Characteristics Of Municipalities Research Articles

Effects of Low Emission Zones on Air Quality, New Vehicle Registrations, and Birthweights: Evidence from Japan

AbstractIn October 2003 four contiguous prefectures in Greater Tokyo introduced Low Emission Zones (LEZs) from which diesel trucks and buses without particulate filters have been banned from entering. This paper analyzes the effects of this large-scale intervention on air quality, new vehicle registrations, and birthweights. We use a matching approach to construct a control group comparable to the designated areas in terms of propensity scores based on municipality characteristics during the pre-intervention period and apply a difference-in-differences design. We find evidence that the intervention led to reductions in hourly particulate matter concentrations and the incidence of low birthweights in the Greater Tokyo LEZ relative to the control group. We also find that the LEZs led to increases in registrations of new trucks and buses. This is not the case for passenger cars, which were exempt from the regulations. Our paper provides the first evidence of a significant link between LEZs and reduced incidence of low birthweights.

Health equity in urban and rural settings: implementation of the place standard tool in Spain.

The physical, social, and economic characteristics of neighborhoods and municipalities determine the health of their residents, shaping their behaviors and choices regarding health and well-being. Addressing local environmental inequalities requires an intersectoral, participatory, and equity-focused approach. Community participation plays a vital role by providing deeper insights into local contexts, integrating community knowledge and values into processes, and promoting healthier, fairer, and more equitable actions. In recent years, various tools have been developed to assess places and transform them into health-promoting settings. One such tool, the Place Standard Tool (PST), facilitates discussions on Social Determinants of Health grouped into 14 themes, serving as a starting point for local health interventions. In this study, that took place between August 2019 and February 2020, we described the resident's perceptions of two municipalities in the Valencian Community, Spain, using the validated Spanish version of the PST. A mixed-method convergent-parallel design was used to gain a holistic insight into residents' experiences concerning their physical, economic, and social environment. A total of 356 individuals from both municipalities participated in the study through discussion groups, structured interviews, and online survey. Descriptive analysis of the individual questionnaire answers was conducted, and differences between municipalities were explored. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted on structured interviews and discussion groups. Quantitative and qualitative data were integrated to facilitate their comparison and identify areas of convergence or divergence in the findings. Overall, rural areas received more favorable evaluations compared to urban ones. Public Transport as well as Work and Local Economy were consistently rated the lowest across all groups and contexts, while Identity and Belonging received the highest ratings. In the urban area, additional negative ratings were observed for Traffic and Parking, Housing and Community, and Care and Maintenance. Conversely, Identity and Belonging, Natural Spaces, Streets and Spaces, Social Interaction, and Services emerged as the highest-rated themes overall. In the rural context, positive evaluations were given to Walking or Cycling, Traffic and Parking, Housing and Community, and Influence and Sense of Control. Significant differences (p < 0.01) between urban and rural settings were observed in dimensions related to mobility, spaces, housing, social interaction, and identity and belonging. Our study illustrated the capacity of the PST to identifying aspects within local settings that influence health, revealing both positive and challenging factors. Successful implementation requires appropriate territorial delineation, support from local authorities, and effective management of expectations. Furthermore, the tool facilitated community participation in decision-making about local environments, promoting equity by connecting institutional processes with citizen needs.

Does pay-for-performance design matter? Evidence from Brazil.

Pay-for-performance (P4P) schemes have been shown to have mixed effects on health care outcomes. A challenge in interpreting this evidence is that P4P is often considered a homogenous intervention, when in practice schemes vary widely in their design. Our study contributes to this literature by providing a detailed depiction of incentive design across municipalities within a national P4P scheme in Brazil [Primary Care Access and Quality (PMAQ)] and exploring the association of alternative design typologies with the performance of primary health care providers. We carried out a nation-wide survey of municipal health managers to characterize the scheme design, based on the size of the bonus, the providers incentivized and the frequency of payment. Using OLS regressions and controlling for municipality characteristics, we examined whether each design feature was associated with better family health team (FHT) performance. To capture potential interactions between design features, we used cluster analysis to group municipalities into five design typologies and then examined associations with quality of care. A majority of the municipalities included in our study used some of the PMAQ funds to provide bonuses to FHT workers, while the remaining municipalities spent the funds in the traditional way using input-based budgets. Frequent bonus payments (monthly) and higher size bonus allocations (share of 20-80%) were strongly associated with better team performance, while who within a team was eligible to receive bonuses did not in isolation appear to influence performance. The cluster analysis showed what combinations of design features were associated with better performance. The PMAQ score in the 'large bonus/many workers/high-frequency' cluster was 8.44 points higher than the 'no bonus' cluster, equivalent to a difference of 21.7% in the mean PMAQ score. Evidence from our study shows how design features can potentially influence health provider performance, informing the design of more effective P4P schemes.

