GLABROUS INFLORESCENCE STEMS3 binds to and activates RHD2 and RHD4 genes to promote root hair elongation in Arabidopsis.

Root hairs are crucial in the uptake of essential nutrients and water in plants. This study showed that a zinc finger protein, GIS3 is involved in root hair growth in Arabidopsis. The loss-of-function gis3 and GIS3 RNAi transgenic line exhibited a significant reduction in root hairs compared to the wild type. The application of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), an exogenous ethylene precursor, and 6-benzyl amino purine (BA), a synthetic cytokinin, significantly restored the percentage of hair cells in the epidermis in gis3 and induced GIS3 expression in the wild type. More importantly, molecular and genetic studies revealed that GIS3 acts upstream of ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE 2 (RHD2) and RHD4 by binding to their promoters. Furthermore, exogenous ACC and BA application significantly induced the expression of RHD2 and RHD4, while root hair phenotype of rhd2-1, rhd4-1, and rhd4-3 was insensitive to ACC and BA treatment. We can therefore conclude that GIS3 modulates root hair development by directly regulating RHD2 and RHD4 expression through ethylene and cytokinin signals in Arabidopsis.

COVID-19 Vaccination Site Accessibility, United States, December 11, 2020-March 29, 2022.

During December 11, 2020-March 29, 2022, the US government delivered ≈700 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to vaccination sites, resulting in vaccination of ≈75% of US adults during that period. We evaluated accessibility of vaccination sites. Sites were accessible by walking within 15 minutes by 46.6% of persons, 30 minutes by 74.8%, 45 minutes by 82.8%, and 60 minutes by 86.7%. When limited to populations in counties with high social vulnerability, accessibility by walking was 55.3%, 81.1%, 86.7%, and 89.4%, respectively. By driving, lowest accessibility was 96.5% at 15 minutes. For urban/rural categories, the 15-minute walking accessibility between noncore and large central metropolitan areas ranged from 27.2% to 65.1%; driving accessibility was 79.9% to 99.5%. By 30 minutes driving accessibility for all urban/rural categories was >95.9%. Walking time variations across jurisdictions and between urban/rural areas indicate that potential gains could have been made by improving walkability or making transportation more readily available.

GIS-based G × E modeling of maize hybrids through enviromic markers engineering.

Through enviromics, precision breeding leverages innovative geotechnologies to customize crop varieties to specific environments, potentially improving both crop yield and genetic selection gains. In Brazil's four southernmost states, data from 183 distinct geographic field trials (also accounting for 2017-2021) covered information on 164 genotypes: 79 phenotyped maize hybrid genotypes for grain yield and their 85 nonphenotyped parents. Additionally, 1342 envirotypic covariates from weather, soil, sensor-based, and satellite sources were collected to engineer 10 K synthetic enviromic markers via machine learning. Soil, radiation light, and surface temperature variations remarkably affect differential genotype yield, hinting at ecophysiological adjustments including evapotranspiration and photosynthesis. The enviromic ensemble-based random regression model showcases superior predictive performance and efficiency compared to the baseline and kernel models, matching the best genotypes to specific geographic coordinates. Clustering analysis has identified regions that minimize genotype-environment (G × E) interactions. These findings underscore the potential of enviromics in crafting specific parental combinations to breed new, higher-yielding hybrid crops. The adequate use of envirotypic information can enhance the precision and efficiency of maize breeding by providing important inputs about the environmental factors that affect the average crop performance. Generating enviromic markers associated with grain yield can enable a better selection of hybrids for specific environments.

