Estimating experienced racial segregation in US cities using large-scale GPS data.

We estimate a measure of segregation, experienced isolation, that captures individuals' exposure to diverse others in the places they visit over the course of their days. Using Global Positioning System (GPS) data collected from smartphones, we measure experienced isolation by race. We find that the isolation individuals experience is substantially lower than standard residential isolation measures would suggest but that experienced isolation and residential isolation are highly correlated across cities. Experienced isolation is lower relative to residential isolation in denser, wealthier, more educated cities with high levels of public transit use and is also negatively correlated with income mobility.

Coastline extraction and land use change analysis using remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) technology - A review of the literature.

Coastlines mapping techniques or the coastline automated analyses have been sought after. In practice, various sorts of seacoasts, for example, biological, silty, arenaceous, artificial, and bedrock coasts, have their own attributes, which force various degrees of intricacy on coastline mapping. As an extraordinary kind of complex artificial coast, aquaculture coast is shaped by the farming of aquatic organisms on silt tidal flats. With the rapid growth of coastal aquaculture in recent years, aquaculture coasts have increased in some developing countries. It has been estimated that aquaculture coasts constitute about 30% of all coastlines in mainland China. In order to identify, monitor, model, and manage the vast expanse of coastal aquaculture, effective methods of extracting aquaculture coastlines from remotely sensed imagery are desired. Secondly, with the rapid economic development in coastal areas, the development of coastal zone resources is also increasing day by day, which benefits the development of island coastal zone. Using oneself has become an important link in the development of marine economy. Due to the limited coastal resources and low environmental carrying capacity, the overexploitation and utilization of coastal resources will lead to a series of problems, such as coastal erosion, coastal migration and accumulation, island area reduction, etc., Both man-made activities and natural factors will lead to coastline changes, which will lead to corresponding changes in coastal ecological environment, thus affecting the coordinated development of coastal economy and the survival of coastal residents. Therefore, efficient, accurate and timely acquisition of coastline information and research on the spatial-temporal changes of coastline are of great significance to the protection of the living environment of coastal residents, the effective development of island and coastal resources, the coordination of sustainable economic development in coastal areas and the mitigation of marine disasters. This paper presents a review of those papers reporting coastline extraction and land use and land cover (LULC) change analysis using remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) technology.

CONGENITAL SYPHILIS IN THE PARAÍBA VALLEY USING A SPATIAL APPROACH.

OBJECTIVE: To compare spatial patterns of congenital syphilis (CS) with those of socioeconomic and medical variables in Paraíba Valley, São Paulo, between 2012 and 2016. METHODS: Ecological and exploratory study developed using spatial analysis tools, with information on CS cases obtained from official data reports. Rates were found for CS cases per 1,000 live births, number of family health teams and pediatricians available in the health system per 100,000 inhabitants, and social vulnerability index values. Thematic maps were constructed with these variables and compared using TerraView 4.2.2 software. Estimated global Moran (IM) indexes were calculated. In order to detect areas with priority attention regarding the incidence of CS, BoxMaps were developed. The Spearman correlation was estimated for the variable values and compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test. P <0.05 was significant. RESULTS: 144,613 births and 870 CS cases (6.04/1000 live births) occurred during the study period. The average value of CS rates per municipality was 4.0±4.1, (0.0-17.6/1000 live births). Higher CS rates occurred in municipalities of the Upper Vale do Paraíba, contrary to the proportions of pediatricians who were in the far east of the region. The thematic maps of the variables presented a mosaic aspect, which characterized the random distribution of the variables. The IM were not significant. No significant correlation was found between the variables. The BoxMap identified eight municipalities with high CS rates. CONCLUSIONS: Even though it was not possible to identify a spatial pattern of CS rates, it was shown that eight municipalities deserve the attention of city managers.