Generation Pep - study protocol for an intersectoral community-wide physical activity and healthy eating habits initiative for children and young people in Sweden.

There is overwhelming evidence for the preventive effects of regular physical activity and healthy eating habits on the risk for developing a non-communicable disease (NCD). Increasing attention has been paid to community-wide approaches in the battle against NCDs. Communities can create supportive policies, modify physical environments, and foster local stakeholder engagement through intersectoral collaboration to encourage communities to support healthy lifestyles. The Pep initiative is based on intersectoral community-wide collaboration among Sweden's municipalities. Primary targets are municipality professionals who work with children and young people as well as parents of children <18 years. The goal is to spread knowledge and create commitment to children's and young people's health with a special focus on physical activity and healthy eating habits to facilitate and support a healthy lifestyle. The overarching aim of the research project described in this study protocol is to investigate factors that influence the implementation of the Pep initiative in Sweden, to inform tailored implementation strategies addressing the needs and local prerequisites of the different municipalities. The project includes a qualitative and a quantitative study and is framed by a theoretical model involving four complementary forms of knowledge, explicitly recognized in the Pep initiative: knowledge about the issue; knowledge about interventions; knowledge about the context; and knowledge about implementation. Study 1 is a focus group study exploring barriers and facilitators for implementing the Pep initiative. The study will be carried out in six municipalities, selected purposively to provide wide variation in municipality characteristics, including population size and geographical location. Data will be analyzed using thematic analysis. Study 2 is a cross-sectional web-based survey investigating the implementability of the Pep initiative in Sweden's 290 municipalities. Conditions for implementing different areas of the Pep initiative will be examined in terms of the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility, three predictors of implementation success. Data will be analyzed using non-parametric statistics. The findings of the two studies will increase understanding of the prerequisites for implementing the Pep initiative in Swedish municipalities, which will provide valuable input into how implementation of the Pep initiative can best be facilitated in the different municipality settings.

Are non-fungible payments attractive when they reduce risk exposure? Evidence from Colombia.

We conducted a lab-in-the-field experiment in which 214 Colombian rural workers must choose between cash or voucher payment for completing a real effort task. Although the voucher may be perceived as non-fungible, it halves the probability of suffering a negative shock that will reduce the participant's payment by two-thirds. Participants made four decisions in which we vary the voucher values such that this payment method offers, in expectation, between 88% to 123% of the cash payment (fixed across decisions). We find that uptake rates go from 32% to 56%, from the least to the most generous voucher. These rates are consistently larger compared to a reference sample of undergrad students from the same region (p-values from the χ2 tests for all four decisions fall below 0.035). Our between-subjects variations reveal that presenting the vouchers in descending order yields a higher uptake than the ascending order (p < 0.001 for the corresponding coefficient in a tobit and ordered logit regressions including municipality characteristics, an effect driven by the two decisions with the lowest voucher values, with p-values of 0.008 and 0.072 in the χ2 tests, respectively). We interpret this result as an endowment effect of the voucher's risk reduction.

Allocation of Adult Day Care Services to Different User Groups: A Register-Based Cross-Sectional Study

The international policy of active ageing emphasises activities and social relations for long-term care recipients, for example through adult day care. Knowledge about who are allocated such services is, however, sparse. We aimed to investigate characteristics that contribute to determine allocation of adult day care for care recipients with and without dementia. This study selected all 250 687 individuals who received long-term care services on 31 December 2019 from the Norwegian Register for Primary Health Care. We added municipal level data from the Municipality-State-Reporting register and a national survey. Multilevel analyses comparing allocation of adult day care services to other services found that municipal clustering was around 20%. Care recipients who lived alone had higher odds of receiving adult day care, while the odds of receiving adult day care decreased as age increased. Disability level and gender were also significantly associated with allocation of adult day care, but in different directions for different user groups. As the unrestricted revenues of municipalities increased, the odds of allocating adult day care to people without dementia decreased. Other municipality characteristics did not significantly impact the allocation of adult day care. In conclusion, individual characteristics were more influential in allocation of adult day care than municipality characteristics, and the results uncovered clear differences between care recipients with and without dementia.

