Regional Variations In Performance Research Articles

A nowcast model to predict outdoor flea activity in real time for the contiguous United States.

The cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis), a parasite commonly found on both dogs and cats, is a competent vector for several zoonotic pathogens, including Dipylidium caninum (tapeworms), Bartonella henselae (responsible for cat scratch disease) and Rickettsia felis (responsible for flea-borne spotted fever). Veterinarians recommend that both cats and dogs be routinely treated with medications to prevent flea infestation. Nevertheless, surveys suggest that nearly one third of pet owners do not routinely administer appropriate preventatives. A mathematical model based on weighted averaging over time is developed to predict outdoor flea activity from weather conditions for the contiguous United States. This 'nowcast' model can be updated in real time as weather conditions change and serves as an important tool for educating pet owners about the risks of flea-borne disease. We validate our model using Google Trends data for searches for the term 'fleas.' This Google Trends data serve as a proxy for true flea activity, as validating the model by collecting fleas over the entire USA is prohibitively costly and time-consuming. The average correlation (r) between the nowcast outdoor flea activity predictions and the Google Trends data was moderate: 0.65, 0.70, 0.66, 0.71 and 0.63 for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. However, there was substantial regional variation in performance, with the average correlation in the East South Atlantic states being 0.81 while the average correlation in the Mountain states was only 0.45. The nowcast predictions displayed strong seasonal and geographic patterns, with predicted activity generally being highest in the summer months. The nowcast model is a valuable tool by which to educate pet owners regarding the risk of fleas and flea-borne disease and the need to routinely administer flea preventatives. While it is ideal for domestic cats and dogs to on flea preventatives year-round, many pets remain vulnerable to flea infestation. Alerting pet owners to the local increased risk of flea activity during certain times of the year may motivate them to administer appropriate routine preventives.

Interactive transition of cultivated land and construction land during china's urbanization: A coordinated analytical framework of explicit and implicit forms

Despite the recognized significance of coordinated land use transitions (LUTs) between cultivated land (CL) and construction land (COL) in supporting food security and facilitating sustainable urban growth, the complexities of such transitions in the face of rapid urbanization remain largely untapped. Current literature inadequately illuminates the procedures and principles dictating these intricate transitions, leaving a substantial void in our comprehension. Addressing these research gaps, our study employs models like the linkage index and the coupled coordination degree. We leverage data regarding the CL and COL areas in China spanning from 2000 to 2020, aiming to shed light on the processes and general patterns guiding CL and COL transitions amid urbanization. We present a novel perspective that emphasizes the linkage of single and dual land types in their explicit forms and the coordination of their implicit forms. Through the analysis of empirical data from China, we observe a gradual reduction in CL size coupled with its quality improvement. This shift parallels the intensification of COL and a slowdown in COL size growth, progressing towards an optimal transition over the observation period, despite regional variations in performance. The relationship between the explicit forms of CL and COL is characterized largely by stable transition, while the coordination relationship between their implicit forms exhibits a moderate transition, influenced by differences in urbanization. Our study highlights key strategies for achieving a mutually beneficial transition from discordant to harmonious relationships between CL and COL. These include fine-tuning the spatial trade-offs of the explicit forms and decoupling the interests of the implicit forms. Our research not only adds depth and complexity to traditional LUT theory, but also offers critical insights to guide policy formulation, with the ultimate aim of bolstering food security and promoting sustainable urbanization through favorable LUTs.

An assessment of the performance of different districts towards Sustainable Development targets in India

Sustainable development goals encapsulates 17 broad-based goals and 169 associated targets to reconcile among the three pillars of sustainability i.e. social, economic and environmental. In the present study, we sought to understand the performance of 641 districts ofIndiaon social, economic and environmental parameters and on the composite sustainability index as a whole. Our results suggest that there is a large regional variations in performance with districts of southern and western states outperforming northern and eastern states on sustainability index. There is a strong congruence between social and economic indicators. However, environment is still missing from the policy planning. Our results may provide a benchmark and help in micro-level planning at district level and may help in raising public and policy support, realignment and reorientation of the existing policy from the perspective of SDGs.