Assessment of asthma-prone environment in Karachi, Pakistan using GIS modeling.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association among number of factors influenced by asthma using geographic information system. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted in Landhi and Korangi towns of Karachi from 2011 to 2013, and comprised ecological mapping and multi-criteria evaluation techniques to discover the relationship of local environmental settings with asthma. Additionally, exacerbating environment and the root causes within the local settings were assessed. Data was gathered using an extended version of the questionnaire developed by the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. Data was analysed by using ArcGIS 10. RESULTS: The findings are very alarming as almost 40% (468,930 estimated pop 1998 census) of the study population lived in high asthma-prone environment, having a very high risk of respiratory disorders, including asthma. CONCLUSIONS: The integrated environmental effect in the form of respiratory disorders was appraised, focusing on asthma by using multi-criteria analysis.

Congenital syphilis in the paraíba valley using a spatial approach / Sífilis congênita no vale do paraíba sob enfoque espacial

ABSTRACT Objective: To compare spatial patterns of congenital syphilis (CS) with those of socioeconomic and medical variables in Paraíba Valley, São Paulo, between 2012 and 2016. Methods: Ecological and exploratory study developed using spatial analysis tools, with information on CS cases obtained from official data reports. Rates were found for CS cases per 1,000 live births, number of family health teams and pediatricians available in the health system per 100,000 inhabitants, and social vulnerability index values. Thematic maps were constructed with these variables and compared using TerraView 4.2.2 software. Estimated global Moran (IM) indexes were calculated. In order to detect areas with priority attention regarding the incidence of CS, BoxMaps were developed. The Spearman correlation was estimated for the variable values and compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test. P <0.05 was significant. Results: 144,613 births and 870 CS cases (6.04/1000 live births) occurred during the study period. The average value of CS rates per municipality was 4.0±4.1, (0.0-17.6/1000 live births). Higher CS rates occurred in municipalities of the Upper Vale do Paraíba, contrary to the proportions of pediatricians who were in the far east of the region. The thematic maps of the variables presented a mosaic aspect, which characterized the random distribution of the variables. The IM were not significant. No significant correlation was found between the variables. The BoxMap identified eight municipalities with high CS rates. Conclusions: Even though it was not possible to identify a spatial pattern of CS rates, it was shown that eight municipalities deserve the attention of city managers.

RESUMO Objetivo: Comparar padrões espaciais da sífilis congênita (SC) com os de variáveis socioeconômicas e médicas no Vale do Paraíba paulista nos anos de 2012 a 2016. Métodos: Estudo ecológico e exploratório, utilizando ferramentas da análise espacial, com informações sobre casos de SC obtidas do Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (SINAN) e criadas taxas de casos de SC por 1.000 nascidos vivos (NV), de números de Equipes de Saúde da Família e de pediatras atendendo na rede por 100 mil habitantes e de valores do índice de vulnerabilidade social. Foram construídos mapas temáticos com essas taxas, para comparação entre elas, por meio do programa TerraView 4.2.2, e estimaram-se índices de Moran global (IM) para essas variáveis. Para detectar áreas com prioridade de atenção para a incidência de SC, foi construído Box Map. Estipulou-se a correlação de Spearman para os valores das variáveis, os quais foram comparados pelo teste de Kruskal-Wallis. Adotou-se erro alfa=5%. Resultados: Ocorreram 144.613 nascimentos no período e 870 casos de SC (6,04/1.000 NV); o valor médio das taxas por município foi de 4,0±4,1 (0,0-17,6/1.000 NV). Maiores taxas de SC ocorreram em municípios do Alto Vale do Paraíba, ao contrário das maiores proporções de pediatras, que se encontravam no extremo leste da região. Os mapas temáticos das variáveis apresentaram aspecto de mosaico, que caracteriza distribuição aleatória das variáveis, e os IM não foram significativos. Não houve correlação significativa entre as variáveis, e o Box Map identificou oito municípios que apresentavam altas taxas de SC. Conclusões: Não houve semelhanças entre os padrões espaciais das taxas de SC e demais variáveis, mas identificaram-se oito municípios que merecem atenção dos gestores municipais.

Development of the Australian Cancer Atlas: spatial modelling, visualisation, and reporting of estimates.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that the burden caused by cancer can vary geographically, which may relate to differences in health, economics or lifestyle. However, to date, there was no comprehensive picture of how the cancer burden, measured by cancer incidence and survival, varied by small geographical area across Australia. METHODS: The Atlas consists of 2148 Statistical Areas level 2 across Australia defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard which provide the best compromise between small population and small area. Cancer burden was estimated for males, females, and persons separately, with 50 unique sex-specific (males, females, all persons) cancer types analysed. Incidence and relative survival were modelled with Bayesian spatial models using the Leroux prior which was carefully selected to provide adequate spatial smoothing while reflecting genuine geographic variation. Markov Chain Monte Carlo estimation was used because it facilitates quantifying the uncertainty of the posterior estimates numerically and visually. RESULTS: The results of the statistical model and visualisation development were published through the release of the Australian Cancer Atlas ( https://atlas.cancer.org.au ) in September, 2018. The Australian Cancer Atlas provides the first freely available, digital, interactive picture of cancer incidence and survival at the small geographical level across Australia with a focus on incorporating uncertainty, while also providing the tools necessary for accurate estimation and appropriate interpretation and decision making. CONCLUSIONS: The success of the Atlas will be measured by how widely it is used by key stakeholders to guide research and inform decision making. It is hoped that the Atlas and the methodology behind it motivates new research opportunities that lead to improvements in our understanding of the geographical patterns of cancer burden, possible causes or risk factors, and the reasons for differences in variation between cancer types, both within Australia and globally. Future versions of the Atlas are planned to include new data sources to include indicators such as cancer screening and treatment, and extensions to the statistical methods to incorporate changes in geographical patterns over time.

Feasibility and Validity of Geographically Explicit Ecological Momentary Assessment With Recall-Aided Space-Time Budgets.

We employ data from the Adolescent Health and Development in Context Study-a representative sample of urban youth ages 11-17 in and around the Columbus, OH area-to investigate the feasibility and validity of smartphone-based geographically explicit ecological momentary assessment (GEMA). Age, race, household income, familiarity with smartphones, and self-control were associated with missing global positioning systems (GPS) coverage, whereas school day was associated with discordance between percent of time at home based on GPS-only versus recall-aided space-time budget data. Fatigue from protocol compliance increases missing GPS across the week, which results in more discordance. Although some systematic differences were observed, these findings offer evidence that smartphone-based GEMA is a viable method for the collection of activity space data on urban youth.

Impact of traffic variability on geographic accessibility to 24/7 emergency healthcare for the urban poor: A GIS study in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Ensuring access to healthcare in emergency health situations is a persistent concern for health system planners. Emergency services, including critical care units for severe burns and coronary events, are amongst those for which travel time is the most crucial, potentially making a difference between life and death. Although it is generally assumed that access to healthcare is not an issue in densely populated urban areas due to short distances, we prove otherwise by applying improved methods of assessing accessibility to emergency services by the urban poor that take traffic variability into account. Combining unique data on emergency health service locations, traffic flow variability and informal settlements boundaries, we generated time-cost based service areas to assess the extent to which emergency health services are reachable by urban slum dwellers when realistic traffic conditions and their variability in time are considered. Variability in traffic congestion is found to have significant impact on the measurement of timely access to, and availability of, healthcare services for slum populations. While under moderate traffic conditions all slums in Dhaka City are within 60-minutes travel time from an emergency service, in congested traffic conditions only 63% of the city's slum population is within 60-minutes reach of most emergency services, and only 32% are within 60-minutes reach of a Burn Unit. Moreover, under congested traffic conditions only 12% of slums in Dhaka City Corporation comply with Bangladesh's policy guidelines that call for access to 1 health service per 50,000 population for most emergency service types, and not a single slum achieved this target for Burn Units. Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) and First Aid & Casualty services provide the best coverage, with nearly 100% of the slum population having timely access within 60-minutes in any traffic condition. Ignoring variability in traffic conditions results in a 3-fold overestimation of geographic coverage and masks intra-urban inequities in accessibility to emergency care, by overestimating geographic accessibility in peripheral areas and underestimating the same for central city areas. The evidence provided can help policy makers and urban planners improve health service delivery for the urban poor. We recommend that taking traffic conditions be taken into account in future GIS-based analysis and planning for healthcare service accessibility in urban areas.

Implications and measurement of herd protection (indirect effects) for enteric vaccine development.

Diarrhea remains one of the top five causes of disease and death among young children in developing nations. Fortunately, scientists are making progress developing vaccines against enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and Shigella, two of the leading diarrhea pathogens. As vaccine developers start to consider field efficacy trials of these vaccines, they should be aware of the importance of evaluating not only vaccine direct effects on the immunized, but also the herd effects that vaccination can afford to the unimmunized in a community. In a workshop held at the conference titled "Vaccines against Shigella and ETEC (VASE)", we described to participants what herd effects are and we presented on methods used in cholera and rotavirus studies that could be useful for future ETEC and Shigella vaccine trials conducted in low and middle-income nations. We also presented evidence on the effects of vaccine herd effects for estimates of vaccine cost-effectiveness.

Mine landslide susceptibility assessment using IVM, ANN and SVM models considering the contribution of affecting factors.

The fragile ecological environment near mines provide advantageous conditions for the development of landslides. Mine landslide susceptibility mapping is of great importance for mine geo-environment control and restoration planning. In this paper, a total of 493 landslides in Shangli County, China were collected through historical landslide inventory. 16 spectral, geomorphic and hydrological predictive factors, mainly derived from Landsat 8 imagery and Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM), were prepared initially for landslide susceptibility assessment. Predictive capability of these factors was evaluated by using the value of variance inflation factor and information gain ratio. Three models, namely artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM) and information value model (IVM), were applied to assess the mine landslide sensitivity. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and rank probability score were used to validate and compare the comprehensive predictive capabilities of three models involving uncertainty. Results showed that ANN model achieved higher prediction capability, proving its advantage of solve nonlinear and complex problems. Comparing the estimated landslide susceptibility map with the ground-truth one, the high-prone area tends to be located in the middle area with multiple fault distributions and the steeply sloped hill.

Accuracy Assessment of the Planar Morphology of Valley Bank Gullies Extracted with High Resolution Remote Sensing Imagery on the Loess Plateau, China.

Gully erosion is a serious environmental problem worldwide, causing soil loss, land degradation, silting up of reservoirs and even catastrophic flooding. Mapping gully features from remote sensing imagery is crucial for assisting in understanding gully erosion mechanisms, predicting its development processes and assessing its environmental and socio-economic effects over large areas, especially under the increasing global climate extremes and intensive human activities. However, the potential of using increasingly available high-resolution remote sensing imagery to detect and delineate gullies has been less evaluated. Hence, 130 gullies occurred along a transect were selected from a typical watershed in the hilly and gully region of the Chinese Loess Plateau, and visually interpreted from a Pleiades-1B satellite image (panchromatic-sharpened image at 0.5 m resolution fused with 2.0 m multi-spectral bands). The interpreted gullies were compared with their measured data obtained in the field using a differential global positioning system (GPS). Results showed that gullies could generally be accurately interpreted from the image, with an average relative error of gully area and gully perimeter being 11.1% and 8.9%, respectively, and 74.2% and 82.3% of the relative errors for gully area and gully perimeter were within 15%. But involving field measurements of gullies in present imagery-based gully studies is still recommended. To judge whether gullies were mapped accurately further, a standard adopting one-pixel tolerance along the mapped gully edges was proposed and proved to be practical. Correlation analysis indicated that larger gullies could be interpreted more accurately but increasing gully shape complexity would decrease interpreting accuracy. Overall lower vegetation coverage in winter due to the withering and falling of vegetation rarely affected gully interpreting. Furthermore, gully detectability on remote sensing imagery in this region was lower than the other places of the world, due to the overall broken topography in the Loess Plateau, thus images with higher resolution than normally perceived are needed when mapping erosion features here. Taking these influencing factors (gully dimension and shape complexity, vegetation coverage, topography) into account will be favorable to select appropriate imagery and gullies (as study objects) in future imagery-based gully studies. Finally, two linear regression models were built to correct gully area (Aip, m²) and gully perimeter (Pip, m) visually extracted, by connecting them with the measured area (Ams, m²) and perimeter (Pms, m). The correction models were Ams=1.021Aip+0.139 and Pms=0.949Pip+ 0.722, respectively. These models could be helpful for improving the accuracy of interpreting results, and further accurately estimating gully development and developing more effective automated gully extraction methods on the Loess Plateau of China.

Disability concentration and access to rehabilitation services: a pilot spatial assessment applying geographic information system analysis.

Purpose: Due to geographical disparities, many people with profound or severe disabilities experience considerable delays in rehabilitation treatment, resulting in threats to quality of life. This pilot study aims to identify areas in Greater Brisbane, Australia, with a higher concentration of people with profound or severe disabilities and to evaluate access to rehabilitation services in these areas. Methods: Data came from the 2016 Australian Census of Population and Housing and the National Health Services Directory. Four frequently used rehabilitation services by individuals with profound or severe disabilities (i.e., occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology and psychology) were the focus of the analysis. The data were analyzed using geospatial analysis methods (e.g., spatial scan statistic and network analysis). Results: A higher concentration of rehabilitation services was found in the regions with lower disability prevalence and lower potential demand for rehabilitation services. In contrast, the regions with higher disability prevalence and higher potential demand for rehabilitation services experienced poorer access to rehabilitation services. Conclusion: The findings are expected to inform policy decisions about the prioritization of rehabilitation resources and derive evidence for planning more responsive service delivery. Implications for rehabilitation The current study has demonstrated the utilization of geographic information system methods to facilitate rehabilitation service planning. Identification of disability concentration may inform locally responsive rehabilitation service delivery. Spatial assessment of mismatch between supply and potential demand may assist policy makers and service providers in the prioritization of rehabilitation resources. The current study contributes to the World Health Organization's call for action to ensure adequate access to rehabilitation services by people with profound or severe disabilities.

A geographical location prediction method based on continuous time series Markov model.

Trajectory data uploaded by mobile devices is growing quickly. It represents the movement of an individual or a device based on the longitude and latitude coordinates collected by GPS. The location based service has a broad application prospect in the real world. As the traditional location prediction models which are based on the discrete state sequence cannot predict the locations in real time, we propose a Continuous Time Series Markov Model (CTS-MM) to solve this problem. The method takes the Gaussian Mixed Model (GMM) to simulate the posterior probability of a location in the continuous time series. The probability calculation method and state transition model of the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) are improved to get the precise location prediction. The experimental results on GeoLife data show that CTS-MM performs better for location prediction in exact minute than traditional location prediction models.

[Use of linear programming to optimize geographic access in specialized healthcare networks]. / Uso de programação linear para otimizar o acesso geográfico em redes temáticas de atenção à saúde.

This article discusses the configuration of specialized healthcare networks and aims to analyze the potential for optimization of geographic access in the chemotherapy network of the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, using linear programming. The study used ex post facto mathematical modeling with an analytical objective and a qualitative-quantitative approach, using data collection and literature and document searches as the procedures. The potential for optimization was assessed by the percentage difference between the total distances traveled under the current situation and the optimum solution obtained. The results with the optimized situation included a decrease of 293,246km (14.4%) in the total monthly distance traveled in the network, or a mean reduction of 13.02km per procedure performed, compared to the current distance traveled. This gain would be obtained by redistribution of the municipalities of origin and the referral services' capacity to supply procedures. The results point to great potential for optimization of the target network, proving that linear programming can provide technical support for the configuration of new specialized thematic healthcare networks and optimization of the existing networks.