Beyond the preservation of agricultural land – Identifying Austrian farmers’ farming-related interests in local spatial planning

With the EU aiming to secure agricultural land for food production, the relationship between spatial planning and agriculture has gained attention. However, little is known about farmers' interests regarding spatial planning. This study addresses this research gap by adopting an exploratory mixed-methods approach to examine farming-related interests regarding local spatial planning among Austrian farmers. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 farmers, followed by 12 semi-quantitative interviews and an online questionnaire survey completed by 430 farmers. Four main interests were identified: preservation of agricultural land, spatial separation of farms and residential areas, sufficiently wide roads and expansion opportunities for farm buildings. All identified interests could be shown to be rooted in the farmers' “self-interest” as derived from actor-centred institutionalism. Binomial logistic regression models identified predictors of the identified interests among farmer, farm and municipality characteristics. The results present farmers as individual actors with diverse interests reaching beyond the preservation of agricultural land. A knowledge base could be created, to support further research on farmers as stakeholders in spatial planning and to inform the integration of farmers’ interests in planning processes.

Introducing the role of the municipality of residence in studying the secondary migration of international migrants. Evidence from Lombardy (Italy)

AbstractSecondary internal and international movements of migrants are receiving increasing attention in Europe while research has so far focused on the characteristics of individuals who remigrate or plan to re‐emigrate, the attributes of the place that secondary migrants aim to leave have been less studied compared to other personal characteristics. This knowledge gap is primarily due to the fact that detailed information on the municipality of residence is largely unavailable in nationwide sample surveys. To fill this gap, after considering the time since migrants' arrival in Italy and previous internal mobility, we analyse the relationship between the characteristics of the municipality where migrants live and short‐term migration intentions of return, onward and internal migration in a competing risk framework. We focus on ethnic concentration (community hotspots and coldspots) and classification into central and marginal areas as critical characteristics of municipalities. We used a unique pooled data set that includes seven cross‐sectional surveys conducted between 2010 and 2016 by the Regional Observatory for Integration and Multiethnicity in the Northern Italian region of Lombardy. Municipal characteristics are strongly related to migrants' intentions: migrants who intend to move internally or to a third country are more likely live in urban, suburban, intermediate and peripheral areas and in the mountains. In contrast, the intention to return is not correlated with the characteristics of the municipality. The concentration of co‐nationals is also uncorrelated with short‐term migration intentions. We discuss the limitations of using a concentration indicator to study the relationship with secondary mobility.

The role of municipal digital services in advancing rural resilience

Community resilience refers to collective efforts to help improve response and recovery for the entire community in response to disasters. Municipalities that provide information and services to residents through digital platforms have more options for meeting citizen needs during crises. In this study, we examine the provision of digital services by rural municipalities in Maine, USA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on an inventory of 100 municipal websites and interviews with 20 municipal officials, we assessed the prevalence of 20 digital services, associations between municipality characteristics and digital services, and factors that spur changes in digital services. We discovered that many rural communities use digital platforms, and provide digital information, digital transactions and opportunities for digital democracy. While we found positive associations between greater levels of digital services, larger community populations, and more representative forms of government, we learned that a range of technological and cultural barriers also determine the degree to which a municipality engages with and adapts their digital services. Our findings establish a link between municipal digital services and rural resilience, confirm prior trends observed in larger and more urban local governments, and encourage future work on relatively under-studied rural areas.

Analysing individual differences in car use to maintenance and discretionary leisure activities

In order to reach ambitious goals of CO2 reduction, a decrease in fossil-fuelled private transport is important. Research on car use for commuters dominates literature although transport for leisure purposes constitutes a substantial share of the total transported kilometres. This study contributes by its focus on car use to maintenance (e.g. grocery shopping) and discretionary (e.g. social visits) leisure activities. We analyse whether individual perceptions about a personal responsibility to contribute to a sustainable transport sector restricts car use, and we also control for other factors such as type of municipality, residential area and sociodemographic characteristics. The analysis is based on survey data from 1024 car users living in rural, urban or metropolitan municipalities in Sweden. Data is analysed by applying recursive bivariate probit models. The results show that those who feel a personal responsibility to contribute to a sustainable transport sector drive less when travelling, in particular to maintenance activities. As well, those who regularly commute by car are more likely to use the car also for leisure purposes, which indicates that measures aimed at reducing commuting by car may spill over to travel for leisure.