Regional Variation in Performance for Commission on Cancer Breast Quality Measures and Impact on Overall Survival.

Adherence to quality measures has become an important indicator of cancer center performance for high-quality cancer care. We examined regional variation in performance for Commission on Cancer breast quality measures and its impact on overall survival (OS) for those measures that have been shown to impact OS. Six breast quality measures were analyzed using the National Cancer DataBase from 2014 to 2015, and a multivariable model was used to assess performance for each measure by region. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine OS between high- and low-performing centers from 2007 to 2012. Overall, 305,391 women had surgery at 1322 institutions in nine US regions; 90.8% underwent needle biopsy (range 86.0-92.6% between regions, p < 0.01), 69.8% had breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for stage 0-II cancer (60.9-79.3%, p < 0.01), 85.2% aged < 70years had radiation therapy (RT) after BCS (79.6-90.8%, p < 0.01), 78.3% of women with four or more positive nodes had post-mastectomy RT (70.9-84.5%, p < 0.01), 90.9% with hormone receptor (HR)-positive stage IB-III cancer had hormone therapy (83.7-95.1%, p < 0.01), and 89.4% aged < 70years with HR-negative stage IB-III cancer had chemotherapy (87.6-91.4%, p < 0.01). Multivariate analyses adjusted for patient and facility factors found that region was the only consistent predictor of non-compliance across measures. With median 65-month follow-up, there was no difference in OS between high- and low-performing centers for the three measures that have been shown to impact OS. There is significant regional variation in performance on the breast quality measures but this variation did not impact OS. Targeted efforts in certain areas of the country may help improve performance on these measures.

Evaluation of soil moisture in CMIP5 simulations over the contiguous United States using in situ and satellite observations

Abstract. This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of soil moisture simulations in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) extended historical experiment (2003 to 2012). Soil moisture from in situ and satellite sources is used to evaluate CMIP5 simulations in the contiguous United States (CONUS). Both near-surface (0–10 cm) and soil column (0–100 cm) simulations from more than 14 CMIP5 models are evaluated during the warm season (April–September). Multimodel ensemble means and the performance of individual models are assessed at a monthly timescale. Our results indicate that CMIP5 models can reproduce the seasonal variability in soil moisture over CONUS. However, the models tend to overestimate the amount of both near-surface and soil column soil moisture in the western US and underestimate it in the eastern US. There are large variations across models, especially for the near-surface soil moisture. There are significant regional variations in performance as well. Results of a regional analysis show that in the deeper soil layers, the CMIP5 soil moisture simulations tend to be most skillful in the southern US. Based on both the satellite-derived and in situ soil moisture, CESM1, CCSM4 and GFDL-ESM2M perform best in the 0–10 cm soil layer and CESM1, CCSM4, GFDL-ESM2M and HadGEM2-ES perform best in the 0–100 cm soil layer.

Regional Environmental Performance and Its Determinants in China

AbstractA growing awareness of environmental quality has placed increased pressure on China to improve environmental protection and regulations in the country. How have the regional economies in the country performed in terms of environmental efficiency? The answer to this question is yet to be explored in the case of China. The objective of this paper is to present a quantitative analysis of environmental performance in China's regional economies and to examine the determinants of regional variation in performance. The findings are used to draw policy implications for environmental protection and are helpful in the discussion of China's future sustainable development.

Results of Use of WHO Global Salm-Surv External Quality Assurance System for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Salmonella Isolates from 2000 to 2007

An international External Quality Assurance System (EQAS) for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Salmonella was initiated in 2000 by the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Salm-Surv in order to enhance the capacities of national reference laboratories to obtain reliable data for surveillance purposes worldwide. Seven EQAS iterations have been conducted from 2000 to 2007. In each iteration, participating laboratories submitted susceptibility results from 10 to 15 antimicrobial agents for eight Salmonella isolates and an Escherichia coli reference strain (ATCC 25922). A total of 287 laboratories in 102 countries participated in at least one EQAS iteