1,721,084 research outputs found
Health research based on geospatial tools: a timely approach in a changing environment
No full textThe possibilities of disease prediction based on the environmental characteristics of geographical areas and specific requirements of the causative infectious agents are reviewed and, in the case of parasites whose life cycles involve more than one host, the needs of the intermediate hosts are also referred to. The geographical information systems framework includes epidemiological data, visualization (in the form of maps), modelling and exploratory analysis using spatial statistics. Examples include climate-based forecast systems, based on the concept of growing degree days, which now exist for several parasitic helminths such as fasciolosis, schistosomiasis, dirofilariasis and also for malaria. The paper discusses the limits of data collection by remote sensing in terms of resolution capabilities (spatial, temporal and spectral) of sensors on-board satellites. Although the data gained from the observation of oceans, land, elevations, land cover, land use, surface temperatures, rainfall, etc. are primarily for weather forecasting, military and commercial use, some of this information, particularly that from the climate research satellites, is of direct epidemiological utility. Disease surveillance systems and early-warning systems (EWS) are prime examples of academic approaches of practical importance. However, even commercial activities such as the construction of virtual globes, i.e. computer-based models of the Earth, have been used in this respect. Compared to conventional world maps, they do not only show geographical and man-made features, but can also be spatially annotated with data on disease distribution, demography, economy and other measures of particular interest
Covid-19: Pandemonium in our time
No full textWhile pandemonium has come to mean wild and noisy disorder, the reference here is to John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost and the upheaval following Lucifer's banishment from Heaven and his construction of Pandæmonium as his hub. Today's avalanche of conflicting news on how to deal with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) brings to mind the Trinity nuclear bomb test with Enrico Fermi estimating its strength by releasing small pieces of paper into the air and measuring their displacement by the shock wave. Fermi's result, in fact not far from the true value, emphasised his ability to make good approximations with few or no actual data. The current wave of Covid-19 presents just this kind of situation as it engulfs the world from ground zero in Wuhan, China. Much information is indeed missing, but datasets that might lead to useful ideas on how to handle this pandemic are steadily accumulating
The future is now: New united nations’ sustainable development goals report provides a perspective on vector-borne diseases
No full textNot available
Geospatial (s)tools: integration of advanced epidemiological sampling and novel diagnostics.
No full textLarge-scale control and progressive elimination of a wide variety of parasitic diseases is moving to the fore. Indeed,
there is good pace and broad political commitment. Yet, there are some worrying signs ahead, particularly the anticipated
declines in funding and coverage of key interventions, and the paucity of novel tools and strategies. Further and intensified
research and development is thus urgently required. We discuss advances in epidemiological sampling, diagnostic tools and
geospatial methodologies. We emphasise the need for integrating sound epidemiological designs (e.g. cluster-randomised
sampling) with innovative diagnostic tools and strategies (e.g. Mini-FLOTAC for detection of parasitic elements and pooling
of biological samples) and high-resolution geospatial tools. Recognising these challenges, standardisation of quality procedures,
and innovating, validating and applying new tools and strategies will foster and sustain long-term control and eventual
elimination of human and veterinary public health issues
Three years of Geospatial Health online: a review of the Journals’ internet website usage
No full textThree years of Geospatial Health online: a review of the Journals’ internet website usage
No full textThe plan to eliminate schistosomiasis in Cambodia and Laos based on geographical information systems (GIS) and improved diagnostics
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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