Este artigo discute a conformação de redes temáticas de atenção à saúde e tem como objetivo analisar o potencial de otimização do acesso geográfico na rede de quimioterapia do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, com o uso de programação linear. Trata-se de um estudo de modelagem matemática ex post facto, com objetivo analítico e abordagem qualiquantitativa, que utilizou como procedimentos de coleta a pesquisa bibliográfica e documental. O potencial de otimização foi avaliado pela diferença percentual entre os somatórios das distâncias percorridas na rede para a situação atual e para a solução ótima obtida. Entre os resultados identificados na situação otimizada estão a diminuição de 293.246km (14,4%) na distância total mensal percorrida na rede, correspondendo a uma redução média de 13,02km por procedimento realizado, se comparada com a atual distância percorrida, a ser obtida pela redistribuição dos municípios de origem e das capacidades de oferta de procedimentos pelos serviços de referência. Esses resultados indicam a existência de grande potencial de otimização na rede estudada, comprovando que o uso da programação linear pode oferecer suporte técnico ao processo de conformação de novas redes temáticas de atenção à saúde e à otimização daquelas existentes.

Este artículo discute la conformación de redes temáticas de atención a la salud, y tiene como objetivo analizar el potencial de optimización del acceso geográfico a la red de quimioterapia del Sistema Único de Salud (SUS), en el Estado de Río Grande do Sul, Brasil, con el uso de una programación lineal. Se trata de un estudio de modelado matemático ex post facto, con un objetivo analítico y enfoque cuali-cuantitativo, que utilizó como procedimientos de recogida la investigación bibliográfica y documental. El potencial de optimización se evaluó por la diferencia de porcentaje entre las sumas de las distancias recorridas en la red para la situación actual y para la solución óptima obtenida. Entre los resultados identificados en la situación optimizada están la disminución de 293.246km (14,4%) en la distancia total mensual recorrida en la red, correspondiendo a una reducción media de 13,02km por procedimiento realizado, si se compara con la actual distancia recorrida, que debe ser obtenida por la redistribución de los municipios de origen y de las capacidades de oferta de procedimientos por los servicios de referencia. Estos resultados indican la existencia de un gran potencial de optimización en la red estudiada, comprobando que el uso de la programación lineal puede ofrecer apoyo técnico al proceso de conformación de nuevas redes temáticas de atención a la salud y a la optimización de las ya existentes.

Food environments and dietary intakes among adults: does the type of spatial exposure measurement matter? A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The relationships between food environments and dietary intake have been assessed via a range of methodologically diverse measures of spatial exposure to food outlets, resulting in a largely inconclusive body of evidence, limiting informed policy intervention. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aims to evaluate the influence of methodological choice on study outcomes by examining the within-study effect of availability (e.g., counts) versus accessibility (e.g., proximity) spatial exposure measures on associations with diet. METHODS: (PROSPERO registration: CRD42018085250). PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and ScienceDirect databases were searched for empirical studies from 1980 to 2017, in the English language, involving adults and reporting on the statistical association between a dietary outcome and spatial exposure measures of both availability and accessibility. Studies were appraised using an eight-point quality criteria with a narrative synthesis of results. RESULTS: A total of 205 associations and 44 relationships (i.e., multiple measures of spatial exposure relating to a particular food outlet type and dietary outcome) were extracted from 14 eligible articles. Comparative measures were dominated by counts (availability) and proximity (accessibility). Few studies compared more complex measures and all counts were derived from place-based measures of exposure. Sixteen of the 44 relationships had a significant effect involving an availability measure whilst only 8 had a significant effect from an accessibility measure. The largest effect sizes in relationships were mostly for availability measures. After stratification by scale, availability measure had the greatest effect size in 139 of the 176 pairwise comparisons. Of the 33% (68/205) of associations that reached significance, 53/68 (78%) were from availability measures. There was no relationship between study quality and reported study outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The limited evidence suggests that availability measures may produce significant and greater effect sizes than accessibility measures. However, both availability and accessibility measures may be important concepts of spatial exposure depending on the food outlet type and dietary outcome examined. More studies reporting on multi-method effects are required to differentiate findings by the type of spatial exposure assessment and build an evidence base regarding the appropriateness and robustness of measures under different circumstances.

INTEGRATING COMMUNITY-LEVEL DATA RESOURCES FOR PRECISION MEDICINE RESEARCH.

Precision Medicine focuses on collecting and using individual-level data to improve healthcare outcomes. To date, research efforts have been motivated by molecular-scale measurements, such as incorporating genomic data into clinical use. In many cases however, environmental, social, and economic factors are much more predictive of health outcomes, yet are not systematically used in clinical practice due to the difficulties in measurement and quantification. Advances in both the availability of electronic health information, environmental exposure data, and the more systematic use of geo-coding now provide ways to systematically assess community-level indicators of health, and link these factors to electronic health records for evaluating their influence on disease outcomes. In this workshop, we discuss new electronic sources of community-level data, and provide insight into their utility and validity when compared with gold-standard data collection approaches.

Uso de programação linear para otimizar o acesso geográfico em redes temáticas de atenção à saúde / Use of linear programming to optimize geographic access in specialized healthcare networks / Uso de una programación lineal para optimizar el acceso geográfico a redes temáticas de atención a la salud

Este artigo discute a conformação de redes temáticas de atenção à saúde e tem como objetivo analisar o potencial de otimização do acesso geográfico na rede de quimioterapia do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, com o uso de programação linear. Trata-se de um estudo de modelagem matemática ex post facto, com objetivo analítico e abordagem qualiquantitativa, que utilizou como procedimentos de coleta a pesquisa bibliográfica e documental. O potencial de otimização foi avaliado pela diferença percentual entre os somatórios das distâncias percorridas na rede para a situação atual e para a solução ótima obtida. Entre os resultados identificados na situação otimizada estão a diminuição de 293.246km (14,4%) na distância total mensal percorrida na rede, correspondendo a uma redução média de 13,02km por procedimento realizado, se comparada com a atual distância percorrida, a ser obtida pela redistribuição dos municípios de origem e das capacidades de oferta de procedimentos pelos serviços de referência. Esses resultados indicam a existência de grande potencial de otimização na rede estudada, comprovando que o uso da programação linear pode oferecer suporte técnico ao processo de conformação de novas redes temáticas de atenção à saúde e à otimização daquelas existentes.

This article discusses the configuration of specialized healthcare networks and aims to analyze the potential for optimization of geographic access in the chemotherapy network of the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, using linear programming. The study used ex post facto mathematical modeling with an analytical objective and a qualitative-quantitative approach, using data collection and literature and document searches as the procedures. The potential for optimization was assessed by the percentage difference between the total distances traveled under the current situation and the optimum solution obtained. The results with the optimized situation included a decrease of 293,246km (14.4%) in the total monthly distance traveled in the network, or a mean reduction of 13.02km per procedure performed, compared to the current distance traveled. This gain would be obtained by redistribution of the municipalities of origin and the referral services' capacity to supply procedures. The results point to great potential for optimization of the target network, proving that linear programming can provide technical support for the configuration of new specialized thematic healthcare networks and optimization of the existing networks.

Este artículo discute la conformación de redes temáticas de atención a la salud, y tiene como objetivo analizar el potencial de optimización del acceso geográfico a la red de quimioterapia del Sistema Único de Salud (SUS), en el Estado de Río Grande do Sul, Brasil, con el uso de una programación lineal. Se trata de un estudio de modelado matemático ex post facto, con un objetivo analítico y enfoque cuali-cuantitativo, que utilizó como procedimientos de recogida la investigación bibliográfica y documental. El potencial de optimización se evaluó por la diferencia de porcentaje entre las sumas de las distancias recorridas en la red para la situación actual y para la solución óptima obtenida. Entre los resultados identificados en la situación optimizada están la disminución de 293.246km (14,4%) en la distancia total mensual recorrida en la red, correspondiendo a una reducción media de 13,02km por procedimiento realizado, si se compara con la actual distancia recorrida, que debe ser obtenida por la redistribución de los municipios de origen y de las capacidades de oferta de procedimientos por los servicios de referencia. Estos resultados indican la existencia de un gran potencial de optimización en la red estudiada, comprobando que el uso de la programación lineal puede ofrecer apoyo técnico al proceso de conformación de nuevas redes temáticas de atención a la salud y a la optimización de las ya existentes.

An Overview of GIS-Based Modeling and Assessment of Mining-Induced Hazards: Soil, Water, and Forest.

In this study, current geographic information system (GIS)-based methods and their application for the modeling and assessment of mining-induced hazards were reviewed. Various types of mining-induced hazard, including soil contamination, soil erosion, water pollution, and deforestation were considered in the discussion of the strength and role of GIS as a viable problem-solving tool in relation to mining-induced hazards. The various types of mining-induced hazard were classified into two or three subtopics according to the steps involved in the reclamation procedure, or elements of the hazard of interest. Because GIS is appropriated for the handling of geospatial data in relation to mining-induced hazards, the application and feasibility of exploiting GIS-based modeling and assessment of mining-induced hazards within the mining industry could be expanded further.

Classification of indoor-outdoor location using combined global positioning system (GPS) and temperature data for personal exposure assessment.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study was to determine the accuracy of indoor-outdoor classification based on GPS and temperature data in three different seasons. METHODS: In the present study, a global positioning system (GPS) was used alongside temperature data collected in the field by a technician who visited 53 different indoor locations during summer, autumn and winter. The indoor-outdoor location was determined by GPS data alone, and in combination with temperature data. RESULTS: Determination of location by the GPS signal alone, based on the loss of GPS signal and using the used number of satellites (NSAT) signal factor, simple percentage agreements of 73.6 ± 2.9%, 72.9 ± 3.4%, and 72.1 ± 3.1% were obtained for summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. However, when temperature and GPS data were combined, simple percentage agreements were significantly improved (87.9 ± 3.3%, 84.1 ± 2.8%, and 86.3 ± 3.1%, respectively). A temperature criterion for indoor-outdoor determination of ~ Δ 2°C for 2 min could be applied during all three seasons. CONCLUSION: The results showed that combining GPS and temperature data improved the accuracy of indoor-outdoor determination.

[What potential do geographic information systems have for population-wide health monitoring in Germany? : Perspectives and challenges for the health monitoring of the Robert Koch Institute]. / Welches Potenzial haben Geoinformationssysteme für das bevölkerungsweite Gesundheitsmonitoring in Deutschland? : Perspektiven und Herausforderungen für das Gesundheitsmonitoring am Robert Koch-Institut.

Geographic information systems (GISs) are computer-based systems with which geographical data can be recorded, stored, managed, analyzed, visualized and provided. In recent years, they have become an integral part of public health research. They offer a broad range of analysis tools, which enable innovative solutions for health-related research questions. An analysis of nationwide studies that applied geographic information systems underlines the potential this instrument bears for health monitoring in Germany. Geographic information systems provide up-to-date mapping and visualization options to be used for national health monitoring at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Furthermore, objective information on the residential environment as an influencing factor on population health and on health behavior can be gathered and linked to RKI survey data at different geographic scales. Besides using physical information, such as climate, vegetation or land use, as well as information on the built environment, the instrument can link socioeconomic and sociodemographic data as well as information on health care and environmental stress to the survey data and integrate them into concepts for analyses. Therefore, geographic information systems expand the potential of the RKI to present nationwide, representative and meaningful health-monitoring results. In doing so, data protection regulations must always be followed. To conclude, the development of a national spatial data infrastructure and the identification of important data sources can prospectively improve access to high quality data sets that are relevant for the health monitoring.