Cancer patterns in Iran: a gender-specific spatial modelling of cancer incidence during 2014-2017.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a significant public health concern and the second leading cause of death. This study aims to visualize spatial patterns of top common cancer types and identify high-risk and low-risk counties for these cancers in Iran from 2014 to 2017. METHODS: In this study, we analyzed 482,229 newly diagnosed cancer cases recorded by the Iranian National Population-Based Cancer Registry from 2014 to 2017. We employed a purely spatial scanning model and local Moran I analysis to explore spatial patterns across Iran. RESULTS: Approximately 53% of all cases were male. The average age of cancer diagnosis was 62.58 ± 17.42 years for males and 56.11 ± 17.33years for females. Stomach cancer was the most common cancer in men. The northern and northwestern regions of Iran were identified as high-risk areas for stomach cancer in both genders, with a relative risk (RR) ranging from 1.26 to 2.64 in males and 1.19 to 3.32 in females. These areas recognized as high-risk areas for trachea, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer specifically in males (RR:1.15-2.02). Central regions of Iran were identified as high-risk areas for non-melanoma skin cancers in both genders, ranking as the second most common cancer (RR:1.18-5.93 in males and 1.24-5.38 in females). Furthermore, bladder cancer in males (RR:1.32-2.77) and thyroid cancer in females (RR:1.88-3.10) showed concentration in the central part of Iran. Breast cancer, being the most common cancer among women (RR:1.23-5.54), exhibited concentration in the northern regions of the country. Also, northern regions of Iran were identified as high-risk clusters for colon cancer (RR:1.31-3.31 in males and 1.33-4.13 in females), and prostate cancer in males (RR:1.22-2.31). Brain, nervous system cancer, ranked sixth among women (RR:1.26-5.25) in central areas. CONCLUSIONS: The study's revelations on the spatial patterns of common cancer incidence in Iran provide crucial insights into the distribution and trends of these diseases. The identification of high-risk areas equips policymakers with valuable information to tailor targeted screening programs, facilitating early diagnosis and effective disease control strategies.

Epidemiology of cutaneous leishmaniasis in children of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVES: In Pakistan, cutaneous leishmaniasis is an emerging tropical disease and a very high number (>70%) of children are afflicted by this marring infection. This study aimed to scrutinise the prevalence, spatial distribution and socio-demographic and behavioural risk factors associated with cutaneous leishmaniasis in children aged <5-15 years in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. METHODS: A total of 1, 559 clinically confirmed records of children diagnosed with cutaneous leishmaniasis (January-December) from 2020 and 2022 were obtained from selected district hospitals. In addition, a risk factors-related questionnaire was administered to 1, 011 households (400 in 2020 and 611 in 2022) in nine districts during a household survey. RESULTS: The maximum number of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases was recorded in 2022 (n = 877, 56.25%) as compared to 2020 (n = 682, 43.75%). The hospital records showed a greater number of male patients in the 2022 cohort (n = 603, 68.76%). The highest number of cases were observed in children aged 5-9 years in 2022 (n = 282, 32.16%) and 2020 (n = 255, 37.39%). In 2020 and 2022, cutaneous leishmaniasis cases showed peak aggregation in March (n = 118, 17.3%) and January (n = 322, 36.72%). From a spatial analysis, the maximum number of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases was recorded at 59-1700 m elevation in various land-use/land-cover and climatic regions with quaternary alluvium rock formations. A multivariate logistic regression model analysis of risk factors from the households survey suggested that age group, socio-economic status, construction materials of the house, use of insect repellents, Afghan refugee camps in the village/district, knowledge and biting times of sand flies, frequent use of mosquito bed nets, presence of domestic animals in the house, knowledge of the transmission period and peak month of leishmaniasis infection increased the risk of acquiring cutaneous leishmaniasis (p value < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our analysis demonstrated that cutaneous leishmaniasis in children is influenced by a variety of environmental, socio-demographic and behavioural risk factors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The increase in recorded cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis in children in 2022 compared to 2020 suggests that the infection likely extended to new foci in the province.

Utilizing social determinants of health to identify most vulnerable neighborhoods-Latent class analysis and GIS map.

OBJECTIVES: Public Health officials are often challenged to effectively allocate limited resources. Social determinants of health (SDOH) may cluster in areas to cause unique profiles related to various adverse life events. The authors use the framework of unintended teen pregnancies to illustrate how to identify the most vulnerable neighborhoods. METHODS: This study used data from the U.S. American Community Survey, Princeton Eviction Lab, and Connecticut Office of Vital Records. Census tracts are small statistical subdivisions of a county. Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to separate the 832 Connecticut census tracts into four distinct latent classes based on SDOH, and GIS mapping was utilized to visualize the distribution of the most vulnerable neighborhoods. GEE Poisson regression model was used to assess whether latent classes were related to the outcome. Data were analyzed in May 2021. RESULTS: LCA's results showed that class 1 (non-minority non-disadvantaged tracts) had the least diversity and lowest poverty of the four classes. Compared to class 1, class 2 (minority non-disadvantaged tracts) had more households with no health insurance and with single parents; and class 3 (non-minority disadvantaged tracts) had more households with no vehicle available, that had moved from another place in the past year, were low income, and living in renter-occupied housing. Class 4 (minority disadvantaged tracts) had the lowest socioeconomic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: LCA can identify unique profiles for neighborhoods vulnerable to adverse events, setting up the potential for differential intervention strategies for communities with varying risk profiles. Our approach may be generalizable to other areas or other programs. KEY MESSAGES: What is already known on this topic Public health practitioners struggle to develop interventions that are universally effective. The teen birth rates vary tremendously by race and ethnicity. Unplanned teen pregnancy rates are related to multiple social determinants and behaviors. Latent class analysis has been applied successfully to address public health problems. What this study adds While it is the pregnancy that is not planned rather than the birth, access to pregnancy intention data is not available resulting in a dependency on teen birth data for developing public health strategies. Using teen birth rates to identify at-risk neighborhoods will not directly represent the teens at risk for pregnancy but rather those who delivered a live birth. Since teen birth rates often fluctuate due to small numbers, especially for small neighborhoods, LCA may avoid some of the limitations associated with direct rate comparisons. The authors illustrate how practitioners can use publicly available SDOH from the Census Bureau to identify distinct SDOH profiles for teen births at the census tract level. How this study might affect research, practice or policy These profiles of classes that are at heightened risk potentially can be used to tailor intervention plans for reducing unintended teen pregnancy. The approach may be adapted to other programs and other states to prioritize the allocation of limited resources.

Measuring Spatial Access of Vulnerable Population to HIV Testing Facilities in the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area, Louisiana.

Ensuring adequate and equitable access to affordable HIV testing is a crucial step toward ending the HIV epidemic (EHE). Using the high-burden Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as an example, we measure spatial access to HIV testing facilities for vulnerable populations and assess whether their access would improve if eliminating a considerable barrier-costs. Locations and status (free, low-cost, and full cost) of HIV testing facilities are searched on the Internet and confirmed through a field survey. Vulnerable populations include the uninsured and people living with HIV (PLWH), disaggregated from county-level HIV prevalence data. Spatial access is computed by a normalized urban-rural two-step floating catchment area (NUR2SFCA) method. Our survey confirms that only 11% and 37% of the 103 Internet-searched HIV testing facilities are indeed free and low-cost. Making more facilities cheaper or free increases the average access of PLWH, the uninsured, and the entire population but their geographic patterns vary. Free testing facilities, clustered in Baton Rouge city, are highly accessible to 82.6%, 69.4%, and 70.2% of three population groups living in East and West Baton Rouge Parish. In comparison, making all low-cost facilities free increases access in most outlying parishes but at the cost of reducing access in East Baton Rouge Parish, leaving west Livingston, north Iberville, and east Pointe Coupee Parish with the poorest access. Making all full-cost facilities cheaper or free exhibits a similar pattern. The study has important policy implications for where and how to improve access to HIV testing for vulnerable populations.

RESUMEN: Medimos el acceso espacial a las instalaciones de pruebas de VIH para poblaciones vulnerables y evaluamos si su acceso mejoraría si se eliminaran las barreras de costos, utilizando como ejemplo el área estadística metropolitana de Baton Rouge, que tiene una alta carga. Nuestra encuesta confirma que el 11% y el 37% de los 103 centros de pruebas de VIH buscados en Internet son efectivamente gratuitos y de bajo costo. Hacer que más instalaciones sean más baratas o gratuitas aumenta el acceso promedio de las PLWH, las personas sin seguro y toda la población, pero sus patrones geográficos varían. Las instalaciones de pruebas gratuitas, agrupadas en la ciudad de Baton Rouge, son muy accesibles para el 82,6%, el 69,4% y el 70,2% de los tres grupos de población del este y oeste de Baton Rouge. En comparación, hacer que las instalaciones de bajo costo sean gratuitas aumenta el acceso en las parroquias periféricas, pero a costa de reducir el acceso en East Baton Rouge. Hacer que las instalaciones de costo total sean más baratas o gratuitas muestra un patrón similar. El estudio tiene importantes implicaciones políticas para mejorar el acceso a las pruebas del VIH para las poblaciones vulnerables.

Healthcare equity in focus: bridging gaps through a spatial analysis of healthcare facilities in Irbid, Jordan.

In the Irbid Governorate, Jordan, equitable healthcare facility distribution is vital to ensuring healthcare accessibility and improving public health outcomes. This study investigated the spatial distribution, accessibility, and conformity of healthcare facilities to the Ministry of Health standards to identify areas requiring improvement. Using geographic information systems (GIS), three spatial analyses were conducted: nearest neighbor analysis, buffer analysis, and service area analysis. These analyses comprehensively assessed the healthcare landscape, revealing a random spatial distribution pattern of healthcare facilities; and indicating an absence of structured organization. The buffer analysis revealed concentrations in specific regions, while others were underserved. The Service Area Analysis revealed significant healthcare access challenges, especially in remote areas. The healthcare resource distribution of the Irbid governorate fell short of national and international standards, emphasizing the need for improvements. To address these disparities, policymakers and healthcare authorities should focus on equitably redistributing resources, tailoring allocation to local needs, improving remote area infrastructure, and refining government policies. Continuous monitoring and evaluation are imperative to ensure alignment with international standards and achieve healthcare equity. The insights from this case study provide valuable guidance for regions facing similar healthcare distribution challenges.

Climate change-derived environmental and physical factors influencing the socioeconomic development in the Himalayan region.

Spatio-temporal fluctuation of climatic variables with the terrain characteristics and their inter-relationship is a priority for predicting flash-flood-induced landslide hazards over the fragile Himalayas. The present study addressed this anxiety by assimilating satellite data products and auxiliary datasets in the Bhagirathi River basin of the Indian Himalayas. Snow Covered Area (SCA) is a critical indicator of the ecosystem that influenced the flash flood along different terrain features such as Altitude, Hill-Gradient, and Aspect. GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) technique is used to analyze the possible landslide zones and flood extent along the river basin, and MODIS Terra (MOD10A2) data products derived annual SCA is 4278 km2 for the year 2021, the analysis of geospatial maps at 25° intervals of Altitude, hill-gradient, and Aspect. The SCA distribution reveals that apart from the Altitude, the Aspect of the hill gradient significantly impacts snow accumulation. Hill-Gradient, ranging from 13.06 to 19.52, occupies 24.7% of the total area, and 45.3 to 51.83 are found without snow. The highest variation of SCA is along the Western direction (9.19%), followed by North-East (8.79%), while the least (3.78%) variance is in the Southwest direction. Additionally, it was found that many bridges, roads, and other properties are under threat in this study area, even with a moderate flash flood. Findings from this study provide the spatiotemporal status of SCA in various geological stress conditions during the last decades and probable landslide zones. This will be a preliminary pathway to policymakers in rehabilitation and early evacuation of human lives due to flash flood occurrence.

Evaluating and diagnosing ecosystem health of the "three-lake" watershed in Yuxi, Yunnan, China from 2010 to 2020 by PSR-KDE.

To carry out the diagnosis and evaluation of the ecosystem health in Yuxi three-lake watershed, this paper presents the changing trend of its health state, and predicts the future development. This also provides ideas for maintaining the regional ecosystem health, and then gradually improves the ecological environment quality. Taking Fuxian Lake, Qilu Lake and Xingyun Lake (the three-lake watershed) in Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, Southwest China as the research object, a model combining pressure-state-response and kernel density estimation (PSR-KDE) adopts to diagnose and evaluate the ecosystem health of the "three lake" watershed from 2010 to 2020, and the distribution map of ecosystem health index has obtained by the evaluation indexes integration based on GIS spatial analysis. Hence, the evaluation results have visualized on the map. The results show that: The distribution of ecosystem health index in the study area was 0.1530-0.7045 in 2010, 0.2056-0.7512 in 2015, and 0.2248-0.7662 in 2020. 0.12% was in the pathological area in 2010. After 2015, the pathological condition of ecosystem health has completely solved, and the proportion of unhealthy ecosystems was 11.95% in 2010, 7.38% in 2015, and 5.97% in 2020. The ecosystem health index of the study region was 0.5523 in 2010, 0.5807 in 2015, and 0.5815 in 2020, it indicates that the ecosystem was in a sub-health state. From 2010 to 2020, the ecosystem health around Qilu Lake was the most worrying, followed by the northwest of Fuxian Lake and the northern and southern regions of Xingyun Lake. The ecosystem health of the three-lake watershed showed significant improvement from 2010 to 2020. The study ecosystem health assessment and early warning in the three-lake watershed is significant to the ecological environment protection and management of the plateau lake basin, the restoration of the territorial space ecology and the economic development of the surrounding area.

A GIS-based modified PAP/RAC model and Caesium-137 approach for water erosion assessment in the Raouz catchment, Morocco.

Water erosion poses a significant environmental threat in the Mediterranean region, with pronounced impacts observed throughout Morocco. It impairs soil quality and disrupts both sediment transport and water availability. Contributing factors range from natural (climate, topography, and geology) to anthropogenic (land use, vegetation cover, and management). This study introduces an improved Priority Actions Program/Regional Activity Centre (PAP/RAC) model, enriched with GIS and the Caesium-137 (137Cs) technique, to investigate erosion within Morocco's Raouz basin. Enhanced with additional variables including soil types, slope length, rainfall erosion potential, slope orientation, soil moisture, and land surface temperature, the model transcends the classical approach, promoting granularity and precision in predictions. In addition to the comprehensive model, the 137Cs method, which discerns long-term soil erosion and redistribution, provides a dual-faceted validation, bolstering the robustness of this project's erosion risk evaluation. This study's outcomes underscore the gravity of the erosion hazard with significant soil depletion rates ranging from 8.1 to 20 t ha-1 yr-1, demonstrating the model's alignment with empirical data, affirming its utility. The modified PAP/RAC model concurs with the 137Cs data, demonstrating its usefulness for water erosion assessment and management in similar areas.

Investigating young children's physical activity through time and place.

BACKGROUND: Previous research indicates the start of primary school (4-5-year-old) as an essential period for the development of children's physical activity (PA) patterns, as from this point, the age-related decline of PA is most often observed. During this period, young children are exposed to a wider variety of environmental- and social contexts and therefore their PA is influenced by more diverse factors. However, in order to understand children's daily PA patterns and identify relevant opportunities for PA promotion, it is important to further unravel in which (social) contexts throughout the day, PA of young children takes place. METHODS: We included a cross-national sample of 21 primary schools from the Startvaardig study. In total, 248 children provided valid accelerometer and global positioning (GPS) data. Geospatial analyses were conducted to quantify PA in (social) environments based on their school and home. Transport-related PA was evaluated using GPS speed-algorithms. PA was analysed at different environments, time-periods and for week- and weekend days separately. RESULTS: Children accumulated an average of 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), both during week- and weekend days. Schools contributed to approximately half of daily MVPA during weekdays. During weekends, environments within 100 m from home were important, as well as locations outside the home-school neighbourhood. Pedestrian trips contributed to almost half of the daily MVPA. CONCLUSIONS: We identified several social contexts relevant for children's daily MVPA. Schools have the potential to significantly contribute to young children's PA patterns and are therefore encouraged to systematically evaluate and implement parts of the school-system that stimulate PA and potentially also learning processes. Pedestrian trips also have substantial contribution to daily MVPA of young children, which highlights the importance of daily active transport in school- and parental routines.

Navigating Aged Care Services with GIS: Trends, Developments, and Future Directions.

BACKGROUND: With the growing challenge of an aging population, emerging technologies are increasingly being integrated into the production, organization, and delivery of aged care services. Geographic Information System (GIS), a computer-based tool for spatial information analysis and processing, has made significant strides in the allocation of care recources and service delivery for older adults, a notably vulnerable group. Despite its growing importance, cross-disciplinary literature reviews on this theme are scare. This scoping review was conducted to encapsulate the advancements and discern the future trajectory of GIS applications in aged care services. METHODS: A comprehensive search across nine databases yielded 5941 articles. Adhering to specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, 61 articles were selected for a detailed analysis. RESULTS: The 61 articles span from 2003 to 2022, with a notable increase in publications since 2018, comprising 41 articles (67% of the total) published between 2018-2022. Developed countries contributed 66% of the papers, with 45% focusing on accessibility issues. In the domain of aged care services, GIS has been predominantly utilized for model construction, mapping, and site selection, with a growing emphasis on addressing the unique needs of different subgroups of older adults. CONCLUSION: The past two decades have seen substantial growth in the application of GIS in aged care services, reflecting its increasing importance in this field. This scoping review not only charts the historical development of GIS applications in aged care services but also underscores the need for innovative research approaches. Future directions should emphasize the integration of GIS with diverse methodologies to address the heterogeneous needs of older adults and improve the overall delivery of aged care services. Such advancements in GIS applications have the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency, accessibility, and quality of care for the aging population.

Identifying emerging hot spots of road traffic injury severity using spatiotemporal methods: longitudinal analyses on major roads in Ghana from 2005 to 2020.

BACKGROUND: Although road traffic injuries and deaths have decreased globally, there is substantial national and sub-national heterogeneity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Ghana is one of few countries in Africa collecting comprehensive, spatially detailed data on motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). This data is a critical step towards improving roadway safety, as accurate and reliable information is essential for devising targeted countermeasures. METHODS: Here, we analyze 16 years of police-report data using emerging hot spot analysis in ArcGIS to identify hot spots with trends of increasing injury severity (a weighted composite measure of MVCs, minor injuries, severe injuries, and deaths), and counts of injuries, severe injuries, and deaths along major roads in urban and rural areas of Ghana. RESULTS: We find injury severity index sums and minor injury counts are significantly decreasing over time in Ghana while severe injury and death counts are not, indicating the latter should be the focus for road safety efforts. We identify new, consecutive, intensifying, and persistent hot spots on 2.65% of urban roads and 4.37% of rural roads. Hot spots are intensifying in terms of severity and frequency on major roads in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: A few key road sections, particularly in rural areas, show elevated levels of road traffic injury severity, warranting targeted interventions. Our method for evaluating spatiotemporal trends in MVC, road traffic injuries, and deaths in a LMIC includes sufficient detail for replication and adaptation in other countries, which is useful for targeting countermeasures and tracking progress.

Assessment of potentially hazardous elements in soils of the Boyacá industrial corridor (Colombia) using GIS, multivariate statistical analysis, and geochemical indexes.

In the industrial corridor of Boyacá, Colombia, population growth is accompanied by anthropogenic activities such as industrial operations, vehicle exhaust fumes, mining, smelting, atmospheric deposition, and excessive use of chemical products to promote crop growth. These activities are known to have a significant impact on urban and rural soils, contributing significantly to elevated concentrations of potentially hazardous elements in the environment. This industrial corridor is an area of economic and social development that needs to provide reference information that will allow us to know the state of soil quality to preserve and manage the public and geoenvironmental health of this region. Anthropogenic activities have contributed to the accumulation of potentially hazardous elements in the environment, affecting various levels of life and creating risks with economic and social implications. However, igneous activity or detrital deposition also enriches soils and creates geochemical anomalies in specific locations. In these cases, the identification of potentially hazardous elements involves the determination of likely sources of contamination and their relationship to the geological setting. In this study, the concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, Mn, Fe, Zn, Hg, Cu and Ni were determined in eighty-one soil samples from the Boyacá industrial corridor (Colombia). The sequential trend of the concentrations of potentially hazardous elements was as follows: Fe > Mn > Zn > Ni > Cu> Pb > As > Cd > Hg. Furthermore, the application of spatial analysis criteria in GIS software with multivariate statistical tools and geochemical indices allowed the identification of anthropogenic and geogenic sources. Most of the potentially hazardous elements were found in soils exposed to industrial and agricultural activities, except for iron. This element showed low variability in all samples, regardless of the geological formations. Due to the lack of reference values for potentially hazardous elements in Colombia, the concentrations were compared with the environmental standards of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAE). The results demonstrate the complexity of the soil and represent the first exploratory study of potentially hazardous elements in this industrial corridor. These results are the starting point for the establishment of geochemical background lines in Colombia and for inspection policies for areas where productive activities converge.

Impacts of climate change on dogsledding recreation and tourism in Arctic Sweden.

The range of Arctic tourism supply is continuously increasing with a variety of tourism products on offer. However, climate change is becoming a more prominent issue threatening the operations of tourism businesses and the livelihood of some tourism actors, such as dogsledders. This article aims to fill the descriptive research gap that exists regarding the dependency on the physical environment, climate, and weather for dogsledding activities. This is achieved by studying how climate change may threaten possible climate and weather thresholds for these activities, and how climate change may affect the future opportunities for dogsledding in northern Sweden. The study is based on interviews with dogsledders in Arctic Sweden and climate projections from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). The results demonstrate the following thresholds for dogsledding activities: (1) dogsledding requires 10-20 cm of packed snow and/or solid ice on bodies of water, (2) above 15 °C is too hot for dogs to pull (wheeled) sledges, (3) cold weather thresholds are determined by visitors' preferences and are not considered a problem for dogsledders or dogs, and (4) rain can cancel tours for all dogsledders, and strong wind can cancel tours for dogsledders located in the mountain regions. Finally, extreme events such as heatwaves, storms, thunderstorms, forest fires, heavy rain, floods, and more rapid weather changes have already affected some dogsledders. These necessary thresholds for dogsledding activities could already be jeopardized for the southern and coastal locations of Arctic Sweden. In addition, the climate projections from SMHI show that warmer days and more precipitation in the form of rain will become more common in the future, especially in the absence of global mitigation measures. However, further research on vulnerability/resilience and adaption strategies for dogsledding activities is necessary to truly understand the impact of climate change.

Geographical Distribution of Betting Shops and Their Proximity to Schools: (Non-)Compliance with Regulations in the City of Madrid.

The proliferation of betting shops in Spanish cities is causing a heated social debate in response to the undesirable impacts that businesses of this kind can have. As a result, associations and social movements have emerged to try to stem their expansion and, at the same time, regulations have been introduced to prevent the uncontrolled opening of this type of premises. The limitations set out in the legislation include minimum distances between betting shops and schools. In order to understand the spatial dimension of this phenomenon and to find out the extent to which these businesses comply with the regulations in force, in this paper, we study the distribution of betting shops in the city of Madrid and their proximity to each other and to schools. The results reveal certain areas of the city with a high density of betting shops and with schools with high exposure to these businesses. Likewise, results show the significant number of businesses that would have to close (81%; n = 416) if the current moratorium on betting shops that opened their doors before the current legislation came into force did not exist.

Social cartography and satellite-derived building coverage for post-census population estimates in difficult-to-access regions of Colombia.

Effective government services rely on accurate population numbers to allocate resources. In Colombia and globally, census enumeration is challenging in remote regions and where armed conflict is occurring. During census preparations, the Colombian National Administrative Department of Statistics conducted social cartography workshops, where community representatives estimated numbers of dwellings and people throughout their regions. We repurposed this information, combining it with remotely sensed buildings data and other geospatial data. To estimate building counts and population sizes, we developed hierarchical Bayesian models, trained using nearby full-coverage census enumerations and assessed using 10-fold cross-validation. We compared models to assess the relative contributions of community knowledge, remotely sensed buildings, and their combination to model fit. The Community model was unbiased but imprecise; the Satellite model was more precise but biased; and the Combination model was best for overall accuracy. Results reaffirmed the power of remotely sensed buildings data for population estimation and highlighted the value of incorporating local knowledge.

Online Detection of Hydrogen Fluoride under Corona Discharge in Gas-Insulated Switchgear Based on Photoacoustic Spectroscopy.

Internal discharge and overheating faults in sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas-insulated electrical equipment will generate a series of characteristic gas products. Hydrogen fluoride (HF) is one of the main decomposition gases under discharge failure. Because of its extremely corrosive nature, it can react with other materials in gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), resulting in a short existence time, so it needs to be detected online. Resonant gas photoacoustic spectroscopy has the advantage of high sensitivity, fast response, and no sample gas consumption, and can be used for the online detection of flowing gas. In this paper, a simulated GIS corona discharge experimental platform was built, and the HF generated in the discharge was detected online by gas photoacoustic spectroscopy. The absorption peak of HF molecule near 1312.59 nm was selected as the absorption spectral line, and a resonant photoacoustic cell was designed. To improve the detection sensitivity of HF, wavelength modulation and second-harmonic detection technology were used. The online monitoring of HF in the simulated GIS corona discharge fault was successfully realized. The experimental results show that the sensitivity of the designed photoacoustic spectroscopy detection system for HF is 0.445 µV/(µL/L), and the limit of detection (LOD) is 0.611 µL/L.

Urban Pedestrian Routes' Accessibility Assessment Using Geographic Information System Processing and Deep Learning-Based Object Detection.

The need to establish safe, accessible, and inclusive pedestrian routes is considered one of the European Union's main priorities. We have developed a method of assessing pedestrian mobility in the surroundings of urban public buildings to evaluate the level of accessibility and inclusion, especially for people with reduced mobility. In the first stage of assessment, artificial intelligence algorithms were used to identify pedestrian crossings and the precise geographical location was determined by deep learning-based object detection with satellite or aerial orthoimagery. In the second stage, Geographic Information System techniques were used to create network models. This approach enabled the verification of the level of accessibility for wheelchair users in the selected study area and the identification of the most suitable route for wheelchair transit between two points of interest. The data obtained were verified using inertial sensors to corroborate the horizontal continuity of the routes. The study findings are of direct benefit to the users of these routes and are also valuable for the entities responsible for ensuring and maintaining the accessibility of pedestrian routes.