The influence of individual and municipality characteristics on allocation of long-term care services: a register-based cross-sectional study

BackgroundVariation in service allocation between municipalities may arise as a result of prioritisation. Both individual and societal characteristics determine service allocation, but previous literature has often investigated these factors separately. The present study aims to map variation in allocation of long-term care services and investigate the extent to which service allocation is associated with characteristics related to the individual care recipient and the municipality.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used register data from the Norwegian Registry for Primary Health Care on all 250 687 individuals receiving municipal health and care services in Norway on 31 December 2019. These individual level data were paired with municipal level data from the Municipality-State-Reporting register and information on the care models in Norwegian long-term care services, derived from a nationwide survey. Multilevel analyses were used to identify individual and municipal factors that were associated with allocation of home care, practical assistance and long-term stay in institutions.ResultsIn total, 164 634 people received home care services and 97 380 received practical assistance per 31 December 2019. Furthermore, 64 404 received both types of home-based services and 31 342 people had a long-term stay in an institution. Increased disability was strongly associated with being allocated more hours of home care and practical assistance, as well as allocation of a long-term institutional stay. The amount of home care and practical assistance declined with increasing age, but the odds of institutional stay increased with age. Care recipients living alone received more home-based services, and women had higher odds of a long-term institutional stay. Significant associations between the proportion of elderly in nursing homes and allocation of a long-term institutional stay and more practical assistance emerged. Other associations with municipalities’ structural characteristics and care service models were weak.ConclusionsThe influence of individual characteristics outweighed the contribution of municipality characteristics, and the results point to a limited influence of municipality characteristics on allocation of long-term care services.

TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY: CONTRADICTIONS, PROBLEMS, PRIORITIES

The processes taking place in all subsystems without exception that form the structure of modern society have become the reason for the attention of the scientific community to the study of contradictions, problems and priorities for the development of the territory of the municipality as a socio-economic system of a complex nature. It is the complex nature of the system that gives rise to a large number of questions that arise in the process of a comprehensive study of territorial and unique features, difficulties in choosing research methods and tools for solving problems at the stages of developing and implementing a territorial development strategy. The individual characteristics of a particular municipality and the goals of the territory development strategy set tasks for the developers, the solution of which depends on the correct choice of priorities, taking into account emerging barriers and limiting factors in the implementation process. The authors systematized legal acts as the foundation for building a territory development strategy, approaches to classifying contradictions on the scale of the economic system, substantiated the need to adjust the strategy as a medium-term and long-term task to the challenges of the new time, including technological breakthroughs in management and information and communication space.

Characterizing residential segregation in cities using intensity, separation, and scale indicators

This paper proposes a method to characterize residential segregation patterns along three dimensions: intensity, separation, and scale. These dimensions designate respectively the over-representation of a group in segregated regions, the proportion of people from that group living in these regions, and the spatial extent of these regions. We apply the method to all Dutch municipalities, to study segregation along migration background. Our results demonstrate that no single segregation pattern prevails in the Netherlands: Dutch municipalities express very diverse combinations of intensity, separation, and scale. We then explore the relation between segregation patterns and municipality characteristics. We show that segregation intensity and separation associate with municipality size, income inequality, and share of the group of interest in the municipality population. Moreover, the scale of segregation is highly correlated with municipality size, suggesting a proportional relation.

Uncovering inequities in Covid-19 vaccine coverage for adults and elderly in Brazil: A multilevel study of 2021–2022 data

Vaccination is crucial for reducing severe COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. However, vaccine access disparities within countries, particularly in low- and middle-income nations, may leave disadvantaged regions and populations behind. This study aimed to investigate potential inequalities in vaccine coverage among Brazilian aged 18 years and older based on demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic characteristics at the municipal level. A total of 389 million vaccination records from the National Immunization Program Information System were analyzed to calculate vaccine coverage rates for the first, second, and booster doses among adults (18–59 years) and elderly (60 + years) vaccinated between January 2021 and December 2022. We analyzed the data by gender and used a three-level (municipalities, states, regions) multilevel regression analysis to assess the association between vaccine coverage and municipal characteristics. Vaccination coverage was higher among the elderly than among adults, particularly for the second and booster doses. Adult women showed higher coverage rates than men (ranging from 118 % to 25 % higher along the analyzed period). Significant inequalities were observed when analyzing the evolution of vaccination coverage by sociodemographic characteristics of municipalities. In the early stages of the vaccination campaign, municipalities with higher per capita Gross Domestic Product (pGDP), educational level, and fewer Black residents reached higher population coverages earlier. In December 2022, adult and elderly booster vaccine coverage was 43 % and 19 %, respectively, higher in municipalities in the highest quintile of educational level. Higher vaccine uptake was also observed in municipalities with fewer Black residents and higher pGDP. Municipalities accounted for most of the variance in vaccine coverage (59.7 %-90.4 % depending on the dose and age group). This study emphasizes the inadequate booster coverage and the presence of socioeconomic and demographic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates. These issues must be addressed through equitable interventions to avoid potential disparities in morbidity and mortality.

Mental health service diversity and work disability: associations of mental health service system characteristics and mood disorder disability pensioning in Finland

PurposePublic mental health services (MHS) are crucial in preventing psychiatric disability pensions (DP). We studied the associations between mood disorder DP risk and the characteristics of Finnish municipalities’ MHS provision using the ESMS-R mapping tool and Finnish population registers, based on first-time granted mood disorder DPs between 2010 and 2015.MethodsThe final data set included 13,783 first-time mood disorder DP recipients and 1088 mental health service units in 104 municipalities. We focused on five different MHS types: all MHS, outpatient care provision, local services without and with gatekeeping, and centralized services. Three factors for each MHS type were studied: service resources, richness, and diversity index. Negative binomial regression models were used in the analysis.ResultsIn all the municipalities, higher service richness and diversity regarding all MHS, outpatient care and local services with gatekeeping were associated with a lower DP risk. In urban municipalities, service richness was mainly associated with lower DP risk, and in semi-urban municipalities service diversity and resources were primarily associated with lower DP risk in outpatient care and local services with gatekeeping. In rural municipalities, DP risk indicated no association with MHS factors.ConclusionThe organization and structure of MHS play a role in psychiatric disability pensioning. MHS richness and diversity are associated with lower mood disorder DP in specific societal contexts indicating their role as quality indicators for regional MHS. The diversity of service provision should be accounted for in MHS planning to offer services matching population needs.

Tap water natural fluoride and parent-reported experience of child dental caries in Japan: Evidence from a nationwide birth cohort survey.

Water fluoridation is an effective measure to prevent dental caries. In Japan, artificial water fluoridation is not implemented, and tap water natural fluoride concentration geographically differs because of various soil natures. This study aimed to examine the association between tap water natural fluoride and parent-reported experience of dental caries in children. Data from the Longitudinal Survey of Newborns in the twenty-first century, a national birth cohort study following all infants born between January 10-17 and July 10-17, 2001, were analysed. Caregivers answered the child's caries treatment history, a proxy for dental caries, yearly from 5.5 to 12 years of age (N=202 517 observations from 34 998 children). The annual data on tap water natural fluoride concentration in the municipality of residence were obtained from the national statistics. Cross-classified multilevel Poisson regression models were fitted, adjusting for child, household and municipality characteristics, including average income and dental clinic density. The average tap water natural fluoride concentration across municipalities was 0.0887ppm (SD=0.0422). The proportion of parent-reported experience of child dental caries treatment ranged from 24.9% (at 12 years) to 40.3% (at 7 years) and was lower among children living in municipalities with high natural fluoride concentrations, which were 35.0%, 35.4%, 33.4% and 32.3% for <0.10, 0.10-0.19, 0.20-0.29 and ≥0.30ppm respectively. A 0.1 ppm increment in tap water natural fluoride after controlling for all covariates was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of parent-reported child dental caries treatment by 3.3% (prevalence ratio=0.967, 95% credible interval: 0.939, 0.996). Natural fluoride in tap water showed a protective effect for the parent-reported experience of child dental caries in Japan.

The Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (SISVAN) as a tool to monitor the nutritional status of children and adolescents in Brazil

In Brazil, the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (SISVAN) is the main tool in collecting and consolidating information on the nutritional status and the feeding habits of the population encompassed by primary health care services of the country. This study explores data from SISVAN to analyze the system's potential as a tool for monitoring the nutritional status of children and adolescents in the country. We seek to evaluate the evolution of the system's coverage rate in relation to the population regarding different age groups and geographic regions, how this coverage rate varies according to the characteristics of the Brazilian municipalities, and to what extent the results from SISVAN differ from representative sample surveys of the population. We present four main results. First, we documented that from 2008 to 2019, SISVAN significantly expanded its coverage; with a significant decrease, however, in 2020, reaching levels similar to those at the beginning of the series. Second, our results indicate that coverage is not homogeneous, being higher in the North and Northeast regions and among underage children. Third, there is a systematic association between the characteristics of the municipalities and the level of coverage of the system. Finally, SISVAN results differ from those presented by surveys representative of the general population. Jointly, the results of this study point to the need to refine the nutritional surveillance instruments on children and adolescents in Brazil.

Демографические процессы в системе расселения северных районов Дальнего Востока (на материалах Амурской области)

Transformations taking place in the Russian Far East in the recent decades have been accompanied by a significant reduction in the population associated with the migration outflow and excess of the mortality rate over the birth rate, degradation of the existing settlement system. These trends are especially strong in the northern regions, as well as in the northern part of the territories and regions of the south of the region. The purpose of this work is to assess changes in demographic processes occurring in the settlements of municipalities of the Amur region, equated to the regions of the Far North, to determine the transformations taking place in the current settlement system for the period of 1989–2023. Analysis of the features of development of demographic processes in areas equated to the Far North, taking into account the characteristics of municipalities and the system of settlements that has developed during the development of economic activity, allows us to assess the possibilities of implementing program goals and prospects for the transformation of the settlement system. Assessment of the features of migration and natural movement of population in the municipalities of the north of the region, indicate decline of the population, degradation of its structure. The paper describes the dynamics of population change in settlements of various economic specialization, size and distance from the district center. The role of natural and climatic factors, the peculiarities of the organization of production in the extractive industries is determined. It is revealed that the emerging dynamics of demographic processes is determined by a combination of factors, among which. In addition to natural and climatic conditions, a significant role is played by the peculiarities of economic activity, the level of development of the complex of social infrastructure in settlements and settlement centers. Obtained results create informational basis for supplementing the developed programs of socio-economic development of municipalities of the northern territories with the definition of prospects for transformations at the level of individual settlements.

Increased prevalence of canine echinococcosis a decade after the discontinuation of a governmental deworming program in Tierra del Fuego, Southern Chile.

Hydatid disease is a neglected zoonotic parasitic disease caused by cysts of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus. Canids, especially domestic dogs, are definitive hosts of the parasite and are the most pragmatic targets for control programs. A governmental dog deworming campaign was established in 1979 to control hydatidosis in southern Chile, which succeeded in reducing the prevalence of canine echinococcosis in Tierra del Fuego province from 68.4% (in 1978) to 1.2% (in 2002). In 2004, however, the program was dismantled to reduce costs, and since then, no follow-up echinococcosis monitoring has been conducted. We surveyed 356 domestic dogs and interviewed owners or workers at 45 ranches in Chilean Tierra del Fuego during the summer of 2015-2016. Faecal flotation was employed to detect Taeniidae eggs, and PCR was used to test faecal samples for Echinococcus granulosus. Taeniidae eggs and Echinococcus sp. DNA were detected in the faeces of 45.4% (147/324) and 6.9% (23/331) of dogs, respectively. Infrequent dog deworming and the presence of culpeo foxes (Lycalopex culpaeus) were significant predictors of the prevalence of Echinococcus sp. DNA and Taeniidae eggs. Furthermore, the presence of introduced chilla foxes (Lycalopex griseus), the municipality, and several operational characteristics of ranches (number of sheep, frequency of sheep slaughter, number of dogs, frequency of removal of dog faeces, feeding of dogs with sheep viscera) were also predictive of the prevalence of Taeniidae eggs. Our findings reveal an ongoing risk of echinococcosis with pathogen maintenance in ranch dogs in Chilean Tierra del Fuego, and in the absence of adequate control programmes, there is a tangible risk of re-emergence of hydatid disease as a public health concern.

"Crime in the city": an analysis of the connections between crime, urban scale, and urban centrality

This study analyses the connection between crime and the structural characteristics of mu-nicipalities. The first part compares the concentration of different crime types in the municipali-ties ranked by their population size across eight countries worldwide. The second part anal-yses the relationships between crime rates, urban scale and urban hierarchy among the Italian municipalities. The analysis suggests that both urban scale and hierarchy are relevant for un-derstanding crime rates.