between 2000 and 2013, using MEDLINE, to identify published articles that report the associations between glycemic control, medication adherence, CV morbidity and mortality, and healthcare utilization and costs. Search terms included "type 2 diabetes," "adherence," "compliance," "nonadherence," "drug therapy," "resource use," "cost," and "cost-effectiveness." Despite improvements in the management of CV risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes, outcomes remain poor. The costs associated with the management of type 2 diabetes are increasing dramatically as the prevalence of the disease increases. Medication adherence to long-term drug therapy remains poor in patients with type 2 diabetes and contributes to poor glycemic control in this patient population, increased healthcare resource utilization and increased costs, as well as increased rates of comorbid CVD and mortality. Furthermore, poor adherence to established evidence-based guidelines for type 2 diabetes, including underdiagnosis and undertreatment, contributes to poor outcomes. New approaches to the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes currently in development have the potential to improve medication adherence and consequently glycemic control, which in turn will help to reduce associated costs and healthcare utilization. As the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and its associated comorbidities grows, healthcare costs will continue to increase, indicating a need for better approaches to achieve glycemic control and manage comorbid conditions. Drug therapies are needed that enhance patient adherence and persistence levels far above levels reported with currently available drugs. Improvements in adherence to treatment guidelines and greater rates of lifestyle modifications also are needed. A serious unmet need exists for greatly improved patient outcomes, more effective and more tolerable drugs, as well as marked improvements in adherence to treatment guidelines and drug therapy to positively impact healthcare costs and resource use.

Getting from here to there: health IT needs for population health.

PubMed

Vest, Joshua R; Harle, Christopher A; Schleyer, Titus; Dixon, Brian E; Grannis, Shaun J; Halverson, Paul K; Menachemi, Nir

2016-12-01

The United States' decade-long transition from a paper- to technology-based information infrastructure has always been recognized as an initial step-a laying of the foundation-for future changes to the delivery of care. An increasingly important focal area for improvement is population health. Numerous policies and programs now require healthcare organizations to manage the risks, outcomes, utilization, and health of entire groups of individuals. Nonetheless, current health information technology (IT) systems are not ready to support population health improvements effectively and efficiently. Existing health IT systems were designed for organizations that are structurally, operationally, and culturally focused on individual care delivery, rather than improving health for a population. Opportunities exist to align health IT resources and population health management strategies to fill the gaps among technological capabilities, use and the emerging demands of population health. To realize this alignment, healthcare leaders must think differently about the types of data their organizations need, the types of partners with whom they share information, and how they can leverage new information and partnerships for evidence-based action.

H3Africa: current perspectives

PubMed Central

Mulder, Nicola; Abimiku, Alash’le; Adebamowo, Sally N; de Vries, Jantina; Matimba, Alice; Olowoyo, Paul; Ramsay, Michele; Skelton, Michelle; Stein, Dan J

2018-01-01

Precision medicine is being enabled in high-income countries by the growing availability of health data, increasing knowledge of the genetic determinants of disease and variation in response to treatment (pharmacogenomics), and the decreasing costs of data generation, which promote routine application of genomic technologies in the health sector. However, there is uncertainty about the feasibility of applying precision medicine approaches in low- and middle-income countries, due to the lack of population-specific knowledge, skills, and resources. The Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) initiative was established to drive new research into the genetic and environmental basis for human diseases of relevance to Africans as well as to build capacity for genomic research on the continent. Precision medicine requires this capacity, in addition to reference data on local populations, and skills to analyze and interpret genomic data from the bedside. The H3Africa consortium is collectively processing samples and data for over 70,000 participants across the continent, accompanied in most cases by rich clinical information on a variety of non-communicable and infectious diseases. These projects are increasingly providing novel insights into the genetic basis of diseases in indigenous populations, insights that have the potential to drive the development of new diagnostics and treatments. The consortium has also invested significant resources into establishing high-quality biorepositories in Africa, a bioinformatic network, and a strong training program that has developed skills in genomic data analysis and interpretation among bioinformaticians, wet-lab researchers, and health-care professionals. Here, we describe the current perspectives of the H3Africa consortium and how it can contribute to making precision medicine in Africa a reality. PMID:29692621

Exploring local risk managers' use of flood hazard maps for risk communication purposes in Baden-Württemberg

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kjellgren, S.

2013-07-01

In response to the EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC), flood hazard maps are currently produced all over Europe, reflecting a wider shift in focus from "flood protection" to "risk management", for which not only public authorities but also populations at risk are seen as responsible. By providing a visual image of the foreseen consequences of flooding, flood hazard maps can enhance people's knowledge about flood risk, making them more capable of an adequate response. Current literature, however, questions the maps' awareness raising capacity, arguing that their content and design are rarely adjusted to laypeople's needs. This paper wants to complement this perspective with a focus on risk communication by studying how these tools are disseminated and marketed to the public in the first place. Judging from communication theory, simply making hazard maps publicly available is unlikely to lead to attitudinal or behavioral effects, since this typically requires two-way communication and material or symbolic incentives. Consequently, it is relevant to investigate whether and how local risk managers, who are well positioned to interact with the local population, make use of flood hazard maps for risk communication purposes. A qualitative case study of this issue in the German state of Baden-Württemberg suggests that many municipalities lack a clear strategy for using this new information tool for hazard and risk communication. Four barriers in this regard are identified: perceived disinterest/sufficient awareness on behalf of the population at risk; unwillingness to cause worry or distress; lack of skills and resources; and insufficient support. These barriers are important to address - in research as well as in practice - since it is only if flood hazard maps are used to enhance local knowledge resources that they can be expected to contribute to social capacity building.

AMSSM Position Statement on Cardiovascular Preparticipation Screening in Athletes: Current Evidence, Knowledge Gaps, Recommendations, and Future Directions.

PubMed

Drezner, Jonathan A; OʼConnor, Francis G; Harmon, Kimberly G; Fields, Karl B; Asplund, Chad A; Asif, Irfan M; Price, David E; Dimeff, Robert J; Bernhardt, David T; Roberts, William O

2016-09-01

Cardiovascular (CV) screening in young athletes is widely recommended and routinely performed before participation in competitive sports. While there is general agreement that early detection of cardiac conditions at risk for sudden cardiac arrest and death (SCA/D) is an important objective, the optimal strategy for CV screening in athletes remains an issue of considerable debate. At the center of the controversy is the addition of a resting electrocardiogram (ECG) to the standard preparticipation evaluation using history and physical examination. The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) formed a task force to address the current evidence and knowledge gaps regarding preparticipation CV screening in athletes from the perspective of a primary care sports medicine physician. The absence of definitive outcomes-based evidence at this time precludes AMSSM from endorsing any single or universal CV screening strategy for all athletes including legislative mandates. This statement presents a new paradigm to assist the individual physician in assessing the most appropriate CV screening strategy unique to their athlete population, community needs, and resources. The decision to implement a CV screening program, with or without the addition of ECG, necessitates careful consideration of the risk of SCA/D in the targeted population and the availability of cardiology resources and infrastructure. Importantly, it is the individual physician's assessment in the context of an emerging evidence base that the chosen model for early detection of cardiac disorders in the specific population provides greater benefit than harm. American Medical Society for Sports Medicine is committed to advancing evidenced-based research and educational initiatives that will validate and promote the most efficacious strategies to foster safe sport participation and reduce SCA/D in athletes.

AMSSM Position Statement on Cardiovascular Preparticipation Screening in Athletes: Current Evidence, Knowledge Gaps, Recommendations and Future Directions.

PubMed

Drezner, Jonathan A; O'Connor, Francis G; Harmon, Kimberly G; Fields, Karl B; Asplund, Chad A; Asif, Irfan M; Price, David E; Dimeff, Robert J; Bernhardt, David T; Roberts, William O

2016-01-01

Cardiovascular screening in young athletes is widely recommended and routinely performed prior to participation in competitive sports. While there is general agreement that early detection of cardiac conditions at risk for sudden cardiac arrest and death (SCA/D) is an important objective, the optimal strategy for cardiovascular screening in athletes remains an issue of considerable debate. At the center of the controversy is the addition of a resting electrocardiogram (ECG) to the standard preparticipation evaluation using history and physical examination. The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) formed a task force to address the current evidence and knowledge gaps regarding preparticipation cardiovascular screening in athletes from the perspective of a primary care sports medicine physician. The absence of definitive outcomes-based evidence at this time precludes AMSSM from endorsing any single or universal cardiovascular screening strategy for all athletes, including legislative mandates. This statement presents a new paradigm to assist the individual physician in assessing the most appropriate cardiovascular screening strategy unique to their athlete population, community needs, and resources. The decision to implement a cardiovascular screening program, with or without the addition of ECG, necessitates careful consideration of the risk of SCA/D in the targeted population and the availability of cardiology resources and infrastructure. Importantly, it is the individual physician's assessment in the context of an emerging evidence-base that the chosen model for early detection of cardiac disorders in the specific population provides greater benefit than harm. AMSSM is committed to advancing evidenced-based research and educational initiatives that will validate and promote the most efficacious strategies to foster safe sport participation and reduce SCA/D in athletes.

PrEP awareness and decision-making for Latino MSM in San Antonio, Texas

PubMed Central

García, Moctezuma; Harris, Allyssa L.

2017-01-01

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has been promoted among high-risk populations as an effective HIV biomedical intervention. However, limited research is available on the significance of culturally informed biomedical interventions for Latino MSM. A total of 159 self-administered Internet surveys were completed by Latino MSM ages 21–30 in San Antonio, Texas. The purpose of this research was to develop an instrument that measured Latino MSM attitudes and beliefs towards PrEP, identify associations between demographic factors and PrEP related factors and to suggest culturally appropriate strategies for the promotion of PrEP among the Latino MSM population. Research findings revealed implications for PrEP at the structural and individual level for Latino MSM. Structural level indicators emphasized the importance for raising PrEP awareness among Latino MSM in regards to PrEP related expenses, ameliorating stigmatization of high-risk populations, enhancing access to PrEP informed medical providers, and address mistrust of the government and medical providers role on addressing health disparities among Latino MSM. Overall, the findings for individual factors emphasize the need for patient-centered interventions for Latino MSM. Latino MSM currently on PrEP require supplemental resources to enhance PrEP adherence. Latino MSM not on PrEP require alternate options for PrEP delivery and/or cognitive behavioral approaches minimizing HIV risk behavior for Latino MSM concerned with PrEP toxicity, which may require non-biomedical interventions. Integration of Latino MSM currently on PrEP as peer educators provides a valuable resource for developing culturally informed PrEP interventions for Latino MSM. Peer educators are able to share their experiential knowledge of PrEP contextualized through cultural norms, beliefs, and values. PMID:28953905

Chronic rhinosinusitis, race, and ethnicity.

PubMed

Soler, Zachary M; Mace, Jess C; Litvack, Jamie R; Smith, Timothy L

2012-01-01

Little is known regarding the epidemiology of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. This study was designed to comprehensively evaluate the current prevalence of CRS across various treatment settings to identify possible disparities in health care access and use between racial and ethnic populations. The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) database registries were extracted to identify the national prevalence of CRS in race/ethnic populations and resource use in ambulatory care settings. Systematic literature review identified studies reporting treatment outcomes in minority patients electing endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). Data were supplemented using a multi-institutional cohort of patients undergoing surgical treatment. National survey data suggest CRS is a significant health condition for all major race/ethnic groups in the United States, accounting for a sizable portion of office, emergency, and outpatient visits. Differences in insurance status, work absenteeism, and resource use were found between race/ethnic groups. Despite its prevalence, few published studies include information regarding minority patients with CRS. Most (90%) cohort studies did not provide details of race/ethnicity for ESS outcomes. Prospective cohort analysis indicated that minority surgical patients accounted for only 18%, when compared with national census estimates (35%). CRS is an important health condition for all major race/ethnic groups in the United States. Significant differences may exist across racial and ethnic categories with regard to CRS health status and health care use. Given current demographic shifts in the United States, specific attention should be given to understanding CRS within the context of racial and ethnic populations. Public clinical trial registration (www.clinicaltrials.gov) I.D. No. NCT00799097.

NREL: Renewable Resource Data Center - Biomass Resource Data

Science.gov Websites

Resource Data The following biomass resource data collections can be found in the Renewable Resource Data Center (RReDC). Current Biomass Resource Supply An estimate of biomass resources currently available by county. Projected Biomass Resource Supply An estimate of biomass resources potentially

Has the world really survived the population bomb? (Commentary on "how the world survived the population bomb: lessons from 50 years of extraordinary demographic history").

PubMed

Becker, Stan

2013-12-01

In his PAA presidential address and corresponding article in Demography, David Lam (Demography 48:1231-1262, 2011) documented the extraordinary progress of humankind-vis-à-vis poverty alleviation, increased schooling, and reductions in mortality and fertility-since 1960 and noted that he expects further improvements by 2050. However, although Lam briefly covered the problems of global warming and pollution, he did not address several other major environmental problems that are closely related to the rapid human population growth in recent decades and to the progress he described. This commentary highlights some of these problems to provide a more balanced perspective on the situation of the world. Specifically, humans currently are using resources at an unsustainable level. Groundwater depletion and overuse of river water are major problems on multiple continents. Fossil fuel resources and several minerals are being depleted. Other major problems include deforestation, with the annual forest clearing globally estimated to be an area the size of New York State; and species extinction, with rates estimated to be 100 to 1,000 times higher than background rates. Principles of ecological economics are presented that allow an integration of ecology and economic development and better potential for preservation of the world for future generations.

Water-controlled wealth of nations.

PubMed

Suweis, Samir; Rinaldo, Andrea; Maritan, Amos; D'Odorico, Paolo

2013-03-12

Population growth is in general constrained by food production, which in turn depends on the access to water resources. At a country level, some populations use more water than they control because of their ability to import food and the virtual water required for its production. Here, we investigate the dependence of demographic growth on available water resources for exporting and importing nations. By quantifying the carrying capacity of nations on the basis of calculations of the virtual water available through the food trade network, we point to the existence of a global water unbalance. We suggest that current export rates will not be maintained and consequently we question the long-term sustainability of the food trade system as a whole. Water-rich regions are likely to soon reduce the amount of virtual water they export, thus leaving import-dependent regions without enough water to sustain their populations. We also investigate the potential impact of possible scenarios that might mitigate these effects through (i) cooperative interactions among nations whereby water-rich countries maintain a tiny fraction of their food production available for export, (ii) changes in consumption patterns, and (iii) a positive feedback between demographic growth and technological innovations. We find that these strategies may indeed reduce the vulnerability of water-controlled societies.

Impact of mycotoxins on human health in developing countries.

PubMed

Shephard, G S

2008-02-01

Adverse human health effects from the consumption of mycotoxins have occurred for many centuries. Although mycotoxin contamination of agricultural products still occurs in the developed world, the application of modern agricultural practices and the presence of a legislatively regulated food processing and marketing system have greatly reduced mycotoxin exposure in these populations. At the mycotoxin contamination levels generally found in food products traded in these market economies, adverse human health effects have largely been overcome. However, in the developing world, where climatic and crop storage conditions are frequently conducive to fungal growth and mycotoxin production, much of the population relies on subsistence farming or on unregulated local markets. The extent to which mycotoxins affect human health is difficult to investigate in countries whose health systems lack capacity and in which resources are limited. Aflatoxin B(1), the toxin on which major resources have been expended, has long been linked to liver cancer, yet its other effects, such as immune suppression and growth faltering previously observed in veterinary studies, are only now being investigated and characterized in human populations. The extent to which factors such as immune suppression contribute to the overall burden of infectious disease is difficult to quantify, but is undoubtedly significant. Thus, food safety remains an important opportunity for addressing current health problems in developing countries.

Construction of a High-Density American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) Composite Map Using Genotyping-by-Sequencing for Multi-pedigree Linkage Mapping

PubMed Central

Schlautman, Brandon; Covarrubias-Pazaran, Giovanny; Diaz-Garcia, Luis; Iorizzo, Massimo; Polashock, James; Grygleski, Edward; Vorsa, Nicholi; Zalapa, Juan

2017-01-01

The American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) is a recently domesticated, economically important, fruit crop with limited molecular resources. New genetic resources could accelerate genetic gain in cranberry through characterization of its genomic structure and by enabling molecular-assisted breeding strategies. To increase the availability of cranberry genomic resources, genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) was used to discover and genotype thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within three interrelated cranberry full-sib populations. Additional simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci were added to the SNP datasets and used to construct bin maps for the parents of the populations, which were then merged to create the first high-density cranberry composite map containing 6073 markers (5437 SNPs and 636 SSRs) on 12 linkage groups (LGs) spanning 1124 cM. Interestingly, higher rates of recombination were observed in maternal than paternal gametes. The large number of markers in common (mean of 57.3) and the high degree of observed collinearity (mean Pair-wise Spearman rank correlations >0.99) between the LGs of the parental maps demonstrates the utility of GBS in cranberry for identifying polymorphic SNP loci that are transferable between pedigrees and populations in future trait-association studies. Furthermore, the high-density of markers anchored within the component maps allowed identification of segregation distortion regions, placement of centromeres on each of the 12 LGs, and anchoring of genomic scaffolds. Collectively, the results represent an important contribution to the current understanding of cranberry genomic structure and to the availability of molecular tools for future genetic research and breeding efforts in cranberry. PMID:28250016

Urban wild boars prefer fragmented areas with food resources near natural corridors.

PubMed

Castillo-Contreras, Raquel; Carvalho, João; Serrano, Emmanuel; Mentaberre, Gregorio; Fernández-Aguilar, Xavier; Colom, Andreu; González-Crespo, Carlos; Lavín, Santiago; López-Olvera, Jorge R

2018-02-15

Wild boar populations are expanding throughout the world and intruding into periurban and urban areas. In the last years, wild boar has colonized several European cities, including our study area, the city of Barcelona. It is required to identify the main factors driving wild boar into urban areas prior to establish management measures. We built Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) using 3148 wild boar presences registered in the urban area of Barcelona from 2010 to 2014 to identify the variables correlated with these presences. The variables analysed included proxies for distance to source population, urban food resources, climate and urban habitat structure. Wild boars enter the urban area from close natural habitat using corridors such as streams, preferably in fragmented urban environment, looking for food such as urban green areas or dry pet food from cat colonies. Wild boar presence is higher in spring possibly due to the births of piglets and the dispersion of yearlings during that season, and also when natural resources in the Mediterranean habitat fail to satisfy the nutritional requirements of the wild boar population during the summer season. Management measures derived from this study are currently being applied in the city of Barcelona, including vegetation clearings in the wild boar entrance areas and an awareness campaign aimed at reducing the anthropogenic food availability for wild boars. The methodology used can be applied to other cities with wild boar or even other wildlife species issues. The comparison between the factors attracting wild boars into different urban areas would be helpful to understand the global phenomenon. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Next-generation healthcare: a strategic appraisal.

PubMed

Montague, Terrence

2009-01-01

Successful next-generation healthcare must deliver timely access and quality for an aging population, while simultaneously promoting disease prevention and managing costs. The key factors for sustained success are a culture with aligned goals and values; coordinated team care that especially engages with physicians and patients; practical information that is collected and communicated reliably; and education in the theory and methods of collaboration, measurement and leadership. Currently, optimal population health is challenged by a high prevalence of chronic disease, with large gaps between best and usual care, a scarcity of health human resources - particularly with the skills, attitudes and training for coordinated team care - and the absence of flexible, reliable clinical measurement systems. However, to make things better, institutional models and supporting technologies are available. In the short term, a first step is to enhance the awareness of the practical opportunities to improve, including the expansion of proven community-based disease management programs that communicate knowledge, competencies and clinical measurements among professional and patient partners, leading to reduced care gaps and improved clinical and economic outcomes. Longer-term success requires two additional steps. One is formal inter-professional training to provide, on an ongoing basis, the polyvalent human resource skills and foster the culture of working with others to improve the care of whole populations. The other is the adoption of reliable information systems, including electronic health records, to allow useful and timely measurement and effective communication of clinical information in real-world settings. A better health future can commence immediately, within existing resources, and be sustained with feasible innovations in provider and patient education and information systems. The future is now.

An analysis of health system resources in relation to pandemic response capacity in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

PubMed

Hanvoravongchai, Piya; Chavez, Irwin; Rudge, James W; Touch, Sok; Putthasri, Weerasak; Chau, Pham Ngoc; Phommasack, Bounlay; Singhasivanon, Pratap; Coker, Richard

2012-12-14

There is increasing perception that countries cannot work in isolation to militate against the threat of pandemic influenza. In the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) of Asia, high socio-economic diversity and fertile conditions for the emergence and spread of infectious diseases underscore the importance of transnational cooperation. Investigation of healthcare resource distribution and inequalities can help determine the need for, and inform decisions regarding, resource sharing and mobilisation. We collected data on healthcare resources deemed important for responding to pandemic influenza through surveys of hospitals and district health offices across four countries of the GMS (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Vietnam). Focusing on four key resource types (oseltamivir, hospital beds, ventilators, and health workers), we mapped and analysed resource distributions at province level to identify relative shortages, mismatches, and clustering of resources. We analysed inequalities in resource distribution using the Gini coefficient and Theil index. Three quarters of the Cambodian population and two thirds of the Laotian population live in relatively underserved provinces (those with resource densities in the lowest quintile across the region) in relation to health workers, ventilators, and hospital beds. More than a quarter of the Thai population is relatively underserved for health workers and oseltamivir. Approximately one fifth of the Vietnamese population is underserved for beds and ventilators. All Cambodian provinces are underserved for at least one resource. In Lao PDR, 11 percent of the population is underserved by all four resource items. Of the four resources, ventilators and oseltamivir were most unequally distributed. Cambodia generally showed higher levels of inequalities in resource distribution compared to other countries. Decomposition of the Theil index suggests that inequalities result principally from differences within, rather than between, countries. There is considerable heterogeneity in healthcare resource distribution within and across countries of the GMS. Most inequalities result from within countries. Given the inequalities, mismatches, and clustering of resources observed here, resource sharing and mobilization in a pandemic scenario could be crucial for more effective and equitable use of the resources that are available in the GMS.

Double-crested Cormorant Management Plan to Reduce Predation of Juvenile Salmonids in the Columbia River Estuary

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

Table ES-3): TABLE ES-3. Affected Environment. Affect ed Resource Summary Vegetation A mix of native a nd non-native plant species is fou nd on t...from British Columbia to California and east to the Continental Divide. Although the western population of double-crested cormorants composes a small ...no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control

[The structure of financial planning of public health in Ukraine during the transitional period].

PubMed

Koretskiy, V L

1995-01-01

Based on the newly developed concept of multilevel functional system of primary health care which is to replace the current multicomponent system, the author discusses the computer-aided realization of the system for estimation and analysis of the integral model of outpatient and inpatient medical care of the population of the Ukraine. This system is intended to solve the problems associated with intensification of the resources of the public health system of the Republic (district).

Mastery inspired activities to help at risk students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stelzer, Tim; Gladding, Gary; Gutmann, Brianne; Lundsgaard, Morten; Schroeder, Noah

2016-03-01

Introductory physics is a roadblock for many aspiring engineers at the University of Illinois. The overall attrition rate in our introductory mechanics and E&M courses is approximately 15%, however that rate doubles for some under-represented populations. We introduced a set of online activities designed to provide students both an accurate assessment of their current understanding, and the resources to improve their performance. This talk will describe the design of these activities, and their impact on student attitude and understanding.

Food system policy, public health, and human rights in the United States.

PubMed

Shannon, Kerry L; Kim, Brent F; McKenzie, Shawn E; Lawrence, Robert S

2015-03-18

The US food system functions within a complex nexus of social, political, economic, cultural, and ecological factors. Among them are many dynamic pressures such as population growth, urbanization, socioeconomic inequities, climate disruption, and the increasing demand for resource-intensive foods that place immense strains on public health and the environment. This review focuses on the role that policy plays in defining the food system, particularly with regard to agriculture. It further examines the challenges of making the food supply safe, nutritious, and sustainable, while respecting the rights of all people to have access to adequate food and to attain the highest standard of health. We conclude that the present US food system is largely unhealthy, inequitable, environmentally damaging, and insufficiently resilient to endure the impacts of climate change, resource depletion, and population increases, and is therefore unsustainable. Thus, it is imperative that the US embraces policy reforms to transform the food system into one that supports public health and reflects the principles of human rights and agroecology for the benefit of current and future generations.

An integrative theoretical framework of acculturation and salutogenesis.

PubMed

Riedel, Jeannette; Wiesmann, Ulrich; Hannich, Hans-Joachim

2011-12-01

During the last two decades, the number of international migrants worldwide has constantly risen. In this context, cross-cultural dimensions of psychological disorders receive increased attention, especially depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders among the migrant population. In this paper we propose a theoretical framework for the understanding of migrant mental health. This framework combines elements from Berry's acculturation model and Antonovsky's salutogenic theory. The former illustrates the main factors that affect an individual's adaptation in a new cultural context. The term acculturative stress denotes unresolved problems resulting from intercultural contact that cannot be overcome easily by simply adjusting or assimilating. The latter specifies the relationship between culturally associated stress and mental health more distinctive, introducing the concepts of generalized resistance resources and sense of coherence that determine mental health outcomes of migrants during acculturative stress periods. Specifically, we provide an integrative framework of acculturation and salutogenesis that helps to integrate inconsistent findings in the migrant mental health literature. The current paper focuses on the effect of resource factors for positive mental health outcomes in the migrant population and summarises some implications for future research activities.

Desert amphibian selection of arid land breeding habitat undermines reproductive effort.

PubMed

Kiesow, Anja B; Griffis-Kyle, Kerry L

2017-12-01

Understanding how animals select habitat is important for understanding how to better conserve those species. As droughts become more frequent and water availability declines in many systems, understanding selection of water sources becomes even more important for conservation. Tinajas and anthropogenic catchments are critical ephemeral breeding sites for Sonoran Desert anurans. Tadpoles have been documented in both water types even though anthropogenic catchments can contain very high concentrations of ammonia. We currently do not know how amphibians are selecting breeding habitat. We tested three hypotheses of habitat selection based on resource quality, resource quality and territoriality, and proximity of water site to other water sites. Male Anaxyrus punctatus called from all sites regardless of habitat quality or male quality; however, they were found more often at sites within 2 km of other sites. This suggests that male desert anurans are selecting close breeding habitat regardless of quality for breeding, indicating ammoniated sites are likely either population sinks or ecological traps. Consequently, adding anthropogenic water sites, without managing to reduce ammonia, will provide low quality habitat that could cause long-term declines in desert anuran populations.

Temperature-driven regime shifts in the dynamics of size-structured populations.

PubMed

Ohlberger, Jan; Edeline, Eric; Vøllestad, Leif Asbjørn; Stenseth, Nils C; Claessen, David

2011-02-01

Global warming impacts virtually all biota and ecosystems. Many of these impacts are mediated through direct effects of temperature on individual vital rates. Yet how this translates from the individual to the population level is still poorly understood, hampering the assessment of global warming impacts on population structure and dynamics. Here, we study the effects of temperature on intraspecific competition and cannibalism and the population dynamical consequences in a size-structured fish population. We use a physiologically structured consumer-resource model in which we explicitly model the temperature dependencies of the consumer vital rates and the resource population growth rate. Our model predicts that increased temperature decreases resource density despite higher resource growth rates, reflecting stronger intraspecific competition among consumers. At a critical temperature, the consumer population dynamics destabilize and shift from a stable equilibrium to competition-driven generation cycles that are dominated by recruits. As a consequence, maximum age decreases and the proportion of younger and smaller-sized fish increases. These model predictions support the hypothesis of decreasing mean body sizes due to increased temperatures. We conclude that in size-structured fish populations, global warming may increase competition, favor smaller size classes, and induce regime shifts that destabilize population and community dynamics.

Macronutrient supplementation for malnourished HIV-infected adults: a review of the evidence in resource-adequate and resource-constrained settings.

PubMed

Koethe, John R; Chi, Benjamin H; Megazzini, Karen M; Heimburger, Douglas C; Stringer, Jeffrey S A

2009-09-01

Access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has expanded rapidly throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but malnutrition and food insecurity have emerged as major barriers to the success of ART programs. Protein-calorie malnutrition (a common form of malnutrition in the region) hastens HIV disease progression, and food insecurity is a barrier to medication adherence. Analyses of patient outcomes have identified a low body mass index after the start of ART as an independent predictor of early mortality, but the causes of a low body mass index are multifactorial (eg, normal anthropometric variation, chronic inadequate food intake, and/or wasting associated with HIV infection and other infectious diseases). Although there is much information on population-level humanitarian food assistance, few data exist to measure the effectiveness of macronutrient supplementation or to identify individuals most likely to benefit. In this report, we review the current evidence supporting macronutrient supplementation for HIV-infected adults, we report on clinical trials in resource-adequate and resource-constrained settings, and we highlight priority areas for future research.

Representation of occupational information across resources and validation of the occupational data for health model.

PubMed

Rajamani, Sripriya; Chen, Elizabeth S; Lindemann, Elizabeth; Aldekhyyel, Ranyah; Wang, Yan; Melton, Genevieve B

2018-02-01

Reports by the National Academy of Medicine and leading public health organizations advocate including occupational information as part of an individual's social context. Given recent National Academy of Medicine recommendations on occupation-related data in the electronic health record, there is a critical need for improved representation. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has developed an Occupational Data for Health (ODH) model, currently in draft format. This study aimed to validate the ODH model by mapping occupation-related elements from resources representing recommendations, standards, public health reports and surveys, and research measures, along with preliminary evaluation of associated value sets. All 247 occupation-related items across 20 resources mapped to the ODH model. Recommended value sets had high variability across the evaluated resources. This study demonstrates the ODH model's value, the multifaceted nature of occupation information, and the critical need for occupation value sets to support clinical care, population health, and research. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Practices and perceptions on water resource sustainability in ecovillages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Moura Leite, Flavia Brunale Vilela; Bertolo, Lídia Sanches; Santos, Rozely Ferreira

2016-08-01

In many areas of the world, groups of people have attempted to create urban landscapes that follow the principles of environmental sustainability. To this end, groups have devised alternative models, such as ecovillages, where low-impact handling is used and a way of life different from that of large population centers is adopted. Although these villages exist, their efficiency in the conservation of natural resources has not been effectively evaluated. This study evaluated the practices used by two Brazilian ecovillages to conserve water resources to assess whether this new concept of living is indeed successful in meeting sustainability goals. We selected 25 indicators of water sustainability, and using the compromise programming method, we quantified the distance between those landscapes self-referenced as sustainable and an ideal hypothetical scenario. We also interpreted the communities perceptions using the distance between the current situations and the envisioned scenario. We concluded that both ecovillage are far from technically ideal scenario, but the communities have a strong sense of their limitations in implementing water resources conservation. The communities attributed this fact primarily to deficiencies in the shared management.

Learning Styles of Pilots Currently Qualified in United States Air Force Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kanske, Craig A.

2001-01-01

Kolb's Learning Style Inventory was used to identify the predominant learning styles of pilots currently qualified in United States Air Force aircraft. The results indicate that these pilots show a significant preference for facts and things over people and feelings. By understanding the preferred learning styles of the target population, course material can be developed that take advantage of the strengths of these learning styles. This information can be especially useful in the future design of cockpit resource management training. The training program can be developed to demonstrate both that there are different learning styles and that it is possible to take advantage of the relative strengths of each of these learning styles.

Protocol for the systematic review of the prevention, treatment and public health management of impetigo, scabies and fungal skin infections in resource-limited settings.

PubMed

May, Philippa; Bowen, Asha; Tong, Steven; Steer, Andrew; Prince, Sam; Andrews, Ross; Currie, Bart; Carapetis, Jonathan

2016-09-23

Impetigo, scabies, and fungal skin infections disproportionately affect populations in resource-limited settings. Evidence for standard treatment of skin infections predominantly stem from hospital-based studies in high-income countries. The evidence for treatment in resource-limited settings is less clear, as studies in these populations may lack randomisation and control groups for cultural, ethical or economic reasons. Likewise, a synthesis of the evidence for public health control within endemic populations is also lacking. We propose a systematic review of the evidence for the prevention, treatment and public health management of skin infections in resource-limited settings, to inform the development of guidelines for the standardised and streamlined clinical and public health management of skin infections in endemic populations. The protocol has been designed in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols statement. All trial designs and analytical observational study designs will be eligible for inclusion. A systematic search of the peer-reviewed literature will include PubMed, Excertpa Medica and Global Health. Grey literature databases will also be systematically searched, and clinical trials registries scanned for future relevant studies. The primary outcome of interest will be the clinical cure or decrease in prevalence of impetigo, scabies, crusted scabies, tinea capitis, tinea corporis or tinea unguium. Two independent reviewers will perform eligibility assessment and data extraction using standardised electronic forms. Risk of bias assessment will be undertaken by two independent reviewers according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Data will be tabulated and narratively synthesised. We expect there will be insufficient data to conduct meta-analysis. The final body of evidence will be reported against the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation grading system. The evidence derived from the systematic review will be used to inform the development of guidelines for the management of skin infections in resource-limited settings. The evidence derived will be intended for use by clinicians, public health practitioners and policy makers in the treatment of skin infections and the development of skin infection control programmes. The review will identify any gaps in the current evidence to provide direction for future research. PROSPERO CRD42015029453.

Medicare long-term CPAP coverage policy: a cost-utility analysis.

PubMed

Billings, Martha E; Kapur, Vishesh K

2013-10-15

CPAP is an effective treatment for OSA that may reduce health care utilization and costs. Medicare currently reimburses the costs of long-term CPAP therapy only if the patient is adherent during a 90-day trial. If not, Medicare requires a repeat polysomnogram (PSG) and another trial which seems empirically not cost-effective. We modeled the cost-effectiveness of current Medicare policy compared to an alternative policy (clinic-only) without the adherence criterion and repeat PSG. Cost-utility and cost-effectiveness analysis. U.S. Medicare Population. N/A. N/A. We created a decision tree modeling (1) clinic only follow-up vs. (2) current Medicare policy. Costs were assigned based on Medicare reimbursement rates in 2012. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to test our assumptions. We estimated cumulative costs, overall adherence, and QALY gained for a 5-year time horizon from the perspective of Medicare as the payer. Current Medicare policy is more costly than the clinic-only policy but has higher net adherence and improved utility. Current Medicare policy compared to clinic-only policy costs $30,544 more per QALY. Current CMS policy promotes early identification of those more likely to adhere to CPAP therapy by requiring strict adherence standards. The policy effect is to deny coverage to those unlikely to use CPAP long-term and prevent wasted resources. Future studies are needed to measure long-term adherence in an elderly population with and without current adherence requirements to verify the cost-effectiveness of a policy change.

Global physical water scarcity trajectories for the 20th century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kummu, Matti; de Moel, Hans; Eisner, Stefanie; Flörke, Martina; Siebert, Stefan; Varis, Olli

2014-05-01

Food security and the overall wellbeing of human kind are threatened by overexploitation of our freshwater resources. Water scarcity is not only a threat to people, but also to many of the planet's key ecosystems. Due to increasing population pressure, changing water consumption behaviour, and climate change, the threat is projected to become even worse in the future. Water can be physically scarce in two ways: population-driven water shortage occurs in areas where a large population has to depend on a limited resources (indicated by m3/capita/yr), while demand-driven water stress is related to the excessive use of otherwise sufficient water resources (indicated by demand/supply ratio). Although many studies have increased our understanding of current water scarcity and how this may increase in the future, the understanding of trajectories with the past development of the water scarcity is less well understood. To date, studies of past water resources have focused on either water shortage or water stress. We aim to calculate global water scarcity, both water stress and water shortage, for the period 1900-2005. We can thus provide, for the first time, continuous regional trends and local analyses of trajectories of water scarcity for the entire 20th century. By including both dimensions of water scarcity, we can increase the understanding of reasons behind the scarcity. We found that in year 1900 13% of the population (i.e. 0.22 billion people) was living in areas that suffer some kind of water scarcity (<1700 m3/capita/yr or ratio >0.2), while in year 2005 this percentage has increased to 57% (3.80 billion). Especially the population suffering from both high water stress (ratio >0.4) and high water shortage (<1000 m3/capita/yr) has risen considerably, from 2% (29 million people) in 1900, up to 19% (1.2 billion people) in 2005. Geographically these concern mainly northern African regions, the Middle East, Pakistan and parts of India and Northern China. The region of sub-Saharan Africa mainly suffers from water shortage. We used WaterGAP model to simulate the water use and available water resources. WaterGAP was forced with WATCH data. For the past population, we used HYDE dataset. The water scarcity results are plotted in Falkenmark's water scarcity matrix, which combines water stress and water shortage, to illustrate trajectories of how water scarcity develops for different regions. Insights into these trajectories can help to understand possible measures to alleviate water scarcity for different regions and support macro-scale analysis and planning to tackle with the future challenges in terms of water scarcity.

Rapid tests for diagnosis of leptospirosis: current tools and emerging technologies.

PubMed

Picardeau, Mathieu; Bertherat, Eric; Jancloes, Michel; Skouloudis, Andreas N; Durski, Kara; Hartskeerl, Rudy A

2014-01-01

Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonosis with a worldwide distribution but is more commonly found in impoverished populations in developing countries and tropical regions with frequent flooding. The rapid detection of leptospirosis is a critical step to effectively manage the disease and to control outbreaks in both human and animal populations. Therefore, there is a need for accurate and rapid diagnostic tests and appropriate surveillance and alert systems to identify outbreaks. This review describes current in-house methods and commercialized tests for the rapid diagnosis of acute leptospirosis. It focuses on diagnostic tests that can be performed with minimal training and limited equipment in less-developed and newly industrialized countries, particularly in resource-limited settings and with results in minutes to less than 4 hours. We also describe recent technological advances in the field of diagnostic tests that could allow for the development of innovative rapid tests in the near future. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Linking resources with demography to understand resource limitation for bears

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reynolds-Hogland, M. J.; Pacifici, L.B.; Mitchell, M.S.

2007-01-01

1. Identifying the resources that limit growth of animal populations is essential for effective conservation; however, resource limitation is difficult to quantify. Recent advances in geographical information systems (GIS) and resource modelling can be combined with demographic modelling to yield insights into resource limitation. 2. Using long-term data on a population of black bears Ursus americanus, we evaluated competing hypotheses about whether availability of hard mast (acorns and nuts) or soft mast (fleshy fruits) limited bears in the southern Appalachians, USA, during 1981-2002. The effects of clearcutting on habitat quality were also evaluated. Annual survival, recruitment and population growth rate were estimated using capture-recapture data from 101 females. The availability of hard mast, soft mast and clearcuts was estimated with a GIS, as each changed through time as a result of harvest and succession, and then availabilities were incorporated as covariates for each demographic parameter. 3. The model with the additive availability of hard mast and soft mast across the landscape predicted survival and population growth rate. Availability of young clearcuts predicted recruitment, but not population growth or survival. 4. Availability of hard mast stands across the landscape and availability of soft mast across the landscape were more important than hard mast production and availability of soft mast in young clearcuts, respectively. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that older stands, which support high levels of hard mast and moderate levels of soft mast, should be maintained to sustain population growth of bears in the southern Appalachians. Simultaneously, the acreage of intermediate aged stands (10-25 years), which support very low levels of both hard mast and soft mast, should be minimized. The approach used in this study has broad application for wildlife management and conservation. State and federal wildlife agencies often possess long-term data on both resource availability and capture-recapture for wild populations. Combined, these two data types can be used to estimate survival, recruitment, population growth, elasticities of vital rates and the effects of resource availability on demographic parameters. Hence data that are traditionally used to understand population trends can be used to evaluate how and why demography changes over time. ?? 2007 The Authors.

Recent Demographic History and Present Fine-Scale Structure in the Northwest Atlantic Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) Turtle Population

PubMed Central

Molfetti, Érica; Torres Vilaça, Sibelle; Georges, Jean-Yves; Plot, Virginie; Delcroix, Eric; Le Scao, Rozen; Lavergne, Anne; Barrioz, Sébastien; dos Santos, Fabrício Rodrigues; de Thoisy, Benoît

2013-01-01

The leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea is the most widely distributed sea turtle species in the world. It exhibits complex life traits: female homing and migration, migrations of juveniles and males that remain poorly known, and a strong climatic influence on resources, breeding success and sex-ratio. It is consequently challenging to understand population dynamics. Leatherbacks are critically endangered, yet the group from the Northwest Atlantic is currently considered to be under lower risk than other populations while hosting some of the largest rookeries. Here, we investigated the genetic diversity and the demographic history of contrasted rookeries from this group, namely two large nesting populations in French Guiana, and a smaller one in the French West Indies. We used 10 microsatellite loci, of which four are newly isolated, and mitochondrial DNA sequences of the control region and cytochrome b. Both mitochondrial and nuclear markers revealed that the Northwest Atlantic stock of leatherbacks derives from a single ancestral origin, but show current genetic structuration at the scale of nesting sites, with the maintenance of migrants amongst rookeries. Low nuclear genetic diversities are related to founder effects that followed consequent bottlenecks during the late Pleistocene/Holocene. Most probably in response to climatic oscillations, with a possible influence of early human hunting, female effective population sizes collapsed from 2 million to 200. Evidence of founder effects and high numbers of migrants make it possible to reconsider the population dynamics of the species, formerly considered as a metapopulation model: we propose a more relaxed island model, which we expect to be a key element in the currently observed recovering of populations. Although these Northwest Atlantic rookeries should be considered as a single evolutionary unit, we stress that local conservation efforts remain necessary since each nesting site hosts part of the genetic diversity and species history. PMID:23516429

Phenotypic and genomic analysis of a fast neutron mutant population resource in soybean

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Mutagenized populations have become indispensable resources for introducing variation and studying gene function in plant genomics research. We utilized fast neutron radiation to induce deletion mutations in the soybean genome and phenotypically screened the resulting population. We exposed approxim...

Overestimating resource value and its effects on fighting decisions.

PubMed

Dugatkin, Lee Alan; Dugatkin, Aaron David

2011-01-01

Much work in behavioral ecology has shown that animals fight over resources such as food, and that they make strategic decisions about when to engage in such fights. Here, we examine the evolution of one, heretofore unexamined, component of that strategic decision about whether to fight for a resource. We present the results of a computer simulation that examined the evolution of over- or underestimating the value of a resource (food) as a function of an individual's current hunger level. In our model, animals fought for food when they perceived their current food level to be below the mean for the environment. We considered seven strategies for estimating food value: 1) always underestimate food value, 2) always overestimate food value, 3) never over- or underestimate food value, 4) overestimate food value when hungry, 5) underestimate food value when hungry, 6) overestimate food value when relatively satiated, and 7) underestimate food value when relatively satiated. We first competed all seven strategies against each other when they began at approximately equal frequencies. In such a competition, two strategies--"always overestimate food value," and "overestimate food value when hungry"--were very successful. We next competed each of these strategies against the default strategy of "never over- or underestimate," when the default strategy was set at 99% of the population. Again, the strategies of "always overestimate food value" and "overestimate food value when hungry" fared well. Our results suggest that overestimating food value when deciding whether to fight should be favored by natural selection.

Allocating conservation resources between areas where persistence of a species is uncertain.

PubMed

McDonald-Madden, Eve; Chadès, Iadine; McCarthy, Michael A; Linkie, Matthew; Possingham, Hugh P

2011-04-01

Research on the allocation of resources to manage threatened species typically assumes that the state of the system is completely observable; for example whether a species is present or not. The majority of this research has converged on modeling problems as Markov decision processes (MDP), which give an optimal strategy driven by the current state of the system being managed. However, the presence of threatened species in an area can be uncertain. Typically, resource allocation among multiple conservation areas has been based on the biggest expected benefit (return on investment) but fails to incorporate the risk of imperfect detection. We provide the first decision-making framework for confronting the trade-off between information and return on investment, and we illustrate the approach for populations of the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) in Kerinci Seblat National Park. The problem is posed as a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP), which extends MDP to incorporate incomplete detection and allows decisions based on our confidence in particular states. POMDP has previously been used for making optimal management decisions for a single population of a threatened species. We extend this work by investigating two populations, enabling us to explore the importance of variation in expected return on investment between populations on how we should act. We compare the performance of optimal strategies derived assuming complete (MDP) and incomplete (POMDP) observability. We find that uncertainty about the presence of a species affects how we should act. Further, we show that assuming full knowledge of a species presence will deliver poorer strategic outcomes than if uncertainty about a species status is explicitly considered. MDP solutions perform up to 90% worse than the POMDP for highly cryptic species, and they only converge in performance when we are certain of observing the species during management: an unlikely scenario for many threatened species. This study illustrates an approach to allocating limited resources to threatened species where the conservation status of the species in different areas is uncertain. The results highlight the importance of including partial observability in future models of optimal species management when the species of concern is cryptic in nature.

Global-change vulnerability of a key plant resource, the African palms.

PubMed

Blach-Overgaard, Anne; Balslev, Henrik; Dransfield, John; Normand, Signe; Svenning, Jens-Christian

2015-07-27

Palms are keystone species in tropical ecosystems and provide essential ecosystem services to rural people worldwide. However, many palm species are threatened by habitat loss and over-exploitation. Furthermore, palms are sensitive to climate and thus vulnerable to future climate changes. Here, we provide a first quantitative assessment of the future risks to the African palm flora, finding that African palm species on average may experience a decline in climatic suitability in >70% of their current ranges by 2080. This suitability loss may, however, be almost halved if migration to nearby climatically suitable sites succeeds. Worryingly, 42% of the areas with 80-100% of species losing climate suitability are also characterized by high human population density (HPD). By 2080, >90% of all African palm species' ranges will likely occur at HPDs leading to increased risks of habitat loss and overexploitation. Additionally, up to 87% of all species are predicted to lose climatic suitability within current protected areas (PAs) by 2080. In summary, a major plant component of tropical ecosystems and provider of ecosystem services to rural populations will face strongly increased pressures from climate change and human populations in the near future.

Interspecific resource competition effects on fisheries revenue.

PubMed

van de Wolfshaar, Karen E; Schellekens, Tim; Poos, Jan-Jaap; van Kooten, Tobias

2012-01-01

In many fisheries multiple species are simultaneously caught while stock assessments and fishing quota are defined at species level. Yet species caught together often share habitat and resources, resulting in interspecific resource competition. The consequences of resource competition on population dynamics and revenue of simultaneously harvested species has received little attention due to the historical single stock approach in fisheries management. Here we present the results of a modelling study on the interaction between resource competition of sole (Solea solea) and slaice (Pleuronectus platessa) and simultaneous harvesting of these species, using a stage-structured population model. Three resources were included of which one is shared with a varied competition intensity. We find that plaice is the better competitor of the two species and adult plaice are more abundant than adult sole. When competition is high sole population biomass increases with increasing fishing effort prior to plaice extinction. As a result of this increase in the sole population, the revenue of the stocks combined as function of effort becomes bimodal with increasing resource competition. When considering a single stock quota for sole, its recovery with increasing effort may result in even more fishing effort that would drive the plaice population to extinction. When sole and plaice compete for resources the highest revenue is obtained at effort levels at which plaice is extinct. Ignoring resource competition promotes overfishing due to increasing stock of one species prior to extinction of the other species. Consequently, efforts to mitigate the decline in one species will not be effective if increased stock in the other species leads to increased quota. If a species is to be protected against extinction, management should not only be directed at this one species, but all species that compete with it for resource as well.

Towards a globally optimized crop distribution: Integrating water use, nutrition, and economic value

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, K. F.; Seveso, A.; Rulli, M. C.; D'Odorico, P.

2016-12-01

Human demand for crop production is expected to increase substantially in the coming decades as a result of population growth, richer diets and biofuel use. In order for food production to keep pace, unprecedented amounts of resources - water, fertilizers, energy - will be required. This has led to calls for `sustainable intensification' in which yields are increased on existing croplands while seeking to minimize impacts on water and other agricultural resources. Recent studies have quantified aspects of this, showing that there is a large potential to improve crop yields and increase harvest frequencies to better meet human demand. Though promising, both solutions would necessitate large additional inputs of water and fertilizer in order to be achieved under current technologies. However, the question of whether the current distribution of crops is, in fact, the best for realizing sustainable production has not been considered to date. To this end, we ask: Is it possible to increase crop production and economic value while minimizing water demand by simply growing crops where soil and climate conditions are best suited? Here we use maps of yields and evapotranspiration for 14 major food crops to identify differences between current crop distributions and where they can most suitably be planted. By redistributing crops across currently cultivated lands, we determine the potential improvements in calorie (+12%) and protein (+51%) production, economic output (+41%) and water demand (-5%). This approach can also incorporate the impact of future climate on cropland suitability, and as such, be used to provide optimized cropping patterns under climate change. Thus, our study provides a novel tool towards achieving sustainable intensification that can be used to recommend optimal crop distributions in the face of a changing climate while simultaneously accounting for food security, freshwater resources, and livelihoods.

HIV epidemic control-a model for optimal allocation of prevention and treatment resources.

PubMed

Alistar, Sabina S; Long, Elisa F; Brandeau, Margaret L; Beck, Eduard J

2014-06-01

With 33 million people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) worldwide and 2.7 million new infections occurring annually, additional HIV prevention and treatment efforts are urgently needed. However, available resources for HIV control are limited and must be used efficiently to minimize the future spread of the epidemic. We develop a model to determine the appropriate resource allocation between expanded HIV prevention and treatment services. We create an epidemic model that incorporates multiple key populations with different transmission modes, as well as production functions that relate investment in prevention and treatment programs to changes in transmission and treatment rates. The goal is to allocate resources to minimize R 0, the reproductive rate of infection. We first develop a single-population model and determine the optimal resource allocation between HIV prevention and treatment. We extend the analysis to multiple independent populations, with resource allocation among interventions and populations. We then include the effects of HIV transmission between key populations. We apply our model to examine HIV epidemic control in two different settings, Uganda and Russia. As part of these applications, we develop a novel approach for estimating empirical HIV program production functions. Our study provides insights into the important question of resource allocation for a country's optimal response to its HIV epidemic and provides a practical approach for decision makers. Better decisions about allocating limited HIV resources can improve response to the epidemic and increase access to HIV prevention and treatment services for millions of people worldwide.

[Population and development].

PubMed

Castanon Romo, R; Sandoval Navarrete, J

1996-01-01

This broad survey of the debate concerning the relationship between population growth and economic development discusses the history and current status of world population growth, summarizes several influential theoretical positions on the topic, and proposes that redefinition of women's social role is indispensable if worldwide control of population growth is to be achieved. The introductory section discusses the acceleration of population growth in the second half of the 20th century and the increasing concentration of growth in the poor and developing countries. The positions of those who see in population control a means of promoting economic development and political stability are contrasted to the positions of those who believe that a large and growing population is the key to achieving economic and political progress. The international community, facing great uncertainty about the size, distribution, and well-being of the future world population, is increasingly concerned about the effect of growing numbers on the environment and natural resources. The second section summarizes the works of Malthus, Julian Simon, and the Club of Rome, and analyzes the propositions of demographic transition theory. The conclusion notes that despite uncertainty about the future of world population, development, and health, most of the poorest countries have become aware of the desirability of slowing population growth. A broad redefinition of the social role of women will inevitably accompany the worldwide demographic transition.

Distribution of health care resources in Mongolia using the Gini coefficient.

PubMed

Erdenee, Oyunchimeg; Paramita, Sekar Ayu; Yamazaki, Chiho; Koyama, Hiroshi

2017-08-29

Attaining the perfect balance of health care resources is probably impracticable; however, it is possible to achieve improvements in the distribution of these resources. In terms of the distribution of health resources, equal access to these resources would make health services available to all people. The aim of this study was to compare the distributions of health care resources in urban, suburban, and rural areas of Mongolia. We compared urban and rural areas using the Mann-Whitney U test and further investigated the distribution equality of physicians, nurses, and hospital beds throughout Mongolia using the Gini coefficient-a common measure of distribution derived from the Lorenz curve. Two indicators were calculated: the distribution per 10 000 population and the distribution per 1000 km 2 area. Urban and rural areas were significantly different only in the distribution of physicians per population. However, in terms of the distribution per area, there were statistical differences in physicians, nurses, and hospital beds. We also found that distributions per population unit were equal, with Gini coefficients for physicians, nurses, and hospital beds of 0.18, 0.07, and 0.06, respectively. Distributions per area unit were highly unequal, with Gini coefficients for physicians, nurses, and hospital beds of 0.74, 0.67, and 0.69, respectively. Although the distributions of health care resources per population were adequate for the population size, a striking difference was found in terms of the distributions per geographical area. Because of the nomadic lifestyle of rural and remote populations in Mongolia, geographical imbalances need to be taken into consideration when formulating policy, rather than simply increasing the number of health care resources.

Current Priorities for Public Health Practice in Addressing the Role of Human Genomics in Improving Population Health

PubMed Central

Khoury, Muin J.; Bowen, Michael S.; Burke, Wylie; Coates, Ralph J.; Dowling, Nicole F.; Evans, James P.; Reyes, Michele; St. Pierre, Jeannette

2017-01-01

In spite of accelerating human genome discoveries in a wide variety of diseases of public health significance, the promise of personalized health care and disease prevention based on genomics has lagged behind. In a time of limited resources, public health agencies must continue to focus on implementing programs that can improve health and prevent disease now. Nevertheless, public health has an important and assertive leadership role in addressing the promise and pitfalls of human genomics for population health. Such efforts are needed not only to implement what is known in genomics to improve health but also to reduce potential harm and create the infrastructure needed to derive health benefits in the future. PMID:21406285

Churchill: an ultra-fast, deterministic, highly scalable and balanced parallelization strategy for the discovery of human genetic variation in clinical and population-scale genomics.

PubMed

Kelly, Benjamin J; Fitch, James R; Hu, Yangqiu; Corsmeier, Donald J; Zhong, Huachun; Wetzel, Amy N; Nordquist, Russell D; Newsom, David L; White, Peter

2015-01-20

While advances in genome sequencing technology make population-scale genomics a possibility, current approaches for analysis of these data rely upon parallelization strategies that have limited scalability, complex implementation and lack reproducibility. Churchill, a balanced regional parallelization strategy, overcomes these challenges, fully automating the multiple steps required to go from raw sequencing reads to variant discovery. Through implementation of novel deterministic parallelization techniques, Churchill allows computationally efficient analysis of a high-depth whole genome sample in less than two hours. The method is highly scalable, enabling full analysis of the 1000 Genomes raw sequence dataset in a week using cloud resources. http://churchill.nchri.org/.

The International Oryza Map Alignment Project: development of a genus-wide comparative genomics platform to help solve the 9 billion-people question.

PubMed

Jacquemin, Julie; Bhatia, Dharminder; Singh, Kuldeep; Wing, Rod A

2013-05-01

The wild relatives of rice contain a virtually untapped reservoir of traits that can be used help drive the 21st century green revolution aimed at solving world food security issues by 2050. To better understand and exploit the 23 species of the Oryza genus the rice research community is developing foundational resources composed of: 1) reference genomes and transcriptomes for all 23 species; 2) advanced mapping populations for functional and breeding studies; and 3) in situ conservation sites for ecological, evolutionary and population genomics. To this end, 16 genome sequencing projects are currently underway, and all completed assemblies have been annotated; and several advanced mapping populations have been developed, and more will be generated, mapped, and phenotyped, to uncover useful alleles. As wild Oryza populations are threatened by human activity and climate change, we also discuss the urgent need for sustainable in situ conservation of the genus. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Are we going about chemical risk assessment for the aquatic environment the wrong way?

PubMed

Johnson, Andrew C; Sumpter, John P

2016-07-01

The goal of protecting the aquatic environment through testing thousands of chemicals against hundreds of aquatic species with thousands of endpoints while also considering mixtures is impossible given the present resources. Much of the impetus for studies on micropollutants, such as pharmaceuticals, came from the topic of endocrine disruption in wild fish. But despite concern over reductions in fish fertility, there is little evidence that fish populations are in peril. Indeed, fish biologists suggest that many cyprinid populations have been recovering for the past 30 to 40 yr. The central assumption, key to current risk assessment, that effects observed in the laboratory or predicted by models are readily transferrable to the population level, is therefore questionable. The neglect in monitoring wildlife populations is the key weakness in environmental protection strategies. If we do not know whether aquatic wildlife species are declining or increasing, how valuable are our other ecotoxicological activities? Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1609-1616. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

1/f oscillations in a model of moth populations oriented by diffusive pheromones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbosa, L. A.; Martins, M. L.; Lima, E. R.

2005-01-01

An individual-based model for the population dynamics of Spodoptera frugiperda in a homogeneous environment is proposed. The model involves moths feeding plants, mating through an anemotaxis search (i.e., oriented by odor dispersed in a current of air), and dying due to resource competition or at a maximum age. As observed in the laboratory, the females release pheromones at exponentially distributed time intervals, and it is assumed that the ranges of the male flights follow a power-law distribution. Computer simulations of the model reveal the central role of anemotaxis search for the persistence of moth population. Such stationary populations are exponentially distributed in age, exhibit random temporal fluctuations with 1/f spectrum, and self-organize in disordered spatial patterns with long-range correlations. In addition, the model results demonstrate that pest control through pheromone mass trapping is effective only if the amounts of pheromone released by the traps decay much slower than the exponential distribution for calling female.

Annotated Bibliography on Population, Resources and Environment Relationships.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollander, Seth

The National Audubon Society is concerned with dependencies of wildlife and life support systems on this planet. Recognizing the role humans play in the interrelationships, Dr. Russell W. Peterson, Audubon's president, established the Population Program within the society's Environmental Policy Analysis Department to: analyze population, resource,…

The ESRC: A Web-based Environmental Satellite Resource Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abshire, W. E.; Guarente, B.; Dills, P. N.

2009-12-01

The COMET® Program has developed an Environmental Satellite Resource Center (known as the ESRC), a searchable, database-driven Website that provides easy access to a wide range of useful information training materials on polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites. Primarily sponsored by the NPOESS Program and NOAA, the ESRC is a tool for users seeking reliable sources of satellite information, training, and data. First published in September 2008, and upgraded in April 2009, the site is freely available at: http://www.meted.ucar.edu/esrc. Additional contributions to the ESRC are sought and made on an ongoing basis. The ESRC was created in response to a broad community request first made in May 2006. The COMET Program was asked to develop the site to consolidate and simplify access to reliable, current, and diverse information, training materials, and data associated with environmental satellites. The ESRC currently includes over 400 significant resources from NRL, CIMSS, CIRA, NASA, VISIT, NESDIS, and EUMETSAT, and improves access to the numerous satellite resources available from COMET’s MetEd Website. The ESRC is designed as a community site where organizations and individuals around the globe can easily submit their resources via online forms by providing a small set of metadata. The ESRC supports languages other than English and multi-lingual character sets have been tested. COMET’s role is threefold: 1) maintain the site, 2) populate it with our own materials, including smaller, focused learning objects derived from our larger training modules, and 3) provide the necessary quality assurance and monitoring to ensure that all resources are appropriate and well described before being made available. Our presentation will demonstrate many of the features and functionality of searching for resources using the ESRC, and will outline the steps for users to make their own submissions. For the site to reach its full potential, submissions representing diverse interests and intended for diverse audiences are strongly encouraged.

Water availability in +2°C and +4°C worlds.

PubMed

Fung, Fai; Lopez, Ana; New, Mark

2011-01-13

While the parties to the UNFCCC agreed in the December 2009 Copenhagen Accord that a 2°C global warming over pre-industrial levels should be avoided, current commitments on greenhouse gas emissions reductions from these same parties will lead to a 50 : 50 chance of warming greater than 3.5°C. Here, we evaluate the differences in impacts and adaptation issues for water resources in worlds corresponding to the policy objective (+2°C) and possible reality (+4°C). We simulate the differences in impacts on surface run-off and water resource availability using a global hydrological model driven by ensembles of climate models with global temperature increases of 2°C and 4°C. We combine these with UN-based population growth scenarios to explore the relative importance of population change and climate change for water availability. We find that the projected changes in global surface run-off from the ensemble show an increase in spatial coherence and magnitude for a +4°C world compared with a +2°C one. In a +2°C world, population growth in most large river basins tends to override climate change as a driver of water stress, while in a +4°C world, climate change becomes more dominant, even compensating for population effects where climate change increases run-off. However, in some basins where climate change has positive effects, the seasonality of surface run-off becomes increasingly amplified in a +4°C climate.

The macroecology of sustainability

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burger, Joseph R.; Allen, Craig D.; Brown, James H.; Burnside, William R.; Davidson, Ana D.; Fristoe, Trevor S.; Hamilton, Marcus J.; Mercado-Silva, Norman; Nekola, Jeffrey C.; Okie, Jordan G.; Zuo, Wenyun

2012-01-01

The discipline of sustainability science has emerged in response to concerns of natural and social scientists, policymakers, and lay people about whether the Earth can continue to support human population growth and economic prosperity. Yet, sustainability science has developed largely independently from and with little reference to key ecological principles that govern life on Earth. A macroecological perspective highlights three principles that should be integral to sustainability science: 1) physical conservation laws govern the flows of energy and materials between human systems and the environment, 2) smaller systems are connected by these flows to larger systems in which they are embedded, and 3) global constraints ultimately limit flows at smaller scales. Over the past few decades, decreasing per capita rates of consumption of petroleum, phosphate, agricultural land, fresh water, fish, and wood indicate that the growing human population has surpassed the capacity of the Earth to supply enough of these essential resources to sustain even the current population and level of socioeconomic development.

[Therapeutic education of total laryngectomy patients: Influence of social factors].

PubMed

Woisard, V; Galtier, A; Baumann, L; Delpierre, C; Puech, M; Balaguer, M

Current health policies promote patient education, parti­cu­lar­ly in oncology. Therapeutic education program must be tailo­red to the characteristics, needs and expectations of the population. In the ENT Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Larrey Hospital in Toulouse, a therapeutic education program for patient with total laryngectomy has been experienced since 2011. But its propagation remains difficult. The aim of this study is to determine if social factors are nfluencing the parti­cipation of the laryngectomized population in the program. The brochure explaining this program and a registration form coupled with a survey questionnaire were distributed to the regio­nal population of patient with total laryngectomy. After two months of investigation we collected 42 responses. It is clear from their analysis that social factors underlie partici­pa­tion, particularly educational level, available financial resources level and the socio-professional group.

Metabolic rates of giant pandas inform conservation strategies.

PubMed

Fei, Yuxiang; Hou, Rong; Spotila, James R; Paladino, Frank V; Qi, Dunwu; Zhang, Zhihe

2016-06-06

The giant panda is an icon of conservation and survived a large-scale bamboo die off in the 1980s in China. Captive breeding programs have produced a large population in zoos and efforts continue to reintroduce those animals into the wild. However, we lack sufficient knowledge of their physiological ecology to determine requirements for survival now and in the face of climate change. We measured resting and active metabolic rates of giant pandas in order to determine if current bamboo resources were sufficient for adding additional animals to populations in natural reserves. Resting metabolic rates were somewhat below average for a panda sized mammal and active metabolic rates were in the normal range. Pandas do not have exceptionally low metabolic rates. Nevertheless, there is enough bamboo in natural reserves to support both natural populations and large numbers of reintroduced pandas. Bamboo will not be the limiting factor in successful reintroduction.

Metabolic rates of giant pandas inform conservation strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fei, Yuxiang; Hou, Rong; Spotila, James R.; Paladino, Frank V.; Qi, Dunwu; Zhang, Zhihe

2016-06-01

The giant panda is an icon of conservation and survived a large-scale bamboo die off in the 1980s in China. Captive breeding programs have produced a large population in zoos and efforts continue to reintroduce those animals into the wild. However, we lack sufficient knowledge of their physiological ecology to determine requirements for survival now and in the face of climate change. We measured resting and active metabolic rates of giant pandas in order to determine if current bamboo resources were sufficient for adding additional animals to populations in natural reserves. Resting metabolic rates were somewhat below average for a panda sized mammal and active metabolic rates were in the normal range. Pandas do not have exceptionally low metabolic rates. Nevertheless, there is enough bamboo in natural reserves to support both natural populations and large numbers of reintroduced pandas. Bamboo will not be the limiting factor in successful reintroduction.

Metabolic rates of giant pandas inform conservation strategies

PubMed Central

Fei, Yuxiang; Hou, Rong; Spotila, James R.; Paladino, Frank V.; Qi, Dunwu; Zhang, Zhihe

2016-01-01

The giant panda is an icon of conservation and survived a large-scale bamboo die off in the 1980s in China. Captive breeding programs have produced a large population in zoos and efforts continue to reintroduce those animals into the wild. However, we lack sufficient knowledge of their physiological ecology to determine requirements for survival now and in the face of climate change. We measured resting and active metabolic rates of giant pandas in order to determine if current bamboo resources were sufficient for adding additional animals to populations in natural reserves. Resting metabolic rates were somewhat below average for a panda sized mammal and active metabolic rates were in the normal range. Pandas do not have exceptionally low metabolic rates. Nevertheless, there is enough bamboo in natural reserves to support both natural populations and large numbers of reintroduced pandas. Bamboo will not be the limiting factor in successful reintroduction. PMID:27264109

Caring for the elderly: changing perceptions and attitudes.

PubMed

Lovell, Marge

2006-03-01

The aging population is currently one of the main issues facing international health care systems. It is a recognized fact that with advancing age, the likelihood of developing health problems and chronic disease will increase and the demand for health care resources will escalate. This will impact hospitals and long-term care facilities. Our young nurses of the future will be faced with the challenging task of caring for this elderly population. A review of the literature revealed that nursing students have a negative attitude toward the elderly. This may be affected by personal beliefs, values, culture, experience, or observations. Their perceived attitudes toward the gerontology field will make it difficult to recruit the nurses required in this area. This article will explore these issues and examine the role of all health care professionals to help change their attitudes and develop a more positive relationship to meet the needs of this unique population.

Why precision medicine is not the best route to a healthier world.

PubMed

Rey-López, Juan Pablo; Sá, Thiago Herick de; Rezende, Leandro Fórnias Machado de

2018-02-05

Precision medicine has been announced as a new health revolution. The term precision implies more accuracy in healthcare and prevention of diseases, which could yield substantial cost savings. However, scientific debate about precision medicine is needed to avoid wasting economic resources and hype. In this commentary, we express the reasons why precision medicine cannot be a health revolution for population health. Advocates of precision medicine neglect the limitations of individual-centred, high-risk strategies (reduced population health impact) and the current crisis of evidence-based medicine. Overrated "precision medicine" promises may be serving vested interests, by dictating priorities in the research agenda and justifying the exorbitant healthcare expenditure in our finance-based medicine. If societies aspire to address strong risk factors for non-communicable diseases (such as air pollution, smoking, poor diets, or physical inactivity), they need less medicine and more investment in population prevention strategies.

Otolaryngology workforce analysis.

PubMed

Hughes, Charles Anthony; McMenamin, Patrick; Mehta, Vikas; Pillsbury, Harold; Kennedy, David

2016-12-01

The number of trained otolaryngologists available is insufficient to supply current and projected US health care needs. The goal of this study was to assess available databases and present accurate data on the current otolaryngology workforce, examine methods for prediction of future health care needs, and explore potential issues with forecasting methods and policy implementation based on these predictions. Retrospective analysis of research databases, public use files, and claims data. The total number of otolaryngologists and current practices in the United States was tabulated using the databases of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, American Medical Association, American Board of Otolaryngology, American College of Surgeons, Association of American Medical Colleges, National Center for Health Statistics, and Department of Health and Human Services. Otolaryngologists were identified as surgeons and classified into surgical groups using a combination of AMA primary and secondary self-reported specialties and American Board of Medical Specialties certifications. Data gathered were cross-referenced to rule out duplications to assess total practicing otolaryngologists. Data analyzed included type of practice: 1) academic versus private and 2) general versus specialty; and demographics: 1) urban versus rural, 2) patient age, 3) reason for visit (referral, new, established, surgical follow-up), 4) reason for visit (diagnosis), and 5) payer type. Analysis from the above resources estimates the total number of otolaryngologists practicing in the United States in 2011 to be 12,609, with approximately 10,522 fully trained practicing physicians (9,232-10,654) and 2,087 in training (1,318 residents and 769 fellows/others). Based on 2011 data, workforce projections would place the fully trained and practicing otolaryngology workforce at 11,088 in 2015 and 12,084 in 2025 unless changes in training occur. The AAO-HNS Physicians Resource Committee performed an extensive analysis of collated data from multiple sources in 2014 and identified 10,800 practicing otolaryngologists and 2,087 in training. It is estimated that the current attrition rate is approximately 306 otolaryngologists per year. Percentage distribution of office visits by patient age was found to be 20% <15 years old, 7% 15 to 24 years old, 21% 25 to 44 years old, 32% 45 to 64 years old, 11% 65 to 74 years old, and 10% ≥75 years old. Reason for visit was 34% new, 29% chronic, 17% chronic with exacerbation, and 15% pre- or postsurgical follow-up. The top diagnoses consisted of otitis media, chronic sinusitis, and impacted cerumen. Payer mix consisted of 59% private insurance, 19% Medicare, and 12% Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program. Despite past findings and predictions of 8,000 to 8,500 otolaryngologists practicing in the United States, collated data from above resources places the total at 12,887, with 10,800 fully trained and practicing in 2014. This 30% to 50% underestimation of the otolaryngology workforce has an impact on future predictions and resource utilization analysis. Even when this correction is considered, the available trained otolaryngologists required to serve the otolaryngologic health care needs of the US population are still insufficient and understaffed. The impact of an aging population and the estimated 30 to 47 million newly insured citizens under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are also unprecedented variables that must be considered. Further analysis of differences in physician productivity and geographic population density, and model formation of current otolaryngology workforce utilization, are needed to predict future public health needs. NA Laryngoscope, 126:5-11, 2016. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Population structure and genetic diversity of wild Helianthus species from Mozambique.

PubMed

Ribeiro, A; Gouveia, M; Bessa, A; Ferreira, A; Magumisse, A T; Manjate, M; Faria, T

2010-08-01

The production of sunflower suffered a major decline in Mozambique after its independence in 1975. Civil war, human activities and environmental damage subjected the species to an ecological stress contributing to reduce the number and size of wild populations. As this reduction is often related to a loss of genetic variation we estimated the genetic diversity within and among populations of wild Helianthus from five districts of Mozambique using RAPD markers. The 44 accessions studied grouped into four major clusters exhibiting structured variability with regard to geographic origin. A high level of genetic diversity (He = 0.350 and I = 0.527) was retained at the population level. The genetic variation among populations was high (59.7%), which is consistent with low gene flow (Nm = 0.338). The proportion of total genetic diversity residing among these populations should be kept in mind to devise different conservation strategies in order to preserve these populations. Currently wild Helianthus genetic resources present in Maputo and Sofala are on the edge of extinction mainly due to excessive urbanization. Therefore, conservation of what remains of this plant genetic diversity is essential for sustainable utilization and can be useful for breeding programs.

GENERAL: Kinetic Behaviors of Catalysis-Driven Growth of Three-Species Aggregates on Base of Exchange-Driven Aggregations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yun-Fei; Chen, Dan; Lin, Zhen-Quan; Ke, Jian-Hong

2009-06-01

We propose a solvable aggregation model to mimic the evolution of population A, asset B, and the quantifiable resource C in a society. In this system, the population and asset aggregates themselves grow through self-exchanges with the rate kernels K1(k, j) = K1kj and K2(k, j) = K2kj, respectively. The actions of the population and asset aggregations on the aggregation evolution of resource aggregates are described by the population-catalyzed monomer death of resource aggregates and asset-catalyzed monomer birth of resource aggregates with the rate kernels J1(k, j) = J1k and J2(k, j) = J2k, respectively. Meanwhile, the asset and resource aggregates conjunctly catalyze the monomer birth of population aggregates with the rate kernel I1(k, i, j) = I1kiμjη, and population and resource aggregates conjunctly catalyze the monomer birth of asset aggregates with the rate kernel I2(k, i, j) = I2kivjη. The kinetic behaviors of species A, B, and C are investigated by means of the mean-field rate equation approach. The effects of the population-catalyzed death and asset-catalyzed birth on the evolution of resource aggregates based on the self-exchanges of population and asset appear in effective forms. The coefficients of the effective population-catalyzed death and the asset-catalyzed birth are expressed as J1e = J1/K1 and J2e = J2/K2, respectively. The aggregate size distribution of C species is found to be crucially dominated by the competition between the effective death and the effective birth. It satisfies the conventional scaling form, generalized scaling form, and modified scaling form in the cases of J1e < J2e, J1e = J2e, and J1e > J2e, respectively. Meanwhile, we also find the aggregate size distributions of populations and assets both fall into two distinct categories for different parameters μ, ν, and η: (i) When μ = ν = η = 0 and μ = ν = 0, η = 1, the population and asset aggregates obey the generalized scaling forms; and (ii) When μ = ν = 1, η = 0, and μ = ν = η = 1, the population and asset aggregates experience gelation transitions at finite times and the scaling forms break down.

Seasonal Habitat Use by Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) on a Landscape with Low Density Oil and Gas Development.

PubMed

Rice, Mindy B; Rossi, Liza G; Apa, Anthony D

2016-01-01

Fragmentation of the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem has led to concern about a variety of sagebrush obligates including the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). Given the increase of energy development within greater sage-grouse habitats, mapping seasonal habitats in pre-development populations is critical. The North Park population in Colorado is one of the largest and most stable in the state and provides a unique case study for investigating resource selection at a relatively low level of energy development compared to other populations both within and outside the state. We used locations from 117 radio-marked female greater sage-grouse in North Park, Colorado to develop seasonal resource selection models. We then added energy development variables to the base models at both a landscape and local scale to determine if energy variables improved the fit of the seasonal models. The base models for breeding and winter resource selection predicted greater use in large expanses of sagebrush whereas the base summer model predicted greater use along the edge of riparian areas. Energy development variables did not improve the winter or the summer models at either scale of analysis, but distance to oil/gas roads slightly improved model fit at both scales in the breeding season, albeit in opposite ways. At the landscape scale, greater sage-grouse were closer to oil/gas roads whereas they were further from oil/gas roads at the local scale during the breeding season. Although we found limited effects from low level energy development in the breeding season, the scale of analysis can influence the interpretation of effects. The lack of strong effects from energy development may be indicative that energy development at current levels are not impacting greater sage-grouse in North Park. Our baseline seasonal resource selection maps can be used for conservation to help identify ways of minimizing the effects of energy development.

A gene-based SNP resource and linkage map for the copepod Tigriopus californicus

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background As yet, few genomic resources have been developed in crustaceans. This lack is particularly evident in Copepoda, given the extraordinary numerical abundance, and taxonomic and ecological diversity of this group. Tigriopus californicus is ideally suited to serve as a genetic model copepod and has been the subject of extensive work in environmental stress and reproductive isolation. Accordingly, we set out to develop a broadly-useful panel of genetic markers and to construct a linkage map dense enough for quantitative trait locus detection in an interval mapping framework for T. californicus--a first for copepods. Results One hundred and ninety Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to genotype our mapping population of 250 F2 larvae. We were able to construct a linkage map with an average intermarker distance of 1.8 cM, and a maximum intermarker distance of 10.3 cM. All markers were assembled into linkage groups, and the 12 linkage groups corresponded to the 12 known chromosomes of T. californicus. We estimate a total genome size of 401.0 cM, and a total coverage of 73.7%. Seventy five percent of the mapped markers were detected in 9 additional populations of T. californicus. Of available model arthropod genomes, we were able to show more colocalized pairs of homologues between T. californicus and the honeybee Apis mellifera, than expected by chance, suggesting preserved macrosynteny between Hymenoptera and Copepoda. Conclusions Our study provides an abundance of linked markers spanning all chromosomes. Many of these markers are also found in multiple populations of T. californicus, and in two other species in the genus. The genomic resource we have developed will enable mapping throughout the geographical range of this species and in closely related species. This linkage map will facilitate genome sequencing, mapping and assembly in an ecologically and taxonomically interesting group for which genomic resources are currently under development. PMID:22103327

Culture and resource management: factors affecting forests

Treesearch

Marjorie C. Falanruw

1992-01-01

Efforts to manage Pacific Island forest resources are more likely to succeed if they are based on an understanding of the cultural framework of land use activities. This paper explores the relationship between agricultural systems, population density, culture, and use of forest resources on the islands of Yap. Agricultural intensification is related to population...

Immediate or lagged responses of a red squirrel population to pulsed resources.

PubMed

Selonen, Vesa; Varjonen, Rauno; Korpimäki, Erkki

2015-02-01

According to producer-consumer models, consumers should follow pulsed resources with a time lag. This view has been challenged by studies demonstrating that individuals may anticipate future resource pulses by increasing reproduction just before the pulse. We studied population fluctuations and reproduction in European red squirrels, Sciurus vulgaris, in relation to seed masting of the main food resource (the Norway spruce) in boreal coniferous forests between 1979 and 2013. Red squirrels are pre-dispersal seed predators, and previous studies have shown that they can anticipate the coming seed mast. We did not find any indication that anticipation of masting (year t ) increased red squirrel reproduction in the preceding spring to early summer. Instead, the reproductive output of the squirrels was highest in the spring following the mast, indicating that the population had to be at its largest size in the autumn after the mast (year(t+1)), when lots of subadults were around. However, we surmised, based on snow tracks and squirrel nest data, that the population crashed during the following winter (year(t+1)). These data reflected the adult population during winter, which peaked at the same time as the resource pulse. We can therefore conclude that the time lag between the resource pulse and the attainment of the peak number of squirrels was less than one year, and that the resource crash affected more juveniles and subadults than adults. The population increase overlapped with the occurrence of masting, but there was also a lagged response, supporting the classical view of producer-consumer models.

Transcriptomic resources for the medicinal legume Mucuna pruriens: de novo transcriptome assembly, annotation, identification and validation of EST-SSR markers.

PubMed

Sathyanarayana, N; Pittala, Ranjith Kumar; Tripathi, Pankaj Kumar; Chopra, Ratan; Singh, Heikham Russiachand; Belamkar, Vikas; Bhardwaj, Pardeep Kumar; Doyle, Jeff J; Egan, Ashley N

2017-05-25

The medicinal legume Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. has attracted attention worldwide as a source of the anti-Parkinson's drug L-Dopa. It is also a popular green manure cover crop that offers many agronomic benefits including high protein content, nitrogen fixation and soil nutrients. The plant currently lacks genomic resources and there is limited knowledge on gene expression, metabolic pathways, and genetics of secondary metabolite production. Here, we present transcriptomic resources for M. pruriens, including a de novo transcriptome assembly and annotation, as well as differential transcript expression analyses between root, leaf, and pod tissues. We also develop microsatellite markers and analyze genetic diversity and population structure within a set of Indian germplasm accessions. One-hundred ninety-one million two hundred thirty-three thousand two hundred forty-two bp cleaned reads were assembled into 67,561 transcripts with mean length of 626 bp and N50 of 987 bp. Assembled sequences were annotated using BLASTX against public databases with over 80% of transcripts annotated. We identified 7,493 simple sequence repeat (SSR) motifs, including 787 polymorphic repeats between the parents of a mapping population. 134 SSRs from expressed sequenced tags (ESTs) were screened against 23 M. pruriens accessions from India, with 52 EST-SSRs retained after quality control. Population structure analysis using a Bayesian framework implemented in fastSTRUCTURE showed nearly similar groupings as with distance-based (neighbor-joining) and principal component analyses, with most of the accessions clustering per geographical origins. Pair-wise comparison of transcript expression in leaves, roots and pods identified 4,387 differentially expressed transcripts with the highest number occurring between roots and leaves. Differentially expressed transcripts were enriched with transcription factors and transcripts annotated as belonging to secondary metabolite pathways. The M. pruriens transcriptomic resources generated in this study provide foundational resources for gene discovery and development of molecular markers. Polymorphic SSRs identified can be used for genetic diversity, marker-trait analyses, and development of functional markers for crop improvement. The results of differential expression studies can be used to investigate genes involved in L-Dopa synthesis and other key metabolic pathways in M. pruriens.

Recipe for a Small Workshop: A Population Education Leader's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Elaine M.

A variety of resources, learning activities, and instructional materials make up this population education resource kit. Four major components comprise the kit. The first section is a leader's guide for the organization of an educational workshop about population education. Designed for teachers and community people, the workshop guide presents…

[Current state and prospects of military personnel health monitoring].

PubMed

Rezvantsev, M V; Kuznetsov, S M; Ivanov, V V; Zakurdaev, V V

2014-01-01

The current article is dedicated to some features of the Russian Federation Armed Forces military personnel health monitoring such as legal and informational provision, methodological basis of functioning, historical aspect of formation and development of the social and hygienic monitoring in the Russian Federation Armed Forces. The term "military personnel health monitoring" is defined as an analytical system of constant and long-term observation, analysis, assessment, studying of factors determined the military personnel health, these factors correlations, health risk factors management in order to minimize them. The current state of the military personnel health monitoring allows coming to the conclusion that the military health system does have forces and resources for state policy of establishing the population health monitoring system implementation. The following directions of the militarily personnel health monitoring improvement are proposed: the Russian Federation Armed Forces medical service record and report system reorganization bringing it closer to the civilian one, implementation of the integrated approach to the medical service informatisation, namely, military personnel health status and medical service resources monitoring. The leading means in this direction are development and introduction of a military serviceman individual health status monitoring system on the basis of a serviceman electronic medical record card. Also it is proposed the current Russian Federation Armed Forces social and hygienic monitoring improvement at the expense of informational interaction between the two subsystems on the basis of unified military medical service space.

Creation of a national resource with linked genealogy and phenotypic data: the Veterans Genealogy Project.

PubMed

Cannon-Albright, Lisa A; Dintelman, Sue; Maness, Tim; Backus, Steve; Thomas, Alun; Meyer, Laurence J

2013-07-01

Creation of a genealogy of the United States and its ancestral populations is under way. When complete, this US genealogy will be record linked to the National Veteran's Health Administration medical data representing more than 8 million US veterans. Genealogical data are gathered from public sources, primarily the Internet. Record linking using data from relatives is accomplished to integrate multiple data sources and then to link genealogical data to the veteran's demographic data. This resource currently includes genealogy for more than 22 million individuals representing the Intermountain West and the East Coast. The demographic data for more than 40,000 veteran patients using Veterans Hospital Administration services in Utah and Massachusetts have already been record linked. The resource is only in its second year of creation and already represents the largest such combination of genealogy and medical data in the world. The data sources, the creation of the genealogy, record-linking methods and results, proposed genetic analyses, and future directions are discussed.

Predicting Urban Medical Services Demand in China: An Improved Grey Markov Chain Model by Taylor Approximation.

PubMed

Duan, Jinli; Jiao, Feng; Zhang, Qishan; Lin, Zhibin

2017-08-06

The sharp increase of the aging population has raised the pressure on the current limited medical resources in China. To better allocate resources, a more accurate prediction on medical service demand is very urgently needed. This study aims to improve the prediction on medical services demand in China. To achieve this aim, the study combines Taylor Approximation into the Grey Markov Chain model, and develops a new model named Taylor-Markov Chain GM (1,1) (T-MCGM (1,1)). The new model has been tested by adopting the historical data, which includes the medical service on treatment of diabetes, heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease from 1997 to 2015 in China. The model provides a predication on medical service demand of these three types of disease up to 2022. The results reveal an enormous growth of urban medical service demand in the future. The findings provide practical implications for the Health Administrative Department to allocate medical resources, and help hospitals to manage investments on medical facilities.

Dynamic health policies for controlling the spread of emerging infections: influenza as an example.

PubMed

Yaesoubi, Reza; Cohen, Ted

2011-01-01

The recent appearance and spread of novel infectious pathogens provide motivation for using models as tools to guide public health decision-making. Here we describe a modeling approach for developing dynamic health policies that allow for adaptive decision-making as new data become available during an epidemic. In contrast to static health policies which have generally been selected by comparing the performance of a limited number of pre-determined sequences of interventions within simulation or mathematical models, dynamic health policies produce "real-time" recommendations for the choice of the best current intervention based on the observable state of the epidemic. Using cumulative real-time data for disease spread coupled with current information about resource availability, these policies provide recommendations for interventions that optimally utilize available resources to preserve the overall health of the population. We illustrate the design and implementation of a dynamic health policy for the control of a novel strain of influenza, where we assume that two types of intervention may be available during the epidemic: (1) vaccines and antiviral drugs, and (2) transmission reducing measures, such as social distancing or mask use, that may be turned "on" or "off" repeatedly during the course of epidemic. In this example, the optimal dynamic health policy maximizes the overall population's health during the epidemic by specifying at any point of time, based on observable conditions, (1) the number of individuals to vaccinate if vaccines are available, and (2) whether the transmission-reducing intervention should be either employed or removed.

Environmental and Occupational Exposures in Immigrant Health

PubMed Central

Eamranond, Pracha P.; Hu, Howard

2008-01-01

Immigrants comprise vulnerable populations that are frequently exposed to a multitude of environmental and occupational hazards. The historical context behind state and federal legislation has helped to foster an environment that is particularly hostile toward caring for immigrant health. Current hazards include toxic exposures, air and noise pollution, motor vehicle accidents, crowded living and work environments with inadequate ventilation, poor sanitation, mechanical injury, among many others. Immigrants lack the appropriate training, materials, health care access, and other resources to reduce their exposure to preventable environmental and occupational health risks. This dilemma is exacerbated by current anti-immigrant sentiments, miscommunication between native and immigrant populations, and legislation denying immigrants access to publicly funded medical care. Given that current health policy has failed to address immigrant health appropriately and political impetus is lacking, efforts should also focus on alternative solutions, including organized labor. Labor unions that serve to educate workers, survey work environments, and defend worker rights will greatly alleviate and prevent the burden of disease incurred by immigrants. The nation’s health will benefit from improved regulation of living and workplace environments to improve the health of immigrants, regardless of legal status. PMID:21572847

Biosensors for Sustainable Food Engineering: Challenges and Perspectives

PubMed Central

Ragavan, Vasanth; Weng, Xuan; Chand, Rohit

2018-01-01

Current food production faces tremendous challenges from growing human population, maintaining clean resources and food qualities, and protecting climate and environment. Food sustainability is mostly a cooperative effort resulting in technology development supported by both governments and enterprises. Multiple attempts have been promoted in tackling challenges and enhancing drivers in food production. Biosensors and biosensing technologies with their applications, are being widely applied to tackling top challenges in food production and its sustainability. Consequently, a growing demand in biosensing technologies exists in food sustainability. Microfluidics represents a technological system integrating multiple technologies. Nanomaterials, with its technology in biosensing, is thought to be the most promising tool in dealing with health, energy, and environmental issues closely related to world populations. The demand of point of care (POC) technologies in this area focus on rapid, simple, accurate, portable, and low-cost analytical instruments. This review provides current viewpoints from the literature on biosensing in food production, food processing, safety and security, food packaging and supply chain, food waste processing, food quality assurance, and food engineering. The current understanding of progress, solution, and future challenges, as well as the commercialization of biosensors are summarized. PMID:29534552

Rural Poor Economies and Foreign Investors: An Opportunity or a Risk?

PubMed Central

Antoci, Angelo; Russu, Paolo; Ticci, Elisa

2014-01-01

In the current age of commercial and financial openness, remote and poor local economies are becoming increasingly exposed to inflows of external capital. The new investors - enjoying lower credit constraints than local dwellers - might play a propulsive role in local development. At the same time, inflows of external capital can have negative impacts on local natural resource-dependent activities. We analyze a two-sector model where both sectors damage the environment, but only that of domestic producers relies on natural resources. We assess under which conditions the coexistence of the two sectors is compatible with sustainability, defined as convergence to a stationary state characterized by a positive stock of the natural resource. Moreover, we find that capital inflows can be stimulated by an increase in the pollution intensity of incoming activities, but also in the pollution intensity of the domestic sector; in both cases, capital inflows generate environmental degradation and a decrease in welfare for the local population. Finally, we show that a reduction in the cost of capital for external investors and the consequent capital inflows have the effect to increase wages, local investments and welfare of the local populations only if the environmental impact of the external sector is relatively low with respect to that of local activities. Otherwise, an unexpected scenario characterized by a reduction in domestic capital accumulation and the impoverishment of local agents can occur. PMID:25506694

Rural poor economies and foreign investors: an opportunity or a risk?

PubMed

Antoci, Angelo; Russu, Paolo; Ticci, Elisa

2014-01-01

In the current age of commercial and financial openness, remote and poor local economies are becoming increasingly exposed to inflows of external capital. The new investors - enjoying lower credit constraints than local dwellers - might play a propulsive role in local development. At the same time, inflows of external capital can have negative impacts on local natural resource-dependent activities. We analyze a two-sector model where both sectors damage the environment, but only that of domestic producers relies on natural resources. We assess under which conditions the coexistence of the two sectors is compatible with sustainability, defined as convergence to a stationary state characterized by a positive stock of the natural resource. Moreover, we find that capital inflows can be stimulated by an increase in the pollution intensity of incoming activities, but also in the pollution intensity of the domestic sector; in both cases, capital inflows generate environmental degradation and a decrease in welfare for the local population. Finally, we show that a reduction in the cost of capital for external investors and the consequent capital inflows have the effect to increase wages, local investments and welfare of the local populations only if the environmental impact of the external sector is relatively low with respect to that of local activities. Otherwise, an unexpected scenario characterized by a reduction in domestic capital accumulation and the impoverishment of local agents can occur.

The Interactive Role of Immature Stage Competition, Cohort Overlap, and Resource Limitation on the Population Viability of the Treehole Mosquito Aedes triseriatus (Diptera: Culicidae).

PubMed

Hanly, Patrick J; Haase, Amanda T

2016-05-01

The size and success of epidemiologically significant adult mosquito populations are inherently tied to the conditions of the aquatic habitat in which juvenile stages grow until eclosion. While resource competition and quality are well-established controls to juvenile growth and survival, the implications to overall population rates of increase are less understood due to the large sample sizes needed to parameterize population models for all five juvenile life stages under multiple environmental and demographic conditions. Here, we present the results of >4,300 trials of wild-caught Aedes triseriatus (Say, 1823) larvae and pupae reared under varying resource quantity crossed by the presence or absence of competition within a single cohort as well as multiple overlapping cohorts. Demographic projection was used to make predictions of the realized growth rates of simulated Ae. triseriatus populations across the range of potential Ae. triseriatus fecundity. Further, to inform control efforts on juvenile habitat, we constructed a stochastic simulation to estimate the rates of successful emergence from habitats under different resource regimes and levels of cohort overlap. We found that while Ae. triseriatus populations were robust to low resource levels and competition within a cohort, the combination of these stressors with multiple cohort overlap led to self-limitation or complete collapse of mosquito populations. Despite this importance of intraspecific competition to population viability, the stochastic simulation revealed only a modest self-limitation of adult emergence, with the clear implication that high-resource habitats are a higher value control target. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Global rates of habitat loss and implications for amphibian conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gallant, Alisa L.; Klaver, R.W.; Casper, G.S.; Lannoo, M.J.

2007-01-01

A large number of factors are known to affect amphibian population viability, but most authors agree that the principal causes of amphibian declines are habitat loss, alteration, and fragmentation. We provide a global assessment of land use dynamics in the context of amphibian distributions. We accomplished this by compiling global maps of amphibian species richness and recent rates of change in land cover, land use, and human population growth. The amphibian map was developed using a combination of published literature and digital databases. We used an ecoregion framework to help interpret species distributions across environmental, rather than political, boundaries. We mapped rates of land cover and use change with statistics from the World Resources Institute, refined with a global digital dataset on land cover derived from satellite data. Temporal maps of human population were developed from the World Resources Institute database and other published sources. Our resultant map of amphibian species richness illustrates that amphibians are distributed in an uneven pattern around the globe, preferring terrestrial and freshwater habitats in ecoregions that are warm and moist. Spatiotemporal patterns of human population show that, prior to the 20th century, population growth and spread was slower, most extensive in the temperate ecoregions, and largely exclusive of major regions of high amphibian richness. Since the beginning of the 20th century, human population growth has been exponential and has occurred largely in the subtropical and tropical ecoregions favored by amphibians. Population growth has been accompanied by broad-scale changes in land cover and land use, typically in support of agriculture. We merged information on land cover, land use, and human population growth to generate a composite map showing the rates at which humans have been changing the world. When compared with the map of amphibian species richness, we found that many of the regions of the earth supporting the richest assemblages of amphibians are currently undergoing the highest rates of landscape modification.

Social capital strategies to enhance hepatitis C treatment awareness and uptake among men in prison.

PubMed

Lafferty, L; Treloar, C; Guthrie, J; Chambers, G M; Butler, T

2017-02-01

Prisoner populations are characterized by high rates of hepatitis C (HCV), up to thirty times that of the general population in Australia. Within Australian prisons, less than 1% of eligible inmates access treatment. Public health strategies informed by social capital could be important in addressing this inequality in access to HCV treatment. Twenty-eight male inmates participated in qualitative interviews across three correctional centres in New South Wales, Australia. All participants had recently tested as HCV RNA positive or were receiving HCV treatment. Analysis was conducted with participants including men with experiences of HCV treatment (n=10) (including those currently accessing treatment and those with a history of treatment) and those who were treatment naïve (n=18). Social capital was a resourceful commodity for inmates considering and undergoing treatment while in custody. Inmates were a valuable resource for information regarding HCV treatment, including personal accounts and reassurance (bonding social capital), while nurses a resource for the provision of information and care (linking social capital). Although linking social capital between inmates and nurses appeared influential in HCV treatment access, there remained opportunities for increasing linking social capital within the prison setting (such as nurse-led engagement within the prisons). Bonding and linking social capital can be valuable resources in promoting HCV treatment awareness, uptake and adherence. Peer-based programmes are likely to be influential in promoting HCV outcomes in the prison setting. Engagement in prisons, outside of the clinics, would enhance opportunities for linking social capital to influence HCV treatment outcomes. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Clinical audit of COPD patients requiring hospital admissions in Spain: AUDIPOC study.

PubMed

Pozo-Rodríguez, Francisco; López-Campos, Jose Luis; Alvarez-Martínez, Carlos J; Castro-Acosta, Ady; Agüero, Ramón; Hueto, Javier; Hernández-Hernández, Jesús; Barrón, Manuel; Abraira, Victor; Forte, Anabel; Sanchez Nieto, Juan Miguel; Lopez-Gabaldón, Encarnación; Cosío, Borja G; Agustí, Alvar

2012-01-01

AUDIPOC is a nationwide clinical audit that describes the characteristics, interventions and outcomes of patients admitted to Spanish hospitals because of an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (ECOPD), assessing the compliance of these parameters with current international guidelines. The present study describes hospital resources, hospital factors related to case recruitment variability, patients' characteristics, and adherence to guidelines. An organisational database was completed by all participant hospitals recording resources and organisation. Over an 8-week period 11,564 consecutive ECOPD admissions to 129 Spanish hospitals covering 70% of the Spanish population were prospectively identified. At hospital discharge, 5,178 patients (45% of eligible) were finally included, and thus constituted the audited population. Audited patients were reassessed 90 days after admission for survival and readmission rates. A wide variability was observed in relation to most variables, hospital adherence to guidelines, and readmissions and death. Median inpatient mortality was 5% (across-hospital range 0-35%). Among discharged patients, 37% required readmission (0-62%) and 6.5% died (0-35%). The overall mortality rate was 11.6% (0-50%). Hospital size and complexity and aspects related to hospital COPD awareness were significantly associated with case recruitment. Clinical management most often complied with diagnosis and treatment recommendations but rarely (<50%) addressed guidance on healthy life-styles. The AUDIPOC study highlights the large across-hospital variability in resources and organization of hospitals, patient characteristics, process of care, and outcomes. The study also identifies resources and organizational characteristics associated with the admission of COPD cases, as well as aspects of daily clinical care amenable to improvement.

Long-term impacts of invasive species on a native top predator in a large lake system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rush, Scott A.; Paterson, Gordon; Johnson, Tim B.; Drouillard, Ken G.; Haffner, Gordon D.; Hebert, Craig E.; Arts, Michael T.; McGoldrick, Daryl J.; Backus, Sean M.; Lantry, Brian F.; Lantry, Jana R.; Schaner, Ted; Fisk, Aaron T.

2012-01-01

1. Declining abundances of forage fish and the introduction and establishment of non-indigenous species have the potential to substantially alter resource and habitat exploitation by top predators in large lakes. 2. We measured stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) in field-collected and archived samples of Lake Ontario lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and five species of prey fish and compared current trophic relationships of this top predator with historical samples. 3. Relationships between δ15N and lake trout age were temporally consistent throughout Lake Ontario and confirmed the role of lake trout as a top predator in this food web. However, δ13C values for age classes of lake trout collected in 2008 ranged from 1.0 to 3.9‰ higher than those reported for the population sampled in 1992. 4. Isotope mixing models predicted that these changes in resource assimilation were owing to the replacement of rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) by round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) in lake trout diet and increased reliance on carbon resources derived from nearshore production. This contrasts with the historical situation in Lake Ontario where δ13C values of the lake trout population were dominated by a reliance on offshore carbon production. 5. These results indicate a reduced capacity of the Lake Ontario offshore food web to support the energetic requirements of lake trout and that this top predator has become increasingly reliant on prey resources that are derived from nearshore carbon pathways.

Methane emission from ruminants and solid waste: A critical analysis of baseline and mitigation projections for climate and policy studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, E.

2012-12-01

Current and projected estimates of methane (CH4) emission from anthropogenic sources are numerous but largely unexamined or compared. Presented here is a critical appraisal of CH4 projections used in climate-chemistry and policy studies. We compare emissions for major CH4 sources from several groups, including our own new data and RCP projections developed for climate-chemistry models for the next IPCC Assessment Report (AR5). We focus on current and projected baseline and mitigation emissions from ruminant animals and solid waste that are both predicted to rise dramatically in coming decades, driven primarily by developing countries. For waste, drivers include increasing urban populations, higher per capita waste generation due to economic growth and increasing landfilling rates. Analysis of a new global data base detailing waste composition, collection and disposal indicates that IPCC-based methodologies and default data overestimate CH4 emission for the current period which cascades into substantial overestimates in future projections. CH4 emission from solid waste is estimated to be ~10-15 Tg CH4/yr currently rather than the ~35 Tg/yr often reported in the literature. Moreover, emissions from developing countries are unlikely to rise rapidly in coming decades because new management approaches, such as sanitary landfills, that would increase emissions are maladapted to infrastructures in these countries and therefore unlikely to be implemented. The low current emission associated with solid waste (~10 Tg), together with future modest growth, implies that mitigation of waste-related CH4 emission is a poor candidate for slowing global warming. In the case of ruminant animals (~90 Tg CH4/yr currently), the dominant assumption driving future trajectories of CH4 emission is a substantial increase in meat and dairy consumption in developing countries to be satisfied by growing animal populations. Unlike solid waste, current ruminant emissions among studies exhibit a narrow range that does not necessarily signal low uncertainty but rather a reliance on similar animal statistics and emission factors. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projects 2000-2030 growth rates of livestock for most developing countries at 2% to >3% annually. However, the assumption of rapidly rising meat consumption is not supported by current trends nor by resource availability. For example, increased meat consumption in China and other developing countries is poultry and pork that do not affect CH4 emissions, suggesting that the rapid growth projected for all animals, boosting growth in CH4 emission, will not occur. From a resource standpoint, large increases in cattle, sheep and goat populations, especially for African countries (~60% by 2030), are not supportable on arid grazing lands that require very low stocking rates and semi-nomadic management. Increases projected for African animal populations would require either that about 2/3 more animals are grazed on increasingly drier lands or that all non-forested areas become grazing lands. Similar to solid waste, future methane emission from ruminant animals is likely to grow modestly although animals are not a likely candidate for CH4 mitigation due to their dispersed distribution throughout widely varying agricultural systems under very local management.

Assessment of water availability and demand in Lake Guiers , Senegal.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sambou, D.; Weihrauch, D.; Hellwing, V.; Diekkrüger, B.; Höllermann, B.; Gaye, A. T.

2015-12-01

Assessment of water availability and demand in Lake Guiers, SenegalWater resources are critical to economic growth and social development. In most African countries, supply of drinking water to satisfy population needs is a key issue because of population growth and climate and land use change. During the last three decades, increasing population, changing patterns of water demand, and concentration of population and economic activities in urban areas has pressurize Senegal's freshwater resources. To overcome this deficit, Senegal turned, to the exploitation of the Lake Guiers. It is the sole water reservoir which can be used extensively as a stable freshwater. Its water is use for irrigating crops and sugar refinery and as a drinking water resource for urban centres, including Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, as well as for the local population and animal herds. To ensure sustainability, a greater understanding of Lake Guiers's water resources and effective management of its use will be required. In this study we developed and quantified future water situation (water availability and demand) in Lake Guiers under scenarios of climate change and population growth until 2050, using the water management model WEAP (Water Evaluation And Planning system). The results show that the pressure on Lake Guiers's water resources will increase, leading to greater competition between agriculture and municipal demand site. Decreasing inflows due to climate change will aggravate this situation. WEAP results offer basis to assister lake Guiers water resources manager for an efficient long-term planning and management. Keywords: climate change, population growth , IWRM, Lake Guiers, Senegal

The extent of interorganizational resource sharing among local health departments: the association with organizational characteristics and institutional factors.

PubMed

Vest, Joshua R; Shah, Gulzar H

2012-11-01

Resource sharing, arrangements between local health departments (LHDs) for joint programs or to share staff, is a growing occurrence. The post-9/11 influx of federal funding and new public health preparedness responsibilities dramatically increased the occurrence of these inter-LHD relationships, and several states have pursed more intrastate collaboration. This article describes the current state of resource sharing among LHDs and identifies the factors associated with resource sharing. Using the National Association of County & City Health Officials' 2010 Profile Survey, we determined the self-reported number of shared programmatic activities and the number of shared organizational functions for a sample of LHDs. Negative binomial regression models described the relationships between factors suggested by interorganizational theory and the counts of sharing activities. We examined the extent of resource sharing using 2 different count variables: (1) number of shared programmatic activities and (2) number of shared organizational functions. About one-half of all LHDs are engaged in resource sharing. The extent of sharing was lower for those serving larger populations, with city jurisdictions, or of larger size. Sharing was more extensive for state-governed LHDs, those covering multiple jurisdictions, states with centralized governance, and in instances of financial constraint. Many LHDs are engaged in a greater extent of resource sharing than others. Leaders of LHDs can work within the context of these factors to leverage resource sharing to meet their organizational needs.

Contribution of natural resources to nutritional status in a protected area of Gabon.

PubMed

Blaney, Sonia; Beaudry, Micheline; Latham, Michael

2009-03-01

In protected areas, legislation restricts the population's access to natural food resources, which might have an impact on their welfare. To assess the contribution of the individual use of natural resources to nutritional status in the rural population of the Gamba Complex of Gabon. Four villages were selected to represent the rural population. All households were invited to participate, and 95% agreed. In each of the two major seasons, data were collected from all individuals (n = 637) in these 95 households during a 7-day period using a weighed food-consumption survey, observations, interviews, and anthropometric measures. Among children 5 to 9 years of age (n = 82) and adolescents (n = 169), their use of natural resources was the best predictor of nutritional status (explaining 8% of the variance), mainly via its contribution to the achievement of nutrient requirements. The use of natural resources was not a predictor for children 6 to 23 months (n = 28) or 24 to 59 months of age (n = 63), where the best predictors were access to care (26%) and health status (15%), respectively. Household food security predicted nutritional status in women caregivers (n = 96), although negatively. Natural resources contribute to the nutritional status of children 5 to 9 years of age and adolescents but not of other groups. The intrahousehold allocation of food, particularly of natural food resources, needs to be investigated to better appreciate the contribution of natural resources to the population's well-being. Women seem particularly vulnerable. Other than activities related to conservation, work is needed to understand the role of natural resources for populations living within and around protected areas.

Phylogenetically conserved resource partitioning in the coastal microbial loop

PubMed Central

Bryson, Samuel; Li, Zhou; Chavez, Francisco; Weber, Peter K; Pett-Ridge, Jennifer; Hettich, Robert L; Pan, Chongle; Mayali, Xavier; Mueller, Ryan S

2017-01-01

Resource availability influences marine microbial community structure, suggesting that population-specific resource partitioning defines discrete niches. Identifying how resources are partitioned among populations, thereby characterizing functional guilds within the communities, remains a challenge for microbial ecologists. We used proteomic stable isotope probing (SIP) and NanoSIMS analysis of phylogenetic microarrays (Chip-SIP) along with 16S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenomic sequencing to characterize the assimilation of six 13C-labeled common metabolic substrates and changes in the microbial community structure within surface water collected from Monterey Bay, CA. Both sequencing approaches indicated distinct substrate-specific community shifts. However, observed changes in relative abundance for individual populations did not correlate well with directly measured substrate assimilation. The complementary SIP techniques identified assimilation of all six substrates by diverse taxa, but also revealed differential assimilation of substrates into protein and ribonucleotide biomass between taxa. Substrate assimilation trends indicated significantly conserved resource partitioning among populations within the Flavobacteriia, Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria classes, suggesting that functional guilds within marine microbial communities are phylogenetically cohesive. However, populations within these classes exhibited heterogeneity in biosynthetic activity, which distinguished high-activity copiotrophs from low-activity oligotrophs. These results indicate distinct growth responses between populations that is not apparent by genome sequencing alone. PMID:28800138

An Analysis of Current Energy Policy Initiatives in New Mexico. What are the Potential Impacts to the State's Water Resources?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klise, G. T.; Hart, W. E.; Kobos, P. H.; Malczynski, L. A.; Tidwell, V. C.

2008-12-01

Population in New Mexico is increasing rapidly with recent projections showing that the state will add more than 1 million people by 2035. This growth will create a demand for additional energy and water supplies that have yet to be developed. New Mexico currently exports about 50% of the energy generated within the state to neighboring states, and existing power plants predominately utilize traditional fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. Because traditional electric generation technologies utilize large quantities of water, New Mexico can also be seen as exporting water for the benefit of electricity consumed in neighboring states. As it is, both surface water and groundwater supplies are stretched thin and these internal and external stresses stemming from population growth will have a substantial impact on the state's water resources. In 2004, the Governor laid out a plan to make New Mexico a "Clean Energy State" by implementing renewable portfolio standards, developing renewable energy transmission infrastructure, creating an alternative energy innovation fund and creating state specific tax credits for renewable energy production and manufacturing. Recent work in the National Energy-Water Roadmap has pointed out that certain renewable sources of energy utilize less water than traditional power plants, and technological fixes to existing power plants will result in less water consumption. If New Mexico carries out its energy initiative, what will be the impacts to the state's water resources? Will it be possible to meet competing demands for this water? These questions and others will be analyzed in a decision-support tool that can look at the connection between both the physical and economic systems to see what the tradeoffs might be as a result of specific policy decisions. The ability to plan for future energy needs and understanding potential impacts to the state's limited water resources will be an invaluable tool for decision-makers in New Mexico. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Resources for eye care at secondary and tertiary level government institutions in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Al Motowa, Saeed; Khandekar, Rajiv; Al-Towerki, Abdulelah

2014-01-01

To evaluate the number of healthcare personnel and equipment resources for eye care at government institutions in different administrative zones of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and to recommend measures for increasing resources to address deficiencies. Data on resources (personnel and equipment) for eye care were collected from all governmental eye units in 2012. The data was regrouped by zones and administrative areas. The mid-2012 population projections were used to calculate the ophthalmologist to population ratio and optometrist to population ratio. The equipment available for eye care was reviewed. All 60 institutions in 13 administrative areas and five zones of KSA participated in this study. There were 407 ophthalmologists and 147 optometrists. The ophthalmologist to population ratio was 1:43,000 (1:12,900 in the northern zone to 1:80,300 in the western zone). By 2015, 700 ophthalmologists will be required, and by 2020, 1,100 ophthalmologists will be required. The optometrist to population ratio was 1:95,000 (1:34,100 in the northern zone to 1:146,700 in the western zone). Nearly 2,800 and 4,400 allied eye care personnel will be needed by 2015 and 2020. Diagnostic and treatment equipment such as lasers, electrophysiologic and ultrasound equipment, and fundus cameras were not available at all institutions. Data from the private sector need to be included to draw conclusions on the human resource index for eye care in the Kingdom. An unequal distribution of resources in different zones and administrative areas requires attention. Better utilization of available resources is recommended before fulfilling the demand for additional resources.

The Urban/Rural Dichotomy in the Distribution of Breast Cancer Across Pennsylvania.

PubMed

Boukovalas, Stefanos; Sariego, Jack

2015-09-01

Breast cancer rates clearly differ across the United States. This is due to a variety of factors, but at least one determinant is the population density. Breast cancer detection rates and treatment paradigms may differ in rural areas when compared with more urban ones. As the population becomes more mobile and diffuse, this may or may not be a worsening problem. The current analysis was undertaken to examine the breast cancer incidence and outcomes in a single state in an attempt to plan for resource allocation in the future. A retrospective analysis was performed using data available from the Pennsylvania Department of Health regarding breast cancer rates by county, the distribution of cases with regard to degree of rurality, death rates by county as a function of rurality, and the age distribution of all presenting cases. Data from 1999 were compared with those of 2009. The United States Census Bureau definition of rurality was used, which specifies that a county be classified as rural if the population density is less than 284 persons/square mile. Between 1999 and 2009, the population of Pennsylvania increased by approximately 3.4 per cent (421,325 people). The urban population increased by 3.9 per cent, whereas the rural population increased by only 2.2 per cent. During that same period, the number of cancer cases/100,000 population remained about the same: 391.41 in 1999; 390.7 in 2009. However, the distribution of cases shifted during that time toward more rural areas of the state: in 1999, there were 372.3 breast cancer cases/100,000 population compared with 2009 when the rate was 384.4/100,000 population. The number of cancer deaths/100,000 population actually dropped overall during the decade: 98.5 in 1999 versus 82.3 in 2009. Though this was true in both urban and rural counties, the decrease was much less pronounced in the rural areas. In urban counties, the death rate dropped from 100.5 to 81.5/100,000 population, whereas in rural counties, the drop was only from 93.3 to 84.3. The greater increase in cases diagnosed in rural areas of Pennsylvania is only partially explained by the relatively greater increase in rural population. There are undoubtedly other issues at work in rural areas: environmental factors, diffusion of resources, less access to surveillance programs. In addition, though the death rate has dropped in both rural and urban areas, this is much less pronounced in rural counties. Coupled with the increase in prevalence in those areas, this suggests that breast cancer care may be lagging in rural areas. There is a need to examine allocation of resources and surveillance programs.

Should the Endangered Status of the Giant Panda Really Be Reduced? The Case of Giant Panda Conservation in Sichuan, China

PubMed Central

Ma, Ben; Lei, Shuo; Qing, Qin; Wen, Yali

2018-01-01

Simple Summary This study evaluates the effect of local, regional, and global factors on the recovery of giant panda populations and their habitat, questioning the recent downgrading in the conservation status of this iconic species. We highlight the actions taken over the last decade, which were primarily local scale changes and efforts for protecting pandas. Broader regional development and global climate change are expected to negatively affect current population trends in the long-term; this phenomenon has been documented in other wildlife populations also showing a recent recovery. Thus, we call for a revision of the assessments stipulated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature to incorporate broader potential impacts in predicting the future survival of threatened populations, thereby, ensuring that appropriate and objective protection measures are implemented well in advance. Abstract The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reduced the threat status of the giant panda from “endangered” to “vulnerable” in September 2016. In this study, we analyzed current practices for giant panda conservation at regional and local environmental scales, based on recent reports of giant panda protection efforts in Sichuan Province, China, combined with the survey results from 927 households within and adjacent to the giant panda reserves in this area. The results showed that household attitudes were very positive regarding giant panda protection efforts. Over the last 10 years, farmers’ dependence on the natural resources provided by giant panda reserves significantly decreased. However, socio-economic development increased resource consumption, and led to climate change, habitat fragmentation, environmental pollution, and other issues that placed increased pressure on giant panda populations. This difference between local and regional scales must be considered when evaluating the IUCN status of giant pandas. While the status of this species has improved in the short-term due to positive local attitudes, large-scale socio-economic development pressure could have long-term negative impacts. Consequently, the IUCN assessment leading to the classification of giant panda as “vulnerable” instead of “endangered”, should not affect its conservation intensity and effort, as such actions could negatively impact population recovery efforts, leading to the extinction of this charismatic species. PMID:29751488

A Simple Model for Human and Nature Interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Motesharrei, S.; Rivas, J.; Kalnay, E.

2012-12-01

There are widespread concerns that current trends in population and resource-use are unsustainable, but the possibilities of an overshoot and collapse remain unclear and controversial. Collapses of civilizations have occurred many times in the past 5000 years, often followed by centuries of economic, intellectual, and population decline. Many different natural and social phenomena have been invoked to explain specific collapses, but a general explanation remains elusive. Two important features seem to appear across societies that have collapsed: Ecological Strain and Economic Stratification. Our new model (Human And Nature DYnamics, HANDY) has just four equations that describe the evolution of Elites, Commoners, Nature, and Wealth. Mechanisms leading to collapse are discussed and the measure "Carrying Capacity" is developed and defined. The model shows that societal collapse can happen due to either one of two independent factors: (1) over-consumption of natural resources, and/or (2) deep inequity between Elites and Commoners. The model also portrays two distinct types of collapse: (i) collapse followed by recovery of nature, and (ii) full collapse. The model suggests that the estimation of Carrying Capacity is a practical means for early detection of a collapse. Collapse can be avoided, and population can reach a sustainable equilibrium, if the rate of depletion of nature is reduced to a sustainable level, and if resources are distributed in a reasonably equitable fashion.; A type-ii (full) collapse is shown in this figure. With high inequality and high depletion, societies are doomed to collapse. Wealth starts to decrease when population rises above the carrying capacity. The large gap between carrying capacity and its maximum is a result of depletion factor being much larger than the sustainable limit. ; It is possible to overshoot, oscillate, and eventually converge to an equilibrium, even in an inequitable society. However, it requires policies that control birth rates and inequality. Additionally, depletion (production) must be kept within a reasonable range.

Shifting species interactions in terrestrial dryland ecosystems under altered water availability and climate change

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCluney, Kevin E.; Belnap, Jayne; Collins, Scott L.; González, Angélica L.; Hagen, Elizabeth M.; Holland, J. Nathaniel; Kotler, Burt P.; Maestre, Fernando T.; Smith, Stanley D.; Wolf, Blair O.

2012-01-01

Species interactions play key roles in linking the responses of populations, communities, and ecosystems to environmental change. For instance, species interactions are an important determinant of the complexity of changes in trophic biomass with variation in resources. Water resources are a major driver of terrestrial ecology and climate change is expected to greatly alter the distribution of this critical resource. While previous studies have documented strong effects of global environmental change on species interactions in general, responses can vary from region to region. Dryland ecosystems occupy more than one-third of the Earth's land mass, are greatly affected by changes in water availability, and are predicted to be hotspots of climate change. Thus, it is imperative to understand the effects of environmental change on these globally significant ecosystems. Here, we review studies of the responses of population-level plant-plant, plant-herbivore, and predator-prey interactions to changes in water availability in dryland environments in order to develop new hypotheses and predictions to guide future research. To help explain patterns of interaction outcomes, we developed a conceptual model that views interaction outcomes as shifting between (1) competition and facilitation (plant-plant), (2) herbivory, neutralism, or mutualism (plant-herbivore), or (3) neutralism and predation (predator-prey), as water availability crosses physiological, behavioural, or population-density thresholds. We link our conceptual model to hypothetical scenarios of current and future water availability to make testable predictions about the influence of changes in water availability on species interactions. We also examine potential implications of our conceptual model for the relative importance of top-down effects and the linearity of patterns of change in trophic biomass with changes in water availability. Finally, we highlight key research needs and some possible broader impacts of our findings. Overall, we hope to stimulate and guide future research that links changes in water availability to patterns of species interactions and the dynamics of populations and communities in dryland ecosystems.

Past and Present Biophysical Redundancy of Countries as a Buffer to Changes in Food Supply

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fader, Marianela; Rulli, Maria Cristina; Carr, Joel; Dell' Angelo, Jampel; D' Odorico, Paolo; Gephart, Jessica A.; Kummu, Matti; Magliocca, Nicholas; Porkka, Miina; Prell, Christina;

Construction of a High-Density American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) Composite Map Using Genotyping-by-Sequencing for Multi-pedigree Linkage Mapping.

PubMed

Schlautman, Brandon; Covarrubias-Pazaran, Giovanny; Diaz-Garcia, Luis; Iorizzo, Massimo; Polashock, James; Grygleski, Edward; Vorsa, Nicholi; Zalapa, Juan

2017-04-03

The American cranberry ( Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) is a recently domesticated, economically important, fruit crop with limited molecular resources. New genetic resources could accelerate genetic gain in cranberry through characterization of its genomic structure and by enabling molecular-assisted breeding strategies. To increase the availability of cranberry genomic resources, genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) was used to discover and genotype thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within three interrelated cranberry full-sib populations. Additional simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci were added to the SNP datasets and used to construct bin maps for the parents of the populations, which were then merged to create the first high-density cranberry composite map containing 6073 markers (5437 SNPs and 636 SSRs) on 12 linkage groups (LGs) spanning 1124 cM. Interestingly, higher rates of recombination were observed in maternal than paternal gametes. The large number of markers in common (mean of 57.3) and the high degree of observed collinearity (mean Pair-wise Spearman rank correlations >0.99) between the LGs of the parental maps demonstrates the utility of GBS in cranberry for identifying polymorphic SNP loci that are transferable between pedigrees and populations in future trait-association studies. Furthermore, the high-density of markers anchored within the component maps allowed identification of segregation distortion regions, placement of centromeres on each of the 12 LGs, and anchoring of genomic scaffolds. Collectively, the results represent an important contribution to the current understanding of cranberry genomic structure and to the availability of molecular tools for future genetic research and breeding efforts in cranberry. Copyright © 2017 Schlautman et al.

Remote sensing applications in African agriculture and natural resources: Highlighting and managing the stress of increasing population pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amissah-Arthur, Abigail; Balstad Miller, Roberta

Given current population trends and projections in sub-Saharan Africa, it is anticipated that substantial intensification of agricultural cropland is certain within the next decades. In the absence of adoption of improved technologies poor rural populations in this region will continue to degrade and mine the natural resources to ensure their survival. All these actions will have far-reaching implications for environmental quality and human health. However, only through the integration of environment and development concerns with greater attention to these link can we achieve the goal of fulfilling the basic needs, improved living standards for all, better protected and managed eco-systems and a safer, more prosperous future. The paper reviews case studies and provides examples of the integration, analysis, and visualization of information from remotely sensed, biophysical and socioeconomic information to assess the present situation hindering agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa. These studies show the interactions between socio-economic and environmental factors that can help governments and policy-makers assess the scope of the problems, examine alternatives and decide on a course of action. Sound decisions depend on accurate information, yet most African countries face severe competing demands for the financial and human commitments necessary to staff an information system equal to its policy-making requirements. The role of international data centers is reviewed in terms of their abilities to develop and maintain information systems that bring together available accumulated knowledge and data. This permits comparative studies, which make it possible to develop a better understanding of the relationships among demographic dynamics, technology, cultural behavioral norms, and land resources and hence better decision making for sustainable development.

Potential for use of environmental factors in urban planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teixeira da Silva, Ricardo; van der Ploeg, Martine; van Delden, Hedwig; Fleskens, Luuk

2016-04-01

Projections for population growth estimate, on top of the current 7.4 billion world population, an increase of 2 billion people for the next 40 years. It is also projected that 66 per cent of the world population in 2050 will live in urban areas. To accommodate the urban population growth cities are changing continuously land cover to urban areas. Such changes are a threat for natural resources and food production systems stability and capability to provide food and other functions. However, little has been done concerning a rational soil management for food production in urban and peri-urban areas. This study focuses on the assessment of soil lost due to urban expansion and discusses the potential loss regarding the quality of the soil for food production and environmental functions. It is relevant to increase the knowledge on the role of soils in peri-urban areas and in the interaction of physical, environmental and social factors. The methodology consists of assessing the soil quality in and around urban and peri-urban areas. It focuses particularly on the physical properties and the environmental factors, for two periods of time and account the potential losses due to urban expansion. This project is on-going, therefore current advances will be presented and will look for a discussion on the contribution of soil quality for decision-making and land management in urban and peri-urban areas.

Resource requirements of inclusive urban development in India: insights from ten cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh Nagpure, Ajay; Reiner, Mark; Ramaswami, Anu

2018-02-01

This paper develops a methodology to assess the resource requirements of inclusive urban development in India and compares those requirements to current community-wide material and energy flows. Methods include: (a) identifying minimum service level benchmarks for the provision of infrastructure services including housing, electricity and clean cooking fuels; (b) assessing the percentage of homes that lack access to infrastructure or that consume infrastructure services below the identified benchmarks; (c) quantifying the material requirements to provide basic infrastructure services using India-specific design data; and (d) computing material and energy requirements for inclusive development and comparing it with current community-wide material and energy flows. Applying the method to ten Indian cities, we find that: 1%-6% of households do not have electricity, 14%-71% use electricity below the benchmark of 25 kWh capita-month-1 4%-16% lack structurally sound housing; 50%-75% live in floor area less than the benchmark of 8.75 m2 floor area/capita; 10%-65% lack clean cooking fuel; and 6%-60% lack connection to a sewerage system. Across the ten cities examined, to provide basic electricity (25 kWh capita-month-1) to all will require an addition of only 1%-10% in current community-wide electricity use. To provide basic clean LPG fuel (1.2 kg capita-month-1) to all requires an increase of 5%-40% in current community-wide LPG use. Providing permanent shelter (implemented over a ten year period) to populations living in non-permanent housing in Delhi and Chandigarh would require a 6%-14% increase over current annual community-wide cement use. Conversely, to provide permanent housing to all people living in structurally unsound housing and those living in overcrowded housing (<5 m cap-2) would require 32%-115% of current community-wide cement flows. Except for the last scenario, these results suggest that social policies that seek to provide basic infrastructure provisioning for all residents would not dramatically increasing current community-wide resource flows.

Oral health in Libya: addressing the future challenges.

PubMed

Peeran, Syed Wali; Altaher, Omar Basheer; Peeran, Syed Ali; Alsaid, Fatma Mojtaba; Mugrabi, Marei Hamed; Ahmed, Aisha Mojtaba; Grain, Abdulgader

2014-01-01

Libya is a vast country situated in North Africa, having a relatively better functioning economy with a scanty population. This article is the first known attempt to review the current state of oral health care in Libya and to explore the present trends and future challenges. Libyan health system, oral health care, and human resources with the present status of dental education are reviewed comprehensively. A bibliographic study of oral health research and publications has been carried out. The results point toward a common indicator that oral health-related research is low. Strategies have to be developed to educate the medical and dental professionals, to update the current curriculum and enable the system to be competent in all aspects of oral health care management.

Oral health in Libya: addressing the future challenges

PubMed Central

Peeran, Syed Wali; Altaher, Omar Basheer; Peeran, Syed Ali; Alsaid, Fatma Mojtaba; Mugrabi, Marei Hamed; Ahmed, Aisha Mojtaba; Grain, Abdulgader

2014-01-01

Libya is a vast country situated in North Africa, having a relatively better functioning economy with a scanty population. This article is the first known attempt to review the current state of oral health care in Libya and to explore the present trends and future challenges. Libyan health system, oral health care, and human resources with the present status of dental education are reviewed comprehensively. A bibliographic study of oral health research and publications has been carried out. The results point toward a common indicator that oral health–related research is low. Strategies have to be developed to educate the medical and dental professionals, to update the current curriculum and enable the system to be competent in all aspects of oral health care management. PMID:24666627

Balancing influence between actors in healthcare decision making

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Healthcare costs in most developed countries are not clearly linked to better patient and public health outcomes, but are rather associated with service delivery orientation. In the U.S. this has resulted in large variation in healthcare availability and use, increased cost, reduced employer participation in health insurance programs, and reduced overall population health outcomes. Recent U.S. healthcare reform legislation addresses only some of these issues. Other countries face similar healthcare issues. Discussion A major goal of healthcare is to enhance patient health outcomes. This objective is not realized in many countries because incentives and structures are currently not aligned for maximizing population health. The misalignment occurs because of the competing interests between "actors" in healthcare. In a simplified model these are individuals motivated to enhance their own health; enterprises (including a mix of nonprofit, for profit and government providers, payers, and suppliers, etc.) motivated by profit, political, organizational and other forces; and government which often acts in the conflicting roles of a healthcare payer and provider in addition to its role as the representative and protector of the people. An imbalance exists between the actors, due to the resources and information control of the enterprise and government actors relative to the individual and the public. Failure to use effective preventive interventions is perhaps the best example of the misalignment of incentives. We consider the current Pareto efficient balance between the actors in relation to the Pareto frontier, and show that a significant change in the healthcare market requires major changes in the utilities of the enterprise and government actors. Summary A variety of actions are necessary for maximizing population health within the constraints of available resources and the current balance between the actors. These actions include improved transparency of all aspects of medical decision making, greater involvement of patients in shared medical decision making, greater oversight of guideline development and coverage decisions, limitations on direct to consumer advertising, and the need for an enhanced role of the government as the public advocate. PMID:21504599

Predicting the Future Impact of Droughts on Ungulate Populations in Arid and Semi-Arid Environments

PubMed Central

Duncan, Clare; Chauvenet, Aliénor L. M.; McRae, Louise M.; Pettorelli, Nathalie

2012-01-01

Droughts can have a severe impact on the dynamics of animal populations, particularly in semi-arid and arid environments where herbivore populations are strongly limited by resource availability. Increased drought intensity under projected climate change scenarios can be expected to reduce the viability of such populations, yet this impact has seldom been quantified. In this study, we aim to fill this gap and assess how the predicted worsening of droughts over the 21st century is likely to impact the population dynamics of twelve ungulate species occurring in arid and semi-arid habitats. Our results provide support to the hypotheses that more sedentary, grazing and mixed feeding species will be put at high risk from future increases in drought intensity, suggesting that management intervention under these conditions should be targeted towards species possessing these traits. Predictive population models for all sedentary, grazing or mixed feeding species in our study show that their probability of extinction dramatically increases under future emissions scenarios, and that this extinction risk is greater for smaller populations than larger ones. Our study highlights the importance of quantifying the current and future impacts of increasing extreme natural events on populations and species in order to improve our ability to mitigate predicted biodiversity loss under climate change. PMID:23284700

A new method for studying population genetics of cyst nematodes based on Pool-Seq and genomewide allele frequency analysis.

PubMed

Mimee, Benjamin; Duceppe, Marc-Olivier; Véronneau, Pierre-Yves; Lafond-Lapalme, Joël; Jean, Martine; Belzile, François; Bélair, Guy

2015-11-01

Cyst nematodes are important agricultural pests responsible for billions of dollars of losses each year. Plant resistance is the most effective management tool, but it requires a close monitoring of population genetics. Current technologies for pathotyping and genotyping cyst nematodes are time-consuming, expensive and imprecise. In this study, we capitalized on the reproduction mode of cyst nematodes to develop a simple population genetic analysis pipeline based on genotyping-by-sequencing and Pool-Seq. This method yielded thousands of SNPs and allowed us to study the relationships between populations of different origins or pathotypes. Validation of the method on well-characterized populations also demonstrated that it was a powerful and accurate tool for population genetics. The genomewide allele frequencies of 23 populations of golden nematode, from nine countries and representing the five known pathotypes, were compared. A clear separation of the pathotypes and fine genetic relationships between and among global populations were obtained using this method. In addition to being powerful, this tool has proven to be very time- and cost-efficient and could be applied to other cyst nematode species. © 2015 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada Molecular Ecology Resources © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food.

Sustainability assessment of regional water resources under the DPSIR framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Shikun; Wang, Yubao; Liu, Jing; Cai, Huanjie; Wu, Pute; Geng, Qingling; Xu, Lijun

2016-01-01

Fresh water is a scarce and critical resource in both natural and socioeconomic systems. Increasing populations combined with an increasing demand for water resources have led to water shortages worldwide. Current water management strategies may not be sustainable, and comprehensive action should be taken to minimize the water budget deficit. Sustainable water resources management is essential because it ensures the integration of social, economic, and environmental issues into all stages of water resources management. This paper establishes the indicators to evaluate the sustainability of water utilization based on the Drive-Pressure-Status-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model. Based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method, a comprehensive assessment of changes to the sustainability of the water resource system in the city of Bayannur was conducted using these indicators. The results indicate that there is an increase in the driving force of local water consumption due to changes in society, economic development, and the consumption structure of residents. The pressure on the water system increased, whereas the status of the water resources continued to decrease over the study period due to the increasing drive indicators. The local government adopted a series of response measures to relieve the decreasing water resources and alleviate the negative effects of the increasing driver in demand. The response measures improved the efficiency of water usage to a large extent, but the large-scale expansion in demands brought a rebounding effect, known as ;Jevons paradox; At the same time, the increasing emissions of industrial and agriculture pollutants brought huge pressures to the regional water resources environment, which caused a decrease in the sustainability of regional water resources. Changing medium and short-term factors, such as regional economic pattern, technological levels, and water utilization practices, can contribute to the sustainable utilization of regional water resources.

Genetic diversity and population structure of bocachico Prochilodus magdalenae (Pisces, Prochilodontidae) in the Magdalena River basin and its tributaries, Colombia

PubMed Central

Berdugo, Gilberto Orozco; Narváez Barandica, Juan C.

2014-01-01

Prochilodus magdalenae is an endemic freshwater fish that occurs in the Magdalena, Sinú and Atrato hydrographic basins. It has an important economic role and is a food resource for the artisanal fishing communities. Its socioeconomic importance contrasts with the current status of its fisheries, where stocks are being depleted. Considering its importance and lack of information on its genetic structure, we used seven microsatellite markers to assess the genetic structure of wild populations of P. magdalenae. The genetic diversity was assessed and the population genetic structure was estimated through Fst, analysis of molecular variance and Bayesian analysis. A total of 290 alleles were found in all loci throughout all population. The high polymorphism contrasts with the levels of observed heterozygosity (Ho = 0.276), which are the lowest values recorded for the family. We found three populations of bocachico coexisting throughout the studied system, contradicting the hypothesis that freshwater migratory fish form panmictic populations. These results on the genetic structure of P. magdalenae constitute tools for a better understanding of the behavior and biology of this species, contributing to fish management and conservation programs. PMID:24688289

Forecasting the need for physicians in the United States: the Health Resources and Services Administration's physician requirements model.

PubMed Central

Greenberg, L; Cultice, J M

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of Health Professions developed a demographic utilization-based model of physician specialty requirements to explore the consequences of a broad range of scenarios pertaining to the nation's health care delivery system on need for physicians. DATA SOURCE/STUDY SETTING: The model uses selected data primarily from the National Center for Health Statistics, the American Medical Association, and the U.S. Bureau of Census. Forecasts are national estimates. STUDY DESIGN: Current (1989) utilization rates for ambulatory and inpatient medical specialty services were obtained for the population according to age, gender, race/ethnicity, and insurance status. These rates are used to estimate specialty-specific total service utilization expressed in patient care minutes for future populations and converted to physician requirements by applying per-physician productivity estimates. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Secondary data were analyzed and put into matrixes for use in the mainframe computer-based model. Several missing data points, e.g., for HMO-enrolled populations, were extrapolated from available data by the project's contractor. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The authors contend that the Bureau's demographic utilization model represents improvements over other data-driven methodologies that rely on staffing ratios and similar supply-determined bases for estimating requirements. The model's distinct utility rests in offering national-level physician specialty requirements forecasts. Images Figure 1 PMID:9018213

[Health profile of a population as a predictor of health resources utilization: results of the implementation of an epidemiologic model for needs analysis].

PubMed

Nascetti, Simona; Falasca, Pasquale; Mengolini, Barbara; Francesco, Arrigo; Cicero, Giuseppe; Linarello, Simona; Gaddi, Antonio

2003-01-01

The integration of the scientific researches in the assistance process is one of the most important challenges that is currently set to the health operators. In this paper a model for the health needs-assessment will be applied to verify if and how the prevalence of some classical risk factors for cardiovascular disease foretells mortality and hospitalisation episodes at 3 years, and if it could express the health need of that population. The "sanitary history" of 1704 subjects, enrolled in 1996 during the Brisighella Study, has been followed. We know the health profile of these subjects at 1996 and data about their hospitalizations, mortality, and general assistance from 1996 to 1999. In this population the risk of cardiovascular disease is inferior to that esteemed by the hospitalisation rate, attributable mostly to a little group of subjects with well-defined characteristics of exposure. The resources spent on a hospitalization do not adequately describe either the sanitary need nor the relief load and the "cost" associated to the disease. The methodology used allows to explore in detail the relative weight of the different subjects involved in the sanitary assistance in order to better reach the objective of producing the maximum quantity of benefits for the patient at the smallest possible quantity of risk.

Archaeological and Environmental Research of the Peten, Guatemala, Using Remote Sensing/GIS Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sever, Thomas L.

2000-01-01

The Peten, northern Guatemala, was once inhabited by a population of several million Maya before their collapse in the 9th century AD. Although the seventh and eight centuries were a time of crowning glory for millions of Maya; by 930 A.D. only a few scattered houses remained. What is known, is that at the time of their collapse, the Maya had cut down most of their trees. After centuries of regeneration the Peten now represent the largest remaining tropical forest in Central America but is experiencing rapid deforestation in the wake of an invasion of settlers. The successful adaptive techniques of the indigenous population are being abandoned in favor of the destructive techniques of monoculture and cattle raising. These techniques also contribute to the destruction and looting of unrecorded archeological sites. Remote sensing and GIS analysis are being used to address issues in Maya archeology as well as monitor the effects of increasing deforestation in the area today. One thousand years ago the forests of the Peten were nearly destroyed by the ancient Maya, who, after centuries of successful adaptation, finally overused their resources. Current inhabitants are threatening to do the same thing today in a shorter time period with a lesser population. Through the use of remote sensing/GIS analysis we are attempting to answer questions about the past in order to protect the resources of the future.

Environmental and Archaeological Research in the Peten, Guatemala

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sever, Thomas L.

1999-01-01

The Peten, Northern Guatemala, was once inhabited by a population of several million Maya before their collapse in the 9th century A.D.. The seventh and eight centuries were a time of crowning glory four millions of Maya; by 930 A.D. only a few scattered houses remained, testifying to the greatest disaster in human history. What is known is that at the time of their collapse the Maya had cut down most of their trees. After centuries of regeneration the Peten now represent the largest remaining tropical forest in Central America but is experiencing rapid deforestation in the wake of an invasion of settlers. The successful adaptive techniques of the indigenous population are being abandoned in favor of the destructive techniques of monoculture and cattle raising. Remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis are being used to address issues in Maya archeology as well as monitor the effects of increasing deforestation in the area today. One thousand years ago the forests of the Peten were nearly destroyed by the ancient Maya who after centuries of successful adaptation finally overused their resources. Current inhabitants are threatening to do the same thing today in a shorter time period with a lesser population. Through the use of remote sensing/GIS analysis we are attempting to answer questions about the past in order to protect the resources of the future.

Understanding the health impacts of urbanization in China: A living laboratory for urban biogeochemistry research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Y. G.

2015-12-01

China has the largest population in the world, and by 2011, more than 50% of its population are now living in cities. This ongoing societal change has profound impacts on environmental quality and population health. In addition to intensive discharges of waste, urbanization is not only changing the land use and land cover, but also inducing fundamental changes in biogeochemical processes. Unlike biogeochemistry in non-urban environment, the biological component of urban biogeochemistry is dominated by direct human activities, such as air pollution derived from transport, wastewater treatment, garbage disposal and increase in impervious surface etc. Managing urban biogeochemistry will include source control over waste discharge, eco-infrastructure (such as green space and eco-drainage), resource recovery from urban waste stream, and integration with peri-urban ecosystem, particularly with food production system. The overall goal of managing urban biogeochemistry is for human health and wellbeing, which is a global challenge. In this paper, the current status of urban biogeochemistry research in China will be briefly reviewed, and then it will focus on nutrient recycling and waste management, as these are the major driving forces of environmental quality changes in urban areas. This paper will take a holistic view on waste management, covering urban metabolism analysis, technological innovation and integration for resource recovery from urban waste stream, and risk management related to waste recycling and recovery.

Sustaining water resources in South East England

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodda, John C.

2006-07-01

The South East of England is one of the driest regions of the UK and it is also one of the most densely populated. As a consequence the available water resource per head of population is about half of the figure used by the World Bank to indicate that a country is suffering water stress. The South East Plan, prepared by the South East England Regional Assembly, proposes to increase the population of the region by about 1 million by 2026. This paper considers the ability of the Region's water resources to cope with this growth.

Providing Health Care to Latino Immigrants: Community-Based Efforts in the Rural Midwest

PubMed Central

Casey, Michelle M.; Blewett, Lynn A.; Call, Kathleen T.

2004-01-01

We examined case studies of 3 rural Midwestern communities to assess local health care systems’ response to rapidly growing Latino populations. Currently, clinics provide free or low-cost care, and schools, public health, social services, and religious organizations connect Latinos to the health care system. However, many unmet health care needs result from lack of health insurance, limited income, and linguistic and cultural barriers. Targeted safety net funding would help meet Latino health care needs in rural communities with limited resources. PMID:15451737

The USGS World Energy Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ahlbrandt, Thomas S.

1997-01-01

The world has recently experienced rapid change to market-driven economies and increasing reliance on petroleum supplies from areas of political instability. The interplay of unprecedented growth of the global population, increasing worldwide energy demand, and political instability in two major petroleum exporting regions (the former Soviet Union and the Middle East) requires that the United States maintains a current, reliable, objective assessment of the world's energy resources. The need is compounded by the environmental implications of rapid increases in coal use in the Far East and international pressure on consumption of fossil fuels.

Report on a seminar on financing and service delivery issues in caring for the medically underserved.

PubMed Central

Tavani, C

1991-01-01

Current national activities directed toward improving access to health care and assessing the potential effectiveness of various financing and service delivery strategies were reviewed by an invited group of 39 public and private sector health policy experts. Health care access problems of the medically underserved population were defined and a range of strategies for addressing them were presented. The seminar was held at Columbia, MD, July 6-7, 1988, sponsored jointly by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Health Resources and Services Administration, PHS. PMID:1899935

[Valuation of health-related quality of life and utilities in health economics].

PubMed

Greiner, Wolfgang; Klose, Kristina

2014-01-01

Measuring health-related quality of life is an important aspect in economic evaluation of health programmes. The development of utility-based (preference-based) measures is advanced by the discipline of health economics. Different preference measures are applied for valuing health states to produce a weighted health state index. Those preference weights should be derived from a general population sample in case of resource allocation on a collective level (as in current valuation studies of the EuroQol group). Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Harnessing Knowledge on Very Important Pharmacogenes CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 Variation for Precision Medicine in Resource-Limited Global Conflict Zones.

PubMed

Barlas, İbrahim Ömer; Sezgin, Orhan; Dandara, Collet; Türköz, Gözde; Yengel, Emre; Cindi, Zinhle; Ankaralı, Handan; Şardaş, Semra

2016-10-01

Pharmacogenomics harnesses the utility of a patient's genome (n = 1) in decisions on which therapeutic drugs and in what amounts should be administered. Often, patients with shared ancestry present with comparable genetic profiles that predict drug response. However, populations are not static, thus, often, population mobility through migration, especially enmasse as is seen for refugees, changes the pharmacogenetic profiles of resultant populations and therefore observed responses to commonly used therapeutic drugs. For example, in the aftermath of the Syrian civil war since 2011, millions have fled their homes to neighboring countries in the Middle East. The growing permanence of refugees and mass migrations is a call to shift our focus in the life sciences community from old models of pharmaceutical innovation. These seismic social changes demand faster decisions for "population-to-population bridging," whereby novel drugs developed in or for particular regions/countries can meet with rational regulatory decisions/approval in world regions impacted by migrant/refugee populations whose profiles are dynamic, such as in the Eastern Mediterranean region at present. Thus, it is important to characterize and report on the prevalence of pharmacogenes that affect commonly used medications and predict if population changes may call for attention to particular differences that may impact health of patients. Thus, we report here on four single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variations in CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 genes among Mersin-Turkish healthy volunteers in the Mersin Province in the Eastern Mediterranean region that is currently hosting a vast number of migrant populations from Syria. Both CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 are very important pharmacogene molecular targets. We compare and report here on the observed SNP genetic variation in our sample with data on 12 world populations from dbSNP and discuss the feasibility of forecasting the pharmacokinetics of drugs utilized by migrant communities in Mersin and the Eastern Mediterranean region. This study can serve as a catalyst to invest in research in Syrian populations currently living in the Eastern Mediterranean. The findings have salience for rapid and rational regulatory decision-making for worldwide precision medicine and, specifically, "pharmacogenovigilance-guided bridging of pharmacokinetics" across world populations in the current era of planetary scale migration.

Each life stage matters: the importance of assessing the response to climate change over the complete life cycle in butterflies.

PubMed

Radchuk, Viktoriia; Turlure, Camille; Schtickzelle, Nicolas

2013-01-01

As ectothermic organisms, butterflies have widely been used as models to explore the predicted impacts of climate change. However, most studies explore only one life stage; to our best knowledge, none have integrated the impact of temperature on the vital rates of all life stages for a species of conservation concern. Besides, most population viability analysis models for butterflies are based on yearly population growth rate, precluding the implementation and assessment of important climate change scenarios, where climate change occurs mainly, or differently, during some seasons. Here, we used a combination of laboratory and field experiments to quantify the impact of temperature on all life stages of a vulnerable glacial relict butterfly. Next, we integrated these impacts into an overall population response using a deterministic periodic matrix model and explored the impact of several climate change scenarios. Temperature positively affected egg, pre-diapause larva and pupal survival, and the number of eggs laid by a female; only the survival of overwintering larva was negatively affected by an increase in temperature. Despite the positive impact of warming on many life stages, population viability was reduced under all scenarios, with predictions of much shorter times to extinction than under the baseline (current temperature situation) scenario. Indeed, model predictions were the most sensitive to changes in survival of overwintering larva, the only stage negatively affected by warming. A proper consideration of every stage of the life cycle is important when designing conservation guidelines in the light of climate change. This is in line with the resource-based habitat view, which explicitly refers to the habitat as a collection of resources needed for all life stages of the species. We, therefore, encourage adopting a resource-based habitat view for population viability analysis and development of conservation guidelines for butterflies, and more generally, other organisms. Life stages that are cryptic or difficult to study should not be forsaken as they may be key determinants in the overall response to climate change, as we found with overwintering Boloria eunomia larvae. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2012 British Ecological Society.

Conflict bear translocation: investigating population genetics and fate of bear translocation in Dachigam National Park, Jammu and Kashmir, India.

PubMed

Mukesh; Sharma, Lalit Kumar; Charoo, Samina Amin; Sathyakumar, Sambandam

2015-01-01

The Asiatic black bear population in Dachigam landscape, Jammu and Kashmir is well recognized as one of the highest density bear populations in India. Increasing incidences of bear-human interactions and the resultant retaliatory killings by locals have become a serious threat to the survivorship of black bears in the Dachigam landscape. The Department of Wildlife Protection in Jammu and Kashmir has been translocating bears involved in conflicts, henceforth 'conflict bears' from different sites in Dachigam landscape to Dachigam National Park as a flagship activity to mitigate conflicts. We undertook this study to investigate the population genetics and the fate of bear translocation in Dachigam National Park. We identified 109 unique genotypes in an area of ca. 650 km2 and observed bear population under panmixia that showed sound genetic variability. Molecular tracking of translocated bears revealed that mostly bears (7 out of 11 bears) returned to their capture sites, possibly due to homing instincts or habituation to the high quality food available in agricultural croplands and orchards, while only four bears remained in Dachigam National Park after translocation. Results indicated that translocation success was most likely to be season dependent as bears translocated during spring and late autumn returned to their capture sites, perhaps due to the scarcity of food inside Dachigam National Park while bears translocated in summer remained in Dachigam National Park due to availability of surplus food resources. Thus, the current management practices of translocating conflict bears, without taking into account spatio-temporal variability of food resources in Dachigam landscape seemed to be ineffective in mitigating conflicts on a long-term basis. However, the study highlighted the importance of molecular tracking of bears to understand their movement patterns and socio-biology in tough terrains like Dachigam landscape.

Genetic Variation of the Endangered Neotropical Catfish Steindachneridion scriptum (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae)

PubMed Central

Paixão, Rômulo V.; Ribolli, Josiane; Zaniboni-Filho, Evoy

2018-01-01

Steindachneridion scriptum is an important species as a resource for fisheries and aquaculture; it is currently threatened and has a reduced occurrence in South America. The damming of rivers, overfishing, and contamination of freshwater environments are the main impacts on the maintenance of this species. We accessed the genetic diversity and structure of S. scriptum using the DNA barcode and control region (D-loop) sequences of 43 individuals from the Upper Uruguay River Basin (UUR) and 10 sequences from the Upper Paraná River Basin (UPR), which were obtained from GenBank. S. scriptum from the UUR and the UPR were assigned in two distinct molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) with higher inter-specific K2P distance than the optimum threshold (OT = 0.0079). The COI Intra-MOTU distances of S. scriptum specimens from the UUR ranged from 0.0000 to 0.0100. The control region indicated a high number of haplotypes and low nucleotide diversity, compatible with a new population in recent expansion process. Genetic structure was observed, with high differentiation between UUR and UPR basins, identified by BAPS, haplotype network, AMOVA (FST = 0.78, p < 0.05) and Mantel test. S. scriptum from the UUR showed a slight differentiation (FST = 0.068, p < 0.05), but not isolation-by-distance. Negative values of Tajima’s D and Fu’s Fs suggest recent demographic oscillations. The Bayesian skyline plot analysis indicated possible population expansion from beginning 2,500 years ago and a recent reduction in the population size. Low nucleotide diversity, spatial population structure, and the reduction of effective population size should be considered for the planning of strategies aimed at the conservation and rehabilitation of this important fisheries resource. PMID:29520295

Male-biased hermaphrodites in a gynodioecious shrub, Daphne jezoensis.

PubMed

Sinclair, J P; Kameyama, Y; Shibata, A; Kudo, G

2016-09-01

Gynodioecy, a state where female and hermaphrodite plants coexist in populations, has been widely proposed an intermediate stage in the evolutionary pathway from hermaphroditism to dioecy. In the gynodioecy-dioecy pathway, hermaphrodites may gain most of their fitness through male function once females invade populations. To test this prediction, comprehensive studies on sex ratio variation across populations and reproductive characteristics of hermaphrodite and female phenotypes are necessary. This study examined the variation in sex ratio, sex expression, flower and fruit production and sexual dimorphism of morphological traits in a gynodioecious shrub, Daphne jezoensis, over multiple populations and years. Population sex ratio (hermaphrodite:female) was close to 1:1 or slightly hermaphrodite-biased. Sex type of individual plants was largely fixed, but 15% of plants changed their sex during a 6-year census. Hermaphrodite plants produced larger flowers and invested 2.5 times more resources in flower production than female plants, but they exhibited remarkably low fruit set (proportion of flowers setting fruits). Female plants produced six times more fruits than hermaphrodite plants. Low fruiting ability of hermaphrodite plants was retained even when hand-pollination was performed. Fruit production of female plants was restricted by pollen limitation under natural conditions, irrespective of high potential fecundity, and this minimised the difference in resources allocated to reproduction between the sexes. Negative effects of previous flower and fruit production on current reproduction were not apparent in both sexes. This study suggests that gynodioecy in this species is functionally close to a dioecious mating system: smaller flower production with larger fruiting ability in female plants, and larger flower production with little fruiting ability in hermaphrodite plants. © 2016 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

General practitioner commissioning consortia and budgetary risk: evidence from the modelling of 'fair share' practice budgets for mental health.

PubMed

Asthana, Sheena; Gibson, Alex; Hewson, Paul; Bailey, Trevor; Dibben, Chris

2011-04-01

To contribute to current policy debates regarding the devolution of commissioning responsibilities to locally-based consortia of general practices in England by assessing the potential magnitude and significance of budgetary risk for commissioning units of different sizes. Predictive distributions of practice-level mental health care resource needs (used by the Department of Health to set 'fair-share' practice budgets) are aggregated to a range of hypothetical, but spatially-contiguous, consortia serving populations of up to 400,000 patients. The resulting joint distributions describe the extent to which the legitimate mental health needs of consortia populations are likely to vary. Budgetary risk is calculated as the likelihood that a consortia's resource needs will, in any given year, exceed its allocation (taken as the mean of its predictive distribution) by more than 1%, 3%, 5% or 10%. The relationship between population size and budgetary risk is then explored. If between 500 and 600 consortia are created in England (serving 87,000 to 104,000 patients) then, in order to meet the legitimate mental health needs of their patients, each year around 15 to 26 consortia will overspend by at least 5%, and one or two by at least 10%. The budgetary risk faced by consortia serving smaller/larger populations can be read off the graphs provided. Unless steps are taken to mitigate budgetary risk, the devolution of decision-making and introduction of fixed budgets is likely to result in significant financial instability. It will be difficult to reconcile the policy objectives of devolved commissioning, best met through relatively small and fully accountable consortia, with the need for financial stability, which is best met by pooling risk across larger populations.

Fair Resource Allocation to Health Research: Priority Topics for Bioethics Scholarship.

PubMed

Pratt, Bridget; Hyder, Adnan A

2017-07-01

This article draws attention to the limited amount of scholarship on what constitutes fairness and equity in resource allocation to health research by individual funders. It identifies three key decisions of ethical significance about resource allocation that research funders make regularly and calls for prioritizing scholarship on those topics - namely, how health resources should be fairly apportioned amongst public health and health care delivery versus health research, how health research resources should be fairly allocated between health problems experienced domestically versus other health problems typically experienced by disadvantaged populations outside the funder's country, and how domestic and non-domestic health research funding should be further apportioned to different areas, e.g. types of research and recipients. These three topics should be priorities for bioethics research because their outcomes have a substantial bearing on the achievement of health justice. The proposed agenda aims to move discussion on the ethics of health research funding beyond its current focus on the mismatch between worldwide basic and clinical research investment and the global burden of disease. Individual funders' decision-making on whether and to what extent to allocate resources to non-domestic health research, health systems research, research on the social determinants of health, capacity development, and recipients in certain countries should also be the focus of ethical scrutiny. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Supply-demand 3D dynamic model in water resources evaluation: taking Lebanon as an example

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Hong; Hou, Zhimin

2017-05-01

In this paper, supply-demand 3D dynamic model is adopted to create a measurement of a region’s capacity to provide available water to meet the needs of its population. First of all, we draw a diagram between supply and demand. Then taking the main dynamic factors into account, we establish an index to evaluate the balance of supply and demand. The three dimension vector reflects the scarcity of industrial, agricultural and residential water. Lebanon is chosen as the object of case study, and we do quantitative analysis of its current situation. After data collecting and processing, we calculate the 3D vector in 2012, which reveals that agriculture is susceptible to water scarcity. Water resources of Lebanon are “physical rich” but “economic scarcity” according to the correlation chart and other statistical analysis.

Monitoring Drought Conditions in the Navajo Nation Using NASA Earth Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ly, Vickie; Gao, Michael; Cary, Cheryl; Turnbull-Appell, Sophie; Surunis, Anton

2016-01-01

The Navajo Nation, a 65,700 sq km Native American territory located in the southwestern United States, has been increasingly impacted by severe drought events and changes in climate. These events are coupled with a lack of domestic water infrastructure and economic resources, leaving approximately one-third of the population without access to potable water in their homes. Current methods of monitoring drought are dependent on state-based monthly Standardized Precipitation Index value maps calculated by the Western Regional Climate Center. However, these maps do not provide the spatial resolution needed to illustrate differences in drought severity across the vast Nation. To better understand and monitor drought events and drought regime changes in the Navajo Nation, this project created a geodatabase of historical climate information specific to the area, and a decision support tool to calculate average Standardized Precipitation Index values for user-specified areas. The tool and geodatabase use Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission (TRMM) and Global Precipitation Monitor (GPM) observed precipitation data and Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model modeled historical precipitation data, as well as NASA's modeled Land Data Assimilation Systems deep soil moisture, evaporation, and transpiration data products. The geodatabase and decision support tool will allow resource managers in the Navajo Nation to utilize current and future NASA Earth observation data for increased decision-making capacity regarding future climate change impact on water resources.

Linking landscape-scale differences in forage to ungulate nutritional ecology.

PubMed

Proffitt, Kelly M; Hebblewhite, Mark; Peters, Wibke; Hupp, Nicole; Shamhart, Julee

2016-10-01

Understanding how habitat and nutritional condition affect ungulate populations is necessary for informing management, particularly in areas experiencing carnivore recovery and declining ungulate population trends. Variations in forage species availability, plant phenological stage, and the abundance of forage make it challenging to understand landscape-level effects of nutrition on ungulates. We developed an integrated spatial modeling approach to estimate landscape-level elk (Cervus elaphus) nutritional resources in two adjacent study areas that differed in coarse measures of habitat quality and related the consequences of differences in nutritional resources to elk body condition and pregnancy rates. We found no support for differences in dry matter digestibility between plant samples or in phenological stage based on ground sampling plots in the two study areas. Our index of nutritional resources, measured as digestible forage biomass, varied among land cover types and between study areas. We found that altered plant composition following fires was the biggest driver of differences in nutritional resources, suggesting that maintaining a mosaic of fire history and distribution will likely benefit ungulate populations. Study area, lactation status, and year affected fall body fat of adult female elk. Elk in the study area exposed to lower summer range nutritional resources had lower nutritional condition entering winter. These differences in nutritional condition resulted in differences in pregnancy rate, with average pregnancy rates of 89% for elk exposed to higher nutritional resources and 72% for elk exposed to lower nutritional resources. Summer range nutritional resources have the potential to limit elk pregnancy rate and calf production, and these nutritional limitations may predispose elk to be more sensitive to the effects of harvest or predation. Wildlife managers should identify ungulate populations that are nutritionally limited and recognize that these populations may be more impacted by recovering carnivores or harvest than populations inhabiting more productive summer habitats. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Utilizing Existing Clinical and Population Biospecimen Resources for Discovery or Validation of Markers for Early Cancer Detection

Cancer.gov

Utilizing Existing Clinical and Population Biospecimen Resources for Discovery or Validation of Markers for Early Cancer Detection, a 2013 workshop sponsored by the Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program.

How Resource Phenology Affects Consumer Population Dynamics.

PubMed

Bewick, Sharon; Cantrell, R Stephen; Cosner, Chris; Fagan, William F

2016-02-01

Climate change drives uneven phenology shifts across taxa, and this can result in changes to the phenological match between interacting species. Shifts in the relative phenology of partner species are well documented, but few studies have addressed the effects of such changes on population dynamics. To explore this, we develop a phenologically explicit model describing consumer-resource interactions. Focusing on scenarios for univoltine insects, we show how changes in resource phenology can be reinterpreted as transformations in the year-to-year recursion relationships defining consumer population dynamics. This perspective provides a straightforward path for interpreting the long-term population consequences of phenology change. Specifically, by relating the outcome of phenological shifts to species traits governing recursion relationships (e.g., consumer fecundity or competitive scenario), we demonstrate how changes in relative phenology can force systems into different dynamical regimes, with major implications for resource management, conservation, and other areas of applied dynamics.

Responding to intimate partner violence: Healthcare providers' current practices and views on integrating a safety decision aid into primary care settings.

PubMed

Alvarez, Carmen; Debnam, Katrina; Clough, Amber; Alexander, Kamila; Glass, Nancy E

2018-04-01

Supportive care for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) remains limited in primary care settings. Low-income and Spanish-speaking survivors of IPV are even more disadvantaged, given the dearth of linguistically and culturally appropriate interventions for IPV. We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 17 healthcare workers, including physicians, nurses, and social workers, to describe how healthcare workers serving primarily low-income, Latina populations are currently screening and responding to IPV disclosure, and to explore the acceptability of integrating an interactive, personalized safety decision aid application-myPlan app-into the clinic setting. Despite recognition of IPV as a problem, none of the clinical sites had a protocol to guide screening and response to IPV disclosure. Screening practices varied across the sites, sometimes conducted by medical assistants prior to the provider visit and other times by the physician or nurse provider. When IPV was disclosed, it was often during assessment for a presenting problem such as poor sleep or anxiety. Most healthcare workers felt that clinical and community resources were limited for their patients experiencing IPV. The "warm hand-off" to a social worker was the most common response strategy when possible; otherwise, women were given information about available resources such as hotlines and safe houses. We discuss structural, family, and individual barriers to accessing safety resources for underserved women and review how an easily accessible safety decision app, such as myPlan, could be a resource for women to safely tailor an action plan for her situation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Anthropocene Generalized: Evolution of Exo-Civilizations and Their Planetary Feedback.

PubMed

Frank, A; Carroll-Nellenback, Jonathan; Alberti, M; Kleidon, A

2018-05-01

We present a framework for studying generic behaviors possible in the interaction between a resource-harvesting technological civilization (an exo-civilization) and the planetary environment in which it evolves. Using methods from dynamical systems theory, we introduce and analyze a suite of simple equations modeling a population which consumes resources for the purpose of running a technological civilization and the feedback those resources drive on the state of the host planet. The feedbacks can drive the planet away from the initial state the civilization originated in and into domains that are detrimental to its sustainability. Our models conceptualize the problem primarily in terms of feedbacks from the resource use onto the coupled planetary systems. In addition, we also model the population growth advantages gained via the harvesting of these resources. We present three models of increasing complexity: (1) Civilization-planetary interaction with a single resource; (2) Civilization-planetary interaction with two resources each of which has a different level of planetary system feedback; (3) Civilization-planetary interaction with two resources and nonlinear planetary feedback (i.e., runaways). All three models show distinct classes of exo-civilization trajectories. We find smooth entries into long-term, "sustainable" steady states. We also find population booms followed by various levels of "die-off." Finally, we also observe rapid "collapse" trajectories for which the population approaches n = 0. Our results are part of a program for developing an "Astrobiology of the Anthropocene" in which questions of sustainability, centered on the coupled Earth-system, can be seen in their proper astronomical/planetary context. We conclude by discussing the implications of our results for both the coupled Earth system and for the consideration of exo-civilizations across cosmic history. Key Words: Anthropocene-Astrobiology-Civilization-Dynamical system theory-Exoplanets-Population dynamics. Astrobiology 18, 503-518.

Solving Water Crisis through Understanding of Hydrology and Human Systems: a Possible Target

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montanari, A.

2014-12-01

While the majority of the Earth surface is still in pristine conditions, the totality of the hydrological systems that are relevant to humans are human impacted, with the only exception of small headwater catchments. In fact, the limited transferability of water in space and time implies that water withdrawals from natural resources take place where and when water is needed. Therefore, hydrological systems are impacted where and when humans are, thereby causing a direct perturbation of all water bodies that are relevant to society. The current trend of population dynamics and the current status of water systems are such that the above impact will be not sustainable in the near future, therefore causing a water emergency that will be extended to all intensively populated regions of the world, with relevant implications on migration fluxes, political status and social security. Therefore mitigation actions are urgently needed, whose planning needs to be based on improved interpretations of the above impact. Up to recent times, hydrologists mainly concentrated their research on catchments where the human perturbation is limited, to improve our understanding of pristine hydrology. There were good motivations for this focus: given the relevant uncertainty affecting hydrological modeling, and the even greater uncertainty involved in societal modeling, hydrologists made an effort to separate hydrological and human dynamics. Nowadays, the urgency of the above need to mitigate the global water crisis through improved water resources management calls for a research attempt to bridge water and social sciences. The relevant research question is how to build operational models in order to fully account for the interactions and feedbacks between water resources systems and society. Given that uncertainty estimation is necessary for the operational application of model results, one of the crucial issues is how to quantify uncertainty by means of suitable assumptions. This talk will provide an introduction to the problem and a personal perspective to move forward to set up improved operational models to assist societal planning to mitigate the global water crisis.

The sharing of water between society and ecosystems: from conflict to catchment-based co-management.

PubMed Central

Wallace, J S; Acreman, M C; Sullivan, C A

2003-01-01

Human uses of freshwater resources are increasing rapidly as the world population rises. As this happens, less water is left to support aquatic and associated ecosystems. To minimize future human water shortages and undesirable environmental impacts, more equitable sharing of water resources between society and nature is required. This will require physical quantities and social values to be placed on both human and aquatic ecosystem requirements. Current water valuation systems are dominated by economic values and this paper illustrates new quantification and valuation methods that take more account of human well-being and environmental impacts. The key to the effective implementation of these more equitable water allocation methods is the use of catchment-based integrated water resources management. This holistic framework makes it possible for human and ecosystem water requirements and the interactions between them to be better understood. This knowledge provides the foundation for incorporating relevant social factors so that water policies and laws can be developed to make best use of limited water resources. Catchment-based co-management can therefore help to ensure more effective sharing of water between people and nature. PMID:14728795

Evolution of a Fluctuating Population in a Randomly Switching Environment.

PubMed

Wienand, Karl; Frey, Erwin; Mobilia, Mauro

2017-10-13

Environment plays a fundamental role in the competition for resources, and hence in the evolution of populations. Here, we study a well-mixed, finite population consisting of two strains competing for the limited resources provided by an environment that randomly switches between states of abundance and scarcity. Assuming that one strain grows slightly faster than the other, we consider two scenarios-one of pure resource competition, and one in which one strain provides a public good-and investigate how environmental randomness (external noise) coupled to demographic (internal) noise determines the population's fixation properties and size distribution. By analytical means and simulations, we show that these coupled sources of noise can significantly enhance the fixation probability of the slower-growing species. We also show that the population size distribution can be unimodal, bimodal, or multimodal and undergoes noise-induced transitions between these regimes when the rate of switching matches the population's growth rate.

Evolution of a Fluctuating Population in a Randomly Switching Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wienand, Karl; Frey, Erwin; Mobilia, Mauro

2017-10-01

Environment plays a fundamental role in the competition for resources, and hence in the evolution of populations. Here, we study a well-mixed, finite population consisting of two strains competing for the limited resources provided by an environment that randomly switches between states of abundance and scarcity. Assuming that one strain grows slightly faster than the other, we consider two scenarios—one of pure resource competition, and one in which one strain provides a public good—and investigate how environmental randomness (external noise) coupled to demographic (internal) noise determines the population's fixation properties and size distribution. By analytical means and simulations, we show that these coupled sources of noise can significantly enhance the fixation probability of the slower-growing species. We also show that the population size distribution can be unimodal, bimodal, or multimodal and undergoes noise-induced transitions between these regimes when the rate of switching matches the population's growth rate.

Characterizing Cardiovascular Health and Evaluating a Low-Intensity Intervention to Promote Smoking Cessation in a Food-Assistance Population

PubMed Central

Perkett, Mackenzie; Robson, Shannon M.; Kripalu, Varsha; Wysota, Christina; McGarry, Charlotte; Weddle, David; Papas, Mia A.

2017-01-01

Food assistance recipients are at higher risk for poor cardiovascular health given their propensity to poor dietary intake and tobacco use. This study sought to evaluate the cardiovascular health status, and determine the impact of a low-intensity smoking cessation education intervention that connected mobile food pantry participants to state quit-smoking resources. A pre-post design with a 6-week follow-up was used to evaluate the impact of a 10–12 min smoking cessation education session implemented in five food pantries in Delaware. Baseline cardiovascular health, smoking behaviors and food security status were assessed. Smoking cessation knowledge, intention to quit and use of the state quit line were also assessed at follow-up. Of the 144 participants 72.3% reported having hypertension, 34.3% had diabetes, 13.9% had had a stroke. 50.0% were current smokers. The low-intensity intervention significantly increased smoking cessation knowledge but not intention to quit at follow-up. Seven percent of current smokers reported calling the quit line. Current tobacco use was five times more likely in food insecure versus food secure adults (OR 4.98; p=0.006), even after adjustment for demographic factors. Systems based approaches to address tobacco use and cardiovascular health in low-income populations are needed. The extent to which smoking cessation could reduce food insecurity and risk for cardiovascular disease in this population warrants investigation. PMID:27837357

Re-thinking the unimpeded tube-well growth under the depleting groundwater resources in the Punjab, Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watto, Muhammad Arif; Mugera, Amin W.; Kingwell, Ross; Saqab, Muhammad Mudasar

2018-04-01

Groundwater resources are crucial in sustaining agro-ecosystems and ensuring food security in many parts of the world, including Pakistan. However, the sustainability of groundwater resources is subject to a number of challenges, including over-extraction, deterioration in quality, and vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and population growth. Given the current state of groundwater resources in Pakistan, policymakers seek to manage groundwater resources by limiting groundwater extraction. To achieve this goal on a national scale, it is important to understand the determinants of the decisions made by local farmers in respect of tube-well adoption. This study investigates smallholder farmers' decisions to adopt tube-well technology in the face of dwindling groundwater resources and falling water tables. Analysis is based on a cross-sectional survey of 200 rural households from the arid to semi-arid predominantly groundwater-irrigated plains of the Punjab province, Pakistan. It is found that farmers will adopt tube-well technology in pursuit of reliable irrigation water supplies to hedge against production risks but not against the risk associated with unfavourable extreme events (downside risk) such as total crop failure. This suggests that the adoption decision is influenced by the expected long-term rather than the short-term benefits. This paper draws attention to the need to regulate groundwater resource exploitation by requiring the use of tube-well technology to be accompanied by irrigation water-efficient techniques and technologies.

Impact of Glycemic Control on Healthcare Resource Utilization and Costs of Type 2 Diabetes: Current and Future Pharmacologic Approaches to Improving Outcomes

PubMed Central

Banerji, Mary Ann; Dunn, Jeffrey D.

2013-01-01

Background The incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes continue to grow in the United States and worldwide, along with the growing prevalence of obesity. Patients with type 2 diabetes are at greater risk for comorbid cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD), which dramatically affects overall healthcare costs. Objectives To review the impact of glycemic control and medication adherence on morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs of patients with type 2 diabetes, and to highlight the need for new drug therapies to improve outcomes in this patient population. Methods This comprehensive literature search was conducted for the period between 2000 and 2013, using MEDLINE, to identify published articles that report the associations between glycemic control, medication adherence, CV morbidity and mortality, and healthcare utilization and costs. Search terms included “type 2 diabetes,” “adherence,” “compliance,” “nonadherence,” “drug therapy,” “resource use,” “cost,” and “cost-effectiveness.” Discussion Despite improvements in the management of CV risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes, outcomes remain poor. The costs associated with the management of type 2 diabetes are increasing dramatically as the prevalence of the disease increases. Medication adherence to long-term drug therapy remains poor in patients with type 2 diabetes and contributes to poor glycemic control in this patient population, increased healthcare resource utilization and increased costs, as well as increased rates of comorbid CVD and mortality. Furthermore, poor adherence to established evidence-based guidelines for type 2 diabetes, including underdiagnosis and undertreatment, contributes to poor outcomes. New approaches to the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes currently in development have the potential to improve medication adherence and consequently glycemic control, which in turn will help to reduce associated costs and healthcare utilization. Conclusions As the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and its associated comorbidities grows, healthcare costs will continue to increase, indicating a need for better approaches to achieve glycemic control and manage comorbid conditions. Drug therapies are needed that enhance patient adherence and persistence levels far above levels reported with currently available drugs. Improvements in adherence to treatment guidelines and greater rates of lifestyle modifications also are needed. A serious unmet need exists for greatly improved patient outcomes, more effective and more tolerable drugs, as well as marked improvements in adherence to treatment guidelines and drug therapy to positively impact healthcare costs and resource use. PMID:24991370

Historical Perspective of Traditional Indigenous Medical Practices: The Current Renaissance and Conservation of Herbal Resources

PubMed Central

Pan, Si-Yuan; Gao, Si-Hua; Zhou, Shu-Feng; Yu, Zhi-Ling; Chen, Hou-Qi; Zhang, Shuo-Feng; Tang, Min-Ke; Sun, Jian-Ning; Ko, Kam-Ming

2014-01-01

In recent years, increasing numbers of people have been choosing herbal medicines or products to improve their health conditions, either alone or in combination with others. Herbs are staging a comeback and herbal “renaissance” occurs all over the world. According to the World Health Organization, 75% of the world's populations are using herbs for basic healthcare needs. Since the dawn of mankind, in fact, the use of herbs/plants has offered an effective medicine for the treatment of illnesses. Moreover, many conventional/pharmaceutical drugs are derived directly from both nature and traditional remedies distributed around the world. Up to now, the practice of herbal medicine entails the use of more than 53,000 species, and a number of these are facing the threat of extinction due to overexploitation. This paper aims to provide a review of the history and status quo of Chinese, Indian, and Arabic herbal medicines in terms of their significant contribution to the health promotion in present-day over-populated and aging societies. Attention will be focused on the depletion of plant resources on earth in meeting the increasing demand for herbs. PMID:24872833

WILDLIFE HEALTH AND PUBLIC TRUST RESPONSIBILITIES FOR WILDLIFE RESOURCES.

PubMed

Decker, Daniel J; Schuler, Krysten; Forstchen, Ann B; Wild, Margaret A; Siemer, William F

2016-10-01

A significant development in wildlife management is the mounting concern of wildlife professionals and the public about wildlife health and diseases. Concurrently, the wildlife profession is reexamining implications of managing wildlife populations as a public trust and the concomitant obligation to ensure the quality (i.e., health) and sustainability of wildlife. It is an opportune time to emphasize the importance of wildlife health, specifically to advocate for comprehensive and consistent integration of wildlife health in wildlife management. We summarize application of public trust ideas in wildlife population management in the US. We argue that wildlife health is essential to fulfilling public trust administration responsibilities with respect to wildlife, due to the central responsibility of trustees for ensuring the well-being of wildlife species (i.e., the core resources of the trust). Because both health of wildlife and risk perceptions regarding threats posed by wildlife disease to humans and domestic animals are issues of growing concern, managing wildlife disease and risk communication vis-à-vis wildlife health is critical to wildlife trust administration. We conclude that wildlife health professionals play a critical role in protecting the wildlife trust and that current conditions provide opportunities for important contributions by wildlife health professionals in wildlife management.

Historical perspective of traditional indigenous medical practices: the current renaissance and conservation of herbal resources.

PubMed

Pan, Si-Yuan; Litscher, Gerhard; Gao, Si-Hua; Zhou, Shu-Feng; Yu, Zhi-Ling; Chen, Hou-Qi; Zhang, Shuo-Feng; Tang, Min-Ke; Sun, Jian-Ning; Ko, Kam-Ming

2014-01-01

In recent years, increasing numbers of people have been choosing herbal medicines or products to improve their health conditions, either alone or in combination with others. Herbs are staging a comeback and herbal "renaissance" occurs all over the world. According to the World Health Organization, 75% of the world's populations are using herbs for basic healthcare needs. Since the dawn of mankind, in fact, the use of herbs/plants has offered an effective medicine for the treatment of illnesses. Moreover, many conventional/pharmaceutical drugs are derived directly from both nature and traditional remedies distributed around the world. Up to now, the practice of herbal medicine entails the use of more than 53,000 species, and a number of these are facing the threat of extinction due to overexploitation. This paper aims to provide a review of the history and status quo of Chinese, Indian, and Arabic herbal medicines in terms of their significant contribution to the health promotion in present-day over-populated and aging societies. Attention will be focused on the depletion of plant resources on earth in meeting the increasing demand for herbs.

The economics of atrial fibrillation: a time for review and prioritization.

PubMed

Cadilhac, Dominique A

2012-08-01

Stroke associated with atrial fibrillation may occur in up to one third of people who experience an ischemic event, and results in greater stroke severity and poorer health outcomes. The ageing population in developed and developing countries will lead to an increase in the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in society. Detecting people who have atrial fibrillation and ensuring optimal prevention management is essential for reducing the burden of stroke worldwide. There is evidence that use of anticoagulants is inadequate in primary and secondary prevention of stroke. New anticoagulants that have fewer side effects and population screening tools are available. However, there is little information available about the cost-effectiveness of these new options for atrial fibrillation detection and stroke prevention management over current practice. Since resources for spending in health are limited, it is essential that formal economic analyses are undertaken to ensure there are informed and evidence-based decisions on where to best invest stroke prevention resources. It is essential that renewed efforts in the area of atrial fibrillation and options for stroke prevention are undertaken within the public health research community. © 2012 The Author. International Journal of Stroke © 2012 World Stroke Organization.

New Rodent Population Models May Inform Human Health Risk Assessment and Identification of Genetic Susceptibility to Environmental Exposures.

PubMed

Harrill, Alison H; McAllister, Kimberly A

2017-08-15

This paper provides an introduction for environmental health scientists to emerging population-based rodent resources. Mouse reference populations provide an opportunity to model environmental exposures and gene-environment interactions in human disease and to inform human health risk assessment. This review will describe several mouse populations for toxicity assessment, including older models such as the Mouse Diversity Panel (MDP), and newer models that include the Collaborative Cross (CC) and Diversity Outbred (DO) models. This review will outline the features of the MDP, CC, and DO mouse models and will discuss published case studies investigating the use of these mouse population resources in each step of the risk assessment paradigm. These unique resources have the potential to be powerful tools for generating hypotheses related to gene-environment interplay in human disease, performing controlled exposure studies to understand the differential responses in humans for susceptibility or resistance to environmental exposures, and identifying gene variants that influence sensitivity to toxicity and disease states. These new resources offer substantial advances to classical toxicity testing paradigms by including genetically sensitive individuals that may inform toxicity risks for sensitive subpopulations. Both in vivo and complementary in vitro resources provide platforms with which to reduce uncertainty by providing population-level data around biological variability. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1274.

New Rodent Population Models May Inform Human Health Risk Assessment and Identification of Genetic Susceptibility to Environmental Exposures

PubMed Central

Harrill, Alison H.

2017-01-01

Background: This paper provides an introduction for environmental health scientists to emerging population-based rodent resources. Mouse reference populations provide an opportunity to model environmental exposures and gene–environment interactions in human disease and to inform human health risk assessment. Objectives: This review will describe several mouse populations for toxicity assessment, including older models such as the Mouse Diversity Panel (MDP), and newer models that include the Collaborative Cross (CC) and Diversity Outbred (DO) models. Methods: This review will outline the features of the MDP, CC, and DO mouse models and will discuss published case studies investigating the use of these mouse population resources in each step of the risk assessment paradigm. Discussion: These unique resources have the potential to be powerful tools for generating hypotheses related to gene–environment interplay in human disease, performing controlled exposure studies to understand the differential responses in humans for susceptibility or resistance to environmental exposures, and identifying gene variants that influence sensitivity to toxicity and disease states. Conclusions: These new resources offer substantial advances to classical toxicity testing paradigms by including genetically sensitive individuals that may inform toxicity risks for sensitive subpopulations. Both in vivo and complementary in vitro resources provide platforms with which to reduce uncertainty by providing population-level data around biological variability. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1274 PMID:28886592

Medicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

PubMed

Salehi, Bahare; Kumar, Nanjangud V Anil; Şener, Bilge; Sharifi-Rad, Mehdi; Kılıç, Mehtap; Mahady, Gail B; Vlaisavljevic, Sanja; Iriti, Marcello; Kobarfard, Farzad; Setzer, William N; Ayatollahi, Seyed Abdulmajid; Ata, Athar; Sharifi-Rad, Javad

2018-05-14

Since the beginning of the epidemic, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has infected around 70 million people worldwide, most of whom reside is sub-Saharan Africa. There have been very promising developments in the treatment of HIV with anti-retroviral drug cocktails. However, drug resistance to anti-HIV drugs is emerging, and many people infected with HIV have adverse reactions or do not have ready access to currently available HIV chemotherapies. Thus, there is a need to discover new anti-HIV agents to supplement our current arsenal of anti-HIV drugs and to provide therapeutic options for populations with limited resources or access to currently efficacious chemotherapies. Plant-derived natural products continue to serve as a reservoir for the discovery of new medicines, including anti-HIV agents. This review presents a survey of plants that have shown anti-HIV activity, both in vitro and in vivo.

Medicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus

PubMed Central

Şener, Bilge; Sharifi-Rad, Mehdi; Kılıç, Mehtap; Mahady, Gail B.; Vlaisavljevic, Sanja; Kobarfard, Farzad; Setzer, William N.; Ayatollahi, Seyed Abdulmajid; Ata, Athar

2018-01-01

Since the beginning of the epidemic, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has infected around 70 million people worldwide, most of whom reside is sub-Saharan Africa. There have been very promising developments in the treatment of HIV with anti-retroviral drug cocktails. However, drug resistance to anti-HIV drugs is emerging, and many people infected with HIV have adverse reactions or do not have ready access to currently available HIV chemotherapies. Thus, there is a need to discover new anti-HIV agents to supplement our current arsenal of anti-HIV drugs and to provide therapeutic options for populations with limited resources or access to currently efficacious chemotherapies. Plant-derived natural products continue to serve as a reservoir for the discovery of new medicines, including anti-HIV agents. This review presents a survey of plants that have shown anti-HIV activity, both in vitro and in vivo. PMID:29757986

Population Genetic Structure of Glycyrrhiza inflata B. (Fabaceae) Is Shaped by Habitat Fragmentation, Water Resources and Biological Characteristics.

PubMed

Yang, Lulu; Chen, Jianjun; Hu, Weiming; Yang, Tianshun; Zhang, Yanjun; Yukiyoshi, Tamura; Zhou, Yanyang; Wang, Ying

2016-01-01

Habitat fragmentation, water resources and biological characteristics are important factors that shape the genetic structure and geographical distribution of desert plants. Analysis of the relationships between these factors and population genetic variation should help to determine the evolutionary potential and conservation strategies for genetic resources for desert plant populations. As a traditional Chinese herb, Glycyrrhiza inflata B. (Fabaceae) is restricted to the fragmented desert habitat in China and has undergone a dramatic decline due to long-term over-excavation. Determining the genetic structure of the G. inflata population and identifying a core collection could help with the development of strategies to conserve this species. We investigated the genetic variation of 25 G. inflata populations based on microsatellite markers. A high level of population genetic divergence (FST = 0.257), population bottlenecks, reduced gene flow and moderate genetic variation (HE = 0.383) were detected. The genetic distances between the populations significantly correlated with the geographical distances, and this suggests that habitat fragmentation has driven a special genetic structure of G. inflata in China through isolation by distance. STRUCTURE analysis showed that G. inflata populations were structured into three clusters and that the populations belonged to multiple water systems, which suggests that water resources were related to the genetic structure of G. inflata. In addition, the biological characteristics of the perennial species G. inflata, such as its long-lived seeds, asexual reproduction, and oasis ecology, may be related to its resistance to habitat fragmentation. A core collection of G. inflata, that included 57 accessions was further identified, which captured the main allelic diversity of G. inflata. Recent habitat fragmentation has accelerated genetic divergence. The population genetic structure of G. inflata has been shaped by habitat fragmentation, water resources and biological characteristics. This genetic information and core collection will facilitate the conservation of wild germplasm and breeding of this Chinese medicinal plant.

Population Genetic Structure of Glycyrrhiza inflata B. (Fabaceae) Is Shaped by Habitat Fragmentation, Water Resources and Biological Characteristics

PubMed Central

Yang, Lulu; Chen, Jianjun; Hu, Weiming; Yang, Tianshun; Zhang, Yanjun; Yukiyoshi, Tamura; Zhou, Yanyang; Wang, Ying

2016-01-01

Background Habitat fragmentation, water resources and biological characteristics are important factors that shape the genetic structure and geographical distribution of desert plants. Analysis of the relationships between these factors and population genetic variation should help to determine the evolutionary potential and conservation strategies for genetic resources for desert plant populations. As a traditional Chinese herb, Glycyrrhiza inflata B. (Fabaceae) is restricted to the fragmented desert habitat in China and has undergone a dramatic decline due to long-term over-excavation. Determining the genetic structure of the G. inflata population and identifying a core collection could help with the development of strategies to conserve this species. Results We investigated the genetic variation of 25 G. inflata populations based on microsatellite markers. A high level of population genetic divergence (FST = 0.257), population bottlenecks, reduced gene flow and moderate genetic variation (HE = 0.383) were detected. The genetic distances between the populations significantly correlated with the geographical distances, and this suggests that habitat fragmentation has driven a special genetic structure of G. inflata in China through isolation by distance. STRUCTURE analysis showed that G. inflata populations were structured into three clusters and that the populations belonged to multiple water systems, which suggests that water resources were related to the genetic structure of G. inflata. In addition, the biological characteristics of the perennial species G. inflata, such as its long-lived seeds, asexual reproduction, and oasis ecology, may be related to its resistance to habitat fragmentation. A core collection of G. inflata, that included 57 accessions was further identified, which captured the main allelic diversity of G. inflata. Conclusions Recent habitat fragmentation has accelerated genetic divergence. The population genetic structure of G. inflata has been shaped by habitat fragmentation, water resources and biological characteristics. This genetic information and core collection will facilitate the conservation of wild germplasm and breeding of this Chinese medicinal plant. PMID:27711241

Forest Resources of the United States, 1997

Treesearch

W. Brad Smith; John S. Vissage; David R. Darr; Raymond M. Sheffield

2001-01-01

Forest resource statistics from the 1987 Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment were updated to 1997 to provide current information on the Nation`s forests. Resource tables present estimates of forest area, volume, mortality, growth, removals, and timber products output in various ways, such as by ownership, region, or State. Current resource data are analyzed and...

Forest Resources of the United States, 2007

Treesearch

W. Brad, tech. coord. Smith; Patrick D., data coord. Miles; Charles H., map coord. Perry; Scott A., Data CD coord. Pugh

2009-01-01

Forest resource statistics from the 2000 Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment were updated to provide current information on the Nation's forests. Resource tables present estimates of forest area, volume, mortality, growth, removals, and timber products output in various ways, such as by ownership, region, or State. Current resource data and trends are analyzed...

e-MIR2: a public online inventory of medical informatics resources.

PubMed

de la Calle, Guillermo; García-Remesal, Miguel; Nkumu-Mbomio, Nelida; Kulikowski, Casimir; Maojo, Victor

2012-08-02

Over the past years, the number of available informatics resources in medicine has grown exponentially. While specific inventories of such resources have already begun to be developed for Bioinformatics (BI), comparable inventories are as yet not available for the Medical Informatics (MI) field, so that locating and accessing them currently remains a difficult and time-consuming task. We have created a repository of MI resources from the scientific literature, providing free access to its contents through a web-based service. We define informatics resources as all those elements that constitute, serve to define or are used by informatics systems, ranging from architectures or development methodologies to terminologies, vocabularies, databases or tools. Relevant information describing the resources is automatically extracted from manuscripts published in top-ranked MI journals. We used a pattern matching approach to detect the resources' names and their main features. Detected resources are classified according to three different criteria: functionality, resource type and domain. To facilitate these tasks, we have built three different classification schemas by following a novel approach based on folksonomies and social tagging. We adopted the terminology most frequently used by MI researchers in their publications to create the concepts and hierarchical relationships belonging to the classification schemas. The classification algorithm identifies the categories associated with resources and annotates them accordingly. The database is then populated with this data after manual curation and validation. We have created an online repository of MI resources to assist researchers in locating and accessing the most suitable resources to perform specific tasks. The database contains 609 resources at the time of writing and is available at http://www.gib.fi.upm.es/eMIR2. We are continuing to expand the number of available resources by taking into account further publications as well as suggestions from users and resource developers.

Towards a semantic medical Web: HealthCyberMap's tool for building an RDF metadata base of health information resources based on the Qualified Dublin Core Metadata Set.

PubMed

Boulos, Maged N; Roudsari, Abdul V; Carson, Ewart R

2002-07-01

HealthCyberMap (http://healthcybermap.semanticweb.org/) aims at mapping Internet health information resources in novel ways for enhanced retrieval and navigation. This is achieved by collecting appropriate resource metadata in an unambiguous form that preserves semantics. We modelled a qualified Dublin Core (DC) metadata set ontology with extra elements for resource quality and geographical provenance in Prot g -2000. A metadata collection form helps acquiring resource instance data within Prot g . The DC subject field is populated with UMLS terms directly imported from UMLS Knowledge Source Server using UMLS tab, a Prot g -2000 plug-in. The project is saved in RDFS/RDF. The ontology and associated form serve as a free tool for building and maintaining an RDF medical resource metadata base. The UMLS tab enables browsing and searching for concepts that best describe a resource, and importing them to DC subject fields. The resultant metadata base can be used with a search and inference engine, and have textual and/or visual navigation interface(s) applied to it, to ultimately build a medical Semantic Web portal. Different ways of exploiting Prot g -2000 RDF output are discussed. By making the context and semantics of resources, not merely their raw text and formatting, amenable to computer 'understanding,' we can build a Semantic Web that is more useful to humans than the current Web. This requires proper use of metadata and ontologies. Clinical codes can reliably describe the subjects of medical resources, establish the semantic relationships (as defined by underlying coding scheme) between related resources, and automate their topical categorisation.

Population genetics of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus, an invasive vector of human diseases

PubMed Central

Goubert, C; Minard, G; Vieira, C; Boulesteix, M

2016-01-01

The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is currently one of the most threatening invasive species in the world. Native to Southeast Asia, the species has spread throughout the world in the past 30 years and is now present in every continent but Antarctica. Because it was the main vector of recent Dengue and Chikungunya outbreaks, and because of its competency for numerous other viruses and pathogens such as the Zika virus, A. albopictus stands out as a model species for invasive diseases vector studies. A synthesis of the current knowledge about the genetic diversity of A. albopictus is needed, knowing the interplays between the vector, the pathogens, the environment and their epidemiological consequences. Such resources are also valuable for assessing the role of genetic diversity in the invasive success. We review here the large but sometimes dispersed literature about the population genetics of A. albopictus. We first debate about the experimental design of these studies and present an up-to-date assessment of the available molecular markers. We then summarize the main genetic characteristics of natural populations and synthesize the available data regarding the worldwide structuring of the vector. Finally, we pinpoint the gaps that remain to be addressed and suggest possible research directions. PMID:27273325

Spawning by lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the Detroit River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Caswell, N.M.; Peterson, D.L.; Manny, B.A.; Kennedy, G.W.

2004-01-01

Overfishing and habitat destruction in the early 1900s devastated lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) populations in the Great Lakes. Although a comprehensive restoration strategy for this species was recently drafted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, a lack of current data on Great Lakes sturgeon stocks has hindered rehabilitation efforts. Historically, the Detroit River supported one of the largest lake sturgeon populations in the Great Lakes; however, little is known about the current population or its habitat use. The main objective of this study was to determine if lake sturgeon spawns in the Detroit River. As part of a larger study, baited setlines were used to capture lake sturgeon in the Detroit River in the spring and summer of 2000 and 2001. In each year of the study, ultrasonic transmitters were surgically implanted in 10 adult fish to track their movements, evaluate habitat use and identify possible spawning sites. Using telemetry and egg mats to verify spawning activity, one spawning site was located and verified in the Detroit River. Spawning was verified by recovering sturgeon eggs deposited on egg collection mats anchored at the site. Telemetry data suggested that several other possible spawning sites also may exist, however, spawning activity was not verified at these sites.

Preventing Advanced Carious Lesions with Caries Atraumatic Restorative Technique.

PubMed

Byrd, Tammi O

2016-06-01

An alternative approach to controlling dental caries and preventing the associated pain, called atraumatic restorative technique (ART), is described for populations in need, where dental hygienists restore decayed teeth with glass ionomer restorations without prior removal of all decayed tooth structure. There are populations whose decay needs are not adequately being met within the current oral health care delivery system. These include those in poverty conditions, vulnerable children, and the elderly who are often in long-term care facilities without adequate resources or opportunities for traditional dentistry. ART provides a viable option for controlling caries and relieving the pain of untreated decay. The purpose of this article is to suggest that the evidence surrounding ART be viewed objectively and that dental hygienists, with additional education in this approach, can contribute to relieving the pain of untreated dental decay. Evidence suggests that teeth can be effectively restored with ART. Dental hygienists represent an appropriate workforce to provide ART with their current background and education combined plus a brief training program; it is suggested that dental hygiene educational programs include ART within the curriculum. Along with dental sealants and fluoride varnish application, ART can be an important component of a comprehensive preventive program to address the unmet needs of vulnerable populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The quest for population-level cancer recurrence data; current deficiencies and targets for improvement.

PubMed

In, Haejin; Simon, Cassie A; Phillips, Jerri Linn; Posner, Mitchell C; Ko, Clifford Y; Winchester, David P

2015-05-01

Cancer recurrence is a critical outcome in cancer care. However, population-level recurrence information is currently unavailable. Tumor registries provide an opportunity to generate this information, but require major reform. Our objectives were to (1) determine causes for variability in collection of recurrence, and (2) identify targets for intervention. On-site interviews and observations of tumor registry follow-up procedures were conducted at Commission on Cancer (CoC) accredited hospitals. Information regarding registry resources (caseload, staffing, chart availability), follow-up methods and perceived causes for difficulty in obtaining recurrence information was obtained. Seven NCI/academic, 5 comprehensive community and 2 community centers agreed to participate. Hospitals were inconsistent in their investigation of cancer recurrence, resulting in underreporting of rates of recurrence. Hospital characteristics, registry staffing, staff qualifications and medical chart access influenced follow-up practices. Coding standards and definitions for recurrence were suboptimal, resulting in hospital variability of recurrence reporting. Finally, inability to identify cases lost to follow-up in collected data prevents accurate analysis of recurrence rates. Tumor registries collect varying degrees of recurrence information and provide the underpinnings to capture population-level cancer recurrence data. Targets for intervention are listed, and provide a roadmap to obtain this critical information in cancer care. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Teacher Resource Book for Population Pressure in Indonesia, Problems of Industrialization in Eurasia, Power Blocs in Eurasia. Man on the Earth Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunn, Angus

This teacher's resource book is a guide to three intermediate texts about Eurasia entitled Population Pressure in Indonesia, Problems of Industrialization in Eurasia, and Power Blocs in Eurasia. The texts are part of the series, Man on the Earth, which probes broad-based issues confronting mankind. The resource book distinguishes 18 major concepts…

Optimal exploitation of spatially distributed trophic resources and population stability

USGS Publications Warehouse

Basset, A.; Fedele, M.; DeAngelis, D.L.

2002-01-01

The relationships between optimal foraging of individuals and population stability are addressed by testing, with a spatially explicit model, the effect of patch departure behaviour on individual energetics and population stability. A factorial experimental design was used to analyse the relevance of the behavioural factor in relation to three factors that are known to affect individual energetics; i.e. resource growth rate (RGR), assimilation efficiency (AE), and body size of individuals. The factorial combination of these factors produced 432 cases, and 1000 replicate simulations were run for each case. Net energy intake rates of the modelled consumers increased with increasing RGR, consumer AE, and consumer body size, as expected. Moreover, through their patch departure behaviour, by selecting the resource level at which they departed from the patch, individuals managed to substantially increase their net energy intake rates. Population stability was also affected by the behavioural factors and by the other factors, but with highly non-linear responses. Whenever resources were limiting for the consumers because of low RGR, large individual body size or low AE, population density at the equilibrium was directly related to the patch departure behaviour; on the other hand, optimal patch departure behaviour, which maximised the net energy intake at the individual level, had a negative influence on population stability whenever resource availability was high for the consumers. The consumer growth rate (r) and numerical dynamics, as well as the spatial and temporal fluctuations of resource density, which were the proximate causes of population stability or instability, were affected by the behavioural factor as strongly or even more strongly than by the others factors considered here. Therefore, patch departure behaviour can act as a feedback control of individual energetics, allowing consumers to optimise a potential trade-off between short-term individual fitness and long-term population stability. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

State-Specific Prevalence of Tobacco Product Use Among Adults - United States, 2014-2015.

PubMed

Odani, Satomi; Armour, Brian S; Graffunder, Corinne M; Willis, Gordon; Hartman, Anne M; Agaku, Israel T

2018-01-26

Despite recent declines in cigarette smoking prevalence, the tobacco product landscape has shifted to include emerging tobacco products* (1,2). Previous research has documented adult use of smokeless tobacco and cigarettes by state (3); however, state-specific data on other tobacco products are limited. To assess tobacco product use in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (DC), CDC and the National Cancer Institute analyzed self-reported use of six tobacco product types: cigarettes, cigars, regular pipes, water pipes, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), and smokeless tobacco products among adults aged ≥18 years using data from the 2014-2015 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS). Prevalence of ever-use of any tobacco product ranged from 27.0% (Utah) to 55.4% (Wyoming). Current (every day or some days) use of any tobacco product ranged from 10.2% (California) to 27.7% (Wyoming). Cigarettes were the most common currently used tobacco product in all states and DC. Among current cigarette smokers, the proportion who currently used one or more other tobacco products ranged from 11.5% (Delaware) to 32.3% (Oregon). Differences in tobacco product use across states underscore the importance of implementing proven population-level strategies to reduce tobacco use and expanding these strategies to cover all forms of tobacco marketed in the United States. Such strategies could include comprehensive smoke-free policies, tobacco product price increases, anti-tobacco mass media campaigns, and barrier-free access to clinical smoking cessation resources (1,4).

Kenya.

PubMed

1985-07-01

Kenya's 1st census, in 1948, counted 5.8 million people, the 1979 census counted 15.3 million, and the government estimates the 1984 population at 19.4 million. Development planning began in 1966; the current 5-year plan (1984-1988) stresses manpower, capital, and land development, mainly in the West. The government considers population growth an obstacle to meeting educational, health, housing, food, and employment needs. Kenya's high 4% growth rate results from a high birth rate and a declining death rate. The government intends to reduce population growth to 3.3% by 1988 by 1) informing Kenyans of the benefits of small families and 2) making family planning services easily available, especially in rural areas. Life expectancy is currently 52.9 years and infant mortality is 82/1000. Most health problems relate to childbearing, communicable diseases, malnutrition, and poor sanitation. The current development plan strives to expand services in 1) staff training, information, and education, 2) monitoring and evaluation, 3) contraceptive delivery, and 4) increasing family planning acceptors. Kenyan women desire 7 children and usually have 8. The government is trying to improve the status of women through education and employment, with the expectation of reducing fertility levels. Abortion for contraceptive purposes is illegal; sterilization and contraceptives are available. Neither emigration nor immigration are significant in Kenya. 90% of the people live on 20% of the land. Urban growth is increasing too rapidly and the government's policies to correct the population distribution inequity include 1) urban development, mainly in Western Kenya; 2) encouraging agricultural development; 3) development of export-oriented, resource based, and labor intensive industries; 4) funding development sites outside of Nairobi and Mombasa; 5) stimulating growth in undeveloped areas; 6) improving roads, rails, and ports; and 7) providing adequate water, housing, and energy.

Health situation and issues in the Seychelles in 2012.

PubMed

Bovet, P; Gédéon, J; Louange, M; Durasnel, P; Aubry, P; Gaüzère, B A

2013-11-27

Located off the coast of Kenya, the Republic of the Seychelles is an island archipelago nation whose citizens are mostly of African origin. The population, independent from the United Kingdom since 1976, has largely completed its demographic and epidemiological transitions. Major investments in infrastructure and social services have fostered a steady economic growth. Health services and education are free. The predominance of chronic non-communicable diseases and rapid aging of the population cause significant new challenges for public health and the health system. However, like the other small island states in the region, the Seychelles remains under the threat of outbreaks, particularly of arboviruses. Health indicators from 2012 are generally very good. There are concerns, however, about the future of health care in the country. Geographic isolation, the small and aging population and limited resources provide major challenges for maintaining and sustaining an effective workforce of health professionals, a constantly evolving technical platform and an increasing number of available medications. This is true particularly in view of the increasing burden of chronic diseases and the continued threat to the population of current or emerging infectious diseases. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief introduction to the geography, history, and political context of Seychelles to provide an account of the current situation regarding major diseases in the Seychelles and to review health priorities of the last few decades. To our knowledge, no comprehensive inventory of sporadic, endemic or epidemic events has been attempted before, except for a remarkable report from the 1950s [1]. Using health data from the past few decades, information from health personnel who live and practice in the Indian Ocean, we attempt to identify major current and future health challenges in the Seychelles.

Spatial and temporal variation in population genetic structure of wild Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) across Africa

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Reconstructing the evolutionary history of a species is challenging. It often depends not only on the past biogeographic and climatic events but also the contemporary and ecological factors, such as current connectivity and habitat heterogeneity. In fact, these factors might interact with each other and shape the current species distribution. However, to what extent the current population genetic structure reflects the past and the contemporary factors is largely unknown. Here we investigated spatio-temporal genetic structures of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) populations, across their natural distribution in Africa. While its large biogeographic distribution can cause genetic differentiation at the paleo-biogeographic scales, its restricted dispersal capacity might induce a strong genetic structure at micro-geographic scales. Results Using nine microsatellite loci and 350 samples from ten natural populations, we found the highest genetic differentiation among the three ichthyofaunal provinces and regions (Ethiopian, Nilotic and Sudano-Sahelian) (RST = 0.38 - 0.69). This result suggests the predominant effect of paleo-geographic events at macro-geographic scale. In addition, intermediate divergences were found between rivers and lakes within the regions, presumably reflecting relatively recent interruptions of gene flow between hydrographic basins (RST = 0.24 - 0.32). The lowest differentiations were observed among connected populations within a basin (RST = 0.015 in the Volta basin). Comparison of temporal sample series revealed subtle changes in the gene pools in a few generations (F = 0 - 0.053). The estimated effective population sizes were 23 - 143 and the estimated migration rate was moderate (m ~ 0.094 - 0.097) in the Volta populations. Conclusions This study revealed clear hierarchical patterns of the population genetic structuring of O. niloticus in Africa. The effects of paleo-geographic and climatic events were predominant at macro-geographic scale, and the significant effect of geographic connectivity was detected at micro-geographic scale. The estimated effective population size, the moderate level of dispersal and the rapid temporal change in genetic composition might reflect a potential effect of life history strategy on population dynamics. This hypothesis deserves further investigation. The dynamic pattern revealed at micro-geographic and temporal scales appears important from a genetic resource management as well as from a biodiversity conservation point of view. PMID:22151746

Consequences of habitat change and resource selection specialization for population limitation in cavity-nesting birds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Martin, Thomas E.

2015-01-01

Synthesis and applications. Management should target species that specialize in resource selection on a declining resource. Species with greater resource selection generalization can reduce population impacts of environmental change. Resource generalization can allow a species like the wren to take advantage of habitat refuges, such as those provided by the elk exclosures. Yet, resource generalization cannot offset the negative impacts of broad-scale declines in habitat quality on the landscape, as demonstrated by the general decline of wrens. Ultimately, aspen is an important habitat for biodiversity, and land management programmes that protect and aid recovery of aspen habitats may be critical.

Integration of population genetic structure and plant response to climate change: sustaining genetic resources through evaluation of projected threats

Treesearch

Bryce A. Richardson; Marcus V. Warwell; Mee-Sook Kim; Ned B. Klopfenstein; Geral I. McDonald

2010-01-01

To assess threats or predict responses to disturbances, or both, it is essential to recognize and characterize the population structures of forest species in relation to changing environments. Appropriate management of these genetic resources in the future will require (1) understanding the existing genetic diversity/variation and population structure of forest trees...

Intraspecific competition reduces niche width in experimental populations

PubMed Central

Parent, Christine E; Agashe, Deepa; Bolnick, Daniel I

2014-01-01

Intraspecific competition is believed to drive niche expansion, because otherwise suboptimal resources can provide a refuge from competition for preferred resources. Competitive niche expansion is well supported by empirical observations, experiments, and theory, and is often invoked to explain phenotypic diversification within populations, some forms of speciation, and adaptive radiation. However, some foraging models predict the opposite outcome, and it therefore remains unclear whether competition will promote or inhibit niche expansion. We conducted experiments to test whether competition changes the fitness landscape to favor niche expansion, and if competition indeed drives niche expansion as expected. Using Tribolium castaneum flour beetles fed either wheat (their ancestral resource), corn (a novel resource) or mixtures of both resources, we show that fitness is maximized on a mixed diet. Next, we show that at higher population density, the optimal diet shifts toward greater use of corn, favoring niche expansion. In stark contrast, when beetles were given a choice of resources, we found that competition caused niche contraction onto the ancestral resource. This presents a puzzling mismatch between how competition alters the fitness landscape, versus competition's effects on resource use. We discuss several explanations for this mismatch, highlighting potential reasons why optimality models might be misleading. PMID:25505525

Getting quantitative about consequences of cross-ecosystem resource subsidies on recipient consumers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Richardson, John S.; Wipfli, Mark S.

2016-01-01

Most studies of cross-ecosystem resource subsidies have demonstrated positive effects on recipient consumer populations, often with very large effect sizes. However, it is important to move beyond these initial addition–exclusion experiments to consider the quantitative consequences for populations across gradients in the rates and quality of resource inputs. In our introduction to this special issue, we describe at least four potential models that describe functional relationships between subsidy input rates and consumer responses, most of them asymptotic. Here we aim to advance our quantitative understanding of how subsidy inputs influence recipient consumers and their communities. In the papers following, fish were either the recipient consumers or the subsidy as carcasses of anadromous species. Advancing general, predictive models will enable us to further consider what other factors are potentially co-limiting (e.g., nutrients, other population interactions, physical habitat, etc.) and better integrate resource subsidies into consumer–resource, biophysical dynamics models.

[Genetic variability of the Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotype B (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in vegetable crops in São Luís, state of Maranhão, Brazil].

PubMed

Da Silva, Maria C; De Lemos, Raimunda N S; Lima, Luzia H C; Gourlart Filho, Luiz R; Pereira, Silma R F

2009-01-01

The RAPD technique is widely used to investigate the distinct genetic characteristics of the complex Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), which is currently constituted of approximately 41 biotypes. The objective of this research was to characterize populations of whitefly collected in crops of agricultural producing areas in São Luís, MA, like okra, beans and pepper, using RAPD molecular markers. Females from nine whitefly populations were analyzed and compared with B. tabaci biotype B taken from poinsettia culture of Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (Brasília, DF). Twelve out of the 20 primers tested produced specific band patterns suitable to confirm that the evaluated specimens belong to the biotype B of B. tabaci, despite the high percentage of detected polymorphism. The analysis of the 96 RAPD molecular markers generated indicated that the populations on okra, beans and pepper were grouped according to the host cultures, sharing 80, 76 and 45% of genetic similarity, respectively, when compared with the control population of B. tabaci biotype B. A lower selective pressure was observed with the population of whitefly collected on pepper and minor genetic variability in the whitefly populations collected on okra and bean, when compared with the control population.

Spatial distribution of limited resources and local density regulation in juvenile Atlantic salmon.

PubMed

Finstad, Anders G; Einum, Sigurd; Ugedal, Ola; Forseth, Torbjørn

2009-01-01

1. Spatial heterogeneity of resources may influence competition among individuals and thus have a fundamental role in shaping population dynamics and carrying capacity. In the present study, we identify shelter opportunities as a limiting resource for juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Experimental and field studies are combined in order to demonstrate how the spatial distribution of shelters may influence population dynamics on both within and among population scales. 2. In closed experimental streams, fish performance scaled negatively with decreasing shelter availability and increasing densities. In contrast, the fish in open stream channels dispersed according to shelter availability and performance of fish remaining in the streams did not depend on initial density or shelters. 3. The field study confirmed that spatial variation in densities of 1-year-old juveniles was governed both by initial recruit density and shelter availability. Strength of density-dependent population regulation, measured as carrying capacity, increased with decreasing number of shelters. 4. Nine rivers were surveyed for spatial variation in shelter availability and increased shelter heterogeneity tended to decrease maximum observed population size (measured using catch statistics of adult salmon as a proxy). 5. Our studies highlight the importance of small-scale within-population spatial structure in population dynamics and demonstrate that not only the absolute amount of limiting resources but also their spatial arrangement can be an important factor influencing population carrying capacity.

Cultural factors of visitors' understanding of United States National Park Service natural resource messages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilton, Sunita Claire

Current trends in the demographic structure of the US population indicate increasing cultural diversity. Culturally-diverse populations have varying beliefs, views and understandings of natural resource use and management. This study concentrates on understanding how messages pertaining to natural resources concepts and associated management decisions are communicated to and received by culturally-diverse audiences. This is particularly relevant to land managing agencies, such as the US National Park Service (NPS), that rely on a high degree of public contact and support. Failure to consider cultural-diversity has the potential to interfere with this agency's success at communicating its mission and management decisions. The study took place in three US National Parks; Grand Canyon National Park (North Rim), Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Visitors were asked to complete an on-site anonymous questionnaire. Data were collected at various locations including trailheads, scenic overlooks, at visitor centers, and after interpretive programs. Total number of participants was 549, Grand Canyon National Park n = 156, Guadalupe Mountains National Park n = 153, and Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park n = 240. Results indicate that visitors were knowledgeable about the resources they were visiting. Visitors to NPS sites have achieved a high level of formal education. Certain aspects of culture, religion/spirituality seem to have a greater role in how visitors identify themselves, as opposed to ethnicity/cultural heritage. However when visitors are in a park they seem display similar cultural characteristics, which may come to the forefront while in the park setting as opposed to home setting. Methodological challenges of studying culture in a national park setting are also discussed.

Clinical Audit of COPD Patients Requiring Hospital Admissions in Spain: AUDIPOC Study

PubMed Central

Pozo-Rodríguez, Francisco; López-Campos, Jose Luis; Álvarez-Martínez, Carlos J.; Castro-Acosta, Ady; Agüero, Ramón; Hueto, Javier; Hernández-Hernández, Jesús; Barrón, Manuel; Abraira, Victor; Forte, Anabel; Sanchez Nieto, Juan Miguel; Lopez-Gabaldón, Encarnación; Cosío, Borja G.; Agustí, Alvar

2012-01-01

Backgrounds AUDIPOC is a nationwide clinical audit that describes the characteristics, interventions and outcomes of patients admitted to Spanish hospitals because of an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (ECOPD), assessing the compliance of these parameters with current international guidelines. The present study describes hospital resources, hospital factors related to case recruitment variability, patients’ characteristics, and adherence to guidelines. Methodology/Principal Findings An organisational database was completed by all participant hospitals recording resources and organisation. Over an 8-week period 11,564 consecutive ECOPD admissions to 129 Spanish hospitals covering 70% of the Spanish population were prospectively identified. At hospital discharge, 5,178 patients (45% of eligible) were finally included, and thus constituted the audited population. Audited patients were reassessed 90 days after admission for survival and readmission rates. A wide variability was observed in relation to most variables, hospital adherence to guidelines, and readmissions and death. Median inpatient mortality was 5% (across-hospital range 0–35%). Among discharged patients, 37% required readmission (0–62%) and 6.5% died (0–35%). The overall mortality rate was 11.6% (0–50%). Hospital size and complexity and aspects related to hospital COPD awareness were significantly associated with case recruitment. Clinical management most often complied with diagnosis and treatment recommendations but rarely (<50%) addressed guidance on healthy life-styles. Conclusions/Significance The AUDIPOC study highlights the large across-hospital variability in resources and organization of hospitals, patient characteristics, process of care, and outcomes. The study also identifies resources and organizational characteristics associated with the admission of COPD cases, as well as aspects of daily clinical care amenable to improvement. PMID:22911875

Natural resources and their prospects in the closed basins of rift valley marginal grabens in northern Ethiopia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meaza, Hailemariam; Frankl, Amaury; Poesen, Jean; Zenebe, Amanuel; Deckers, Jozef; Vaneetvelde, Veerle; Lanckriet, Sil; Nyssen, Jan

2016-04-01

With increasing population, producing more food and fibers has led to an expansion of the area under cultivation. For this, much attention is given to low-lying flat areas in search of suitable agricultural lands. The objectives of this paper are therefore: (1) to review the opportunities and challenges of natural resources in the marginal grabens for rural development; (2) to highlight the knowledge gaps and priorities in research and development in the marginal grabens, and (3) to supplement the literature review through repeat transect walks, focus group discussions and interviews across the western rift valley of northern Ethiopia. The paper shows that marginal grabens along the rift valleys are rich both in blue and green water resources due to their topographical and geological characteristics. Spate irrigation has been a growing water management practice to respond to soil moisture deficit. Besides, marginal grabens are fertile plains as a result of alluvial deposition that could be suitable for agricultural development. However, rainfall variability and groundwater withdrawal lead to graben basin closure and salinization. Notably, riverbed incisions and sediment deposition affects drainage systems and water supply in the marginal grabens. As a result, socioeconomic and natural capital of the marginal graben farmers are continuously threatened. Thus, the benefits of natural resources for rural development in the marginal grabens along the rift valley can be optimized if the current bottlenecks are converted into opportunities. A better understanding of the complex marginal graben system via a robust land evaluation framework will improve livelihoods of the communities that live in the (closed) marginal grabens. Keywords: population pressure, marginal grabens, endorheic lakes, salinization, Ethiopia

Ensuring quality in studies linking cancer registries and biobanks.

PubMed

Langseth, Hilde; Luostarinen, Tapio; Bray, Freddie; Dillner, Joakim

2010-04-01

The Nordic countries have a long tradition of providing comparable and high quality cancer data through the national population-based cancer registries and the capability to link the diverse large-scale biobanks currently in operation. The joining of these two infrastructural resources can provide a study base for large-scale studies of etiology, treatment and early detection of cancer. Research projects based on combined data from cancer registries and biobanks provides great opportunities, but also presents major challenges. Biorepositories have become an important resource in molecular epidemiology, and the increased interest in performing etiological, clinical and gene-environment-interaction studies, involving information from biological samples linked to population-based cancer registries, warrants a joint evaluation of the quality aspects of the two resources, as well as an assessment of whether the resources can be successfully combined into a high quality study. While the quality of biospecimen handling and analysis is commonly considered in different studies, the logistics of data handling including the linkage of the biobank with the cancer registry is an overlooked aspect of a biobank-based study. It is thus the aim of this paper to describe recommendations on data handling, in particular the linkage of biobank material to cancer registry data and the quality aspects thereof, based on the experience of Nordic collaborative projects combining data from cancer registries and biobanks. We propose a standard documentation with respect to the following topics: the quality control aspects of cancer registration, the identification of cases and controls, the identification and use of data confounders, the stability of serum components, historical storage conditions, aliquoting history, the number of freeze/thaw cycles and available volumes.

Mending the Med.

PubMed

Batisse, M

1994-01-01

In 1975, the Barcelona Convention to Protect the Sea was signed with an action plan to deal with marine pollution and halting land-based contributions to water pollution. Specifically, the Blue Plan aimed to attack the interaction between population, natural resources, environmental degradation, and economic development for the entire Mediterranean region. Scenarios were constructed to depict demographic, international economic, and national development prospects. Population was expected to grow from 357 million in 1985 to 575 million in 2025. Population concentration was expected to decline from 66% in the north to 22% in 2025. The populations in the south and east would grow to 5 times the 1950 figures. Fertility rates are expected to fall in the south, as educational levels of women rise. The decline in population in the north will mean an aging population in the north and a young population in the south with employment imbalances. Rapid urbanization will be a problem throughout the region, and particularly in the coastal areas. The demand for water, waste disposal, and conflicting pressures on use of sea and land will be the consequences. Tourism will aggravate general population conditions. The coastal regions currently receive about 100 million international and domestic tourists annually. Under poor economic conditions, scenarios would project tourism increases to 170 million by 2025. Under sustainable development scenarios, the numbers would increase even higher to 340 million tourists, mostly domestic. The environmental impact of tourism centers on the pressure on water resources, space use, and solid and liquid waste, during the summer when the water supply is low and the forests are dry. Most countries rely heavily on tourism for balance of payments and as a source of hard currency for food imports. The expectation is that the coastal areas, though fragile, are the primary asset for Mediterranean countries. Coast management thus far has contributed to erosion, deforestation, and erratic concrete surfacing of shore areas. Delays in sustainable development will only contribute to further pollution. The entire Mediterranean region could face social and ecological disruption in the future if population development needs are not met. Environmental and development issues threaten long-term peace and stability.

Phylogenetically conserved resource partitioning in the coastal microbial loop

DOE PAGES

Bryson, Samuel; Li, Zhou; Chavez, Francisco; ...

2017-08-11

Resource availability influences marine microbial community structure, suggesting that population-specific resource partitioning defines discrete niches. Identifying how resources are partitioned among populations, thereby characterizing functional guilds within the communities, remains a challenge for microbial ecologists. We used proteomic stable isotope probing (SIP) and NanoSIMS analysis of phylogenetic microarrays (Chip-SIP) along with 16S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenomic sequencing to characterize the assimilation of six 13C-labeled common metabolic substrates and changes in the microbial community structure within surface water collected from Monterey Bay, CA. Both sequencing approaches indicated distinct substrate-specific community shifts. However, observed changes in relative abundance for individual populationsmore » did not correlate well with directly measured substrate assimilation. The complementary SIP techniques identified assimilation of all six substrates by diverse taxa, but also revealed differential assimilation of substrates into protein and ribonucleotide biomass between taxa. Substrate assimilation trends indicated significantly conserved resource partitioning among populations within the Flavobacteriia, Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria classes, suggesting that functional guilds within marine microbial communities are phylogenetically cohesive. However, populations within these classes exhibited heterogeneity in biosynthetic activity, which distinguished high-activity copiotrophs from low-activity oligotrophs. These results indicate distinct growth responses between populations that is not apparent by genome sequencing alone.« less

Phylogenetically conserved resource partitioning in the coastal microbial loop

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bryson, Samuel; Li, Zhou; Chavez, Francisco

Resource availability influences marine microbial community structure, suggesting that population-specific resource partitioning defines discrete niches. Identifying how resources are partitioned among populations, thereby characterizing functional guilds within the communities, remains a challenge for microbial ecologists. We used proteomic stable isotope probing (SIP) and NanoSIMS analysis of phylogenetic microarrays (Chip-SIP) along with 16S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenomic sequencing to characterize the assimilation of six 13C-labeled common metabolic substrates and changes in the microbial community structure within surface water collected from Monterey Bay, CA. Both sequencing approaches indicated distinct substrate-specific community shifts. However, observed changes in relative abundance for individual populationsmore » did not correlate well with directly measured substrate assimilation. The complementary SIP techniques identified assimilation of all six substrates by diverse taxa, but also revealed differential assimilation of substrates into protein and ribonucleotide biomass between taxa. Substrate assimilation trends indicated significantly conserved resource partitioning among populations within the Flavobacteriia, Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria classes, suggesting that functional guilds within marine microbial communities are phylogenetically cohesive. However, populations within these classes exhibited heterogeneity in biosynthetic activity, which distinguished high-activity copiotrophs from low-activity oligotrophs. These results indicate distinct growth responses between populations that is not apparent by genome sequencing alone.« less

e-MIR2: a public online inventory of medical informatics resources

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Over the past years, the number of available informatics resources in medicine has grown exponentially. While specific inventories of such resources have already begun to be developed for Bioinformatics (BI), comparable inventories are as yet not available for the Medical Informatics (MI) field, so that locating and accessing them currently remains a difficult and time-consuming task. Description We have created a repository of MI resources from the scientific literature, providing free access to its contents through a web-based service. We define informatics resources as all those elements that constitute, serve to define or are used by informatics systems, ranging from architectures or development methodologies to terminologies, vocabularies, databases or tools. Relevant information describing the resources is automatically extracted from manuscripts published in top-ranked MI journals. We used a pattern matching approach to detect the resources’ names and their main features. Detected resources are classified according to three different criteria: functionality, resource type and domain. To facilitate these tasks, we have built three different classification schemas by following a novel approach based on folksonomies and social tagging. We adopted the terminology most frequently used by MI researchers in their publications to create the concepts and hierarchical relationships belonging to the classification schemas. The classification algorithm identifies the categories associated with resources and annotates them accordingly. The database is then populated with this data after manual curation and validation. Conclusions We have created an online repository of MI resources to assist researchers in locating and accessing the most suitable resources to perform specific tasks. The database contains 609 resources at the time of writing and is available at http://www.gib.fi.upm.es/eMIR2. We are continuing to expand the number of available resources by taking into account further publications as well as suggestions from users and resource developers. PMID:22857741

Variation across Canada in the economic burden attributable to excess weight, tobacco smoking and physical inactivity.

PubMed

Krueger, Hans; Krueger, Joshua; Koot, Jacqueline

2015-04-30

Tobacco smoking, excess weight and physical inactivity contribute substantially to the preventable disease burden in Canada. The purpose of this paper is to determine the potential reduction in economic burden if all provinces achieved prevalence rates of these three risk factors (RFs) equivalent to those of the province with the lowest rates, and to update and address a limitation noted in our previous model. We used a previously developed approach based on population attributable fractions to estimate the economic burden associated with these RFs. Sex-specific relative risk and age-/sex-specific prevalence data were used in the modelling. The previous model was updated using the most current data for developing resource allocation weights. In 2012, the prevalence of tobacco smoking, excess weight and physical inactivity was the lowest in British Columbia. If age- and sex-specific prevalence rates from BC were applied to populations living in the other provinces, the annual economic burden attributable to these three RFs would be reduced by $5.3 billion. Updating the model resulted in a considerable shift in economic burden from smoking to excess weight, with the estimated annual economic burden attributable to excess weight now 25% higher compared to that of tobacco smoking ($23.3 vs. $18.7 billion). Achieving RF prevalence rates equivalent to those of the province with the lowest rates would result in a 10% reduction in economic burden attributable to excess weight, smoking and physical inactivity in Canada. This study shows that using current resource use data is important for this type of economic modelling.

Enhancing Psychosis-Spectrum Nosology Through an International Data Sharing Initiative.

PubMed

Docherty, Anna R; Fonseca-Pedrero, Eduardo; Debbané, Martin; Chan, Raymond C K; Linscott, Richard J; Jonas, Katherine G; Cicero, David C; Green, Melissa J; Simms, Leonard J; Mason, Oliver; Watson, David; Ettinger, Ulrich; Waszczuk, Monika; Rapp, Alexander; Grant, Phillip; Kotov, Roman; DeYoung, Colin G; Ruggero, Camilo J; Eaton, Nicolas R; Krueger, Robert F; Patrick, Christopher; Hopwood, Christopher; O'Neill, F Anthony; Zald, David H; Conway, Christopher C; Adkins, Daniel E; Waldman, Irwin D; van Os, Jim; Sullivan, Patrick F; Anderson, John S; Shabalin, Andrey A; Sponheim, Scott R; Taylor, Stephan F; Grazioplene, Rachel G; Bacanu, Silviu A; Bigdeli, Tim B; Haenschel, Corinna; Malaspina, Dolores; Gooding, Diane C; Nicodemus, Kristin; Schultze-Lutter, Frauke; Barrantes-Vidal, Neus; Mohr, Christine; Carpenter, William T; Cohen, Alex S

2018-05-16

The latent structure of schizotypy and psychosis-spectrum symptoms remains poorly understood. Furthermore, molecular genetic substrates are poorly defined, largely due to the substantial resources required to collect rich phenotypic data across diverse populations. Sample sizes of phenotypic studies are often insufficient for advanced structural equation modeling approaches. In the last 50 years, efforts in both psychiatry and psychological science have moved toward (1) a dimensional model of psychopathology (eg, the current Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology [HiTOP] initiative), (2) an integration of methods and measures across traits and units of analysis (eg, the RDoC initiative), and (3) powerful, impactful study designs maximizing sample size to detect subtle genomic variation relating to complex traits (the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium [PGC]). These movements are important to the future study of the psychosis spectrum, and to resolving heterogeneity with respect to instrument and population. The International Consortium of Schizotypy Research is composed of over 40 laboratories in 12 countries, and to date, members have compiled a body of schizotypy- and psychosis-related phenotype data from more than 30000 individuals. It has become apparent that compiling data into a protected, relational database and crowdsourcing analytic and data science expertise will result in significant enhancement of current research on the structure and biological substrates of the psychosis spectrum. The authors present a data-sharing infrastructure similar to that of the PGC, and a resource-sharing infrastructure similar to that of HiTOP. This report details the rationale and benefits of the phenotypic data collective and presents an open invitation for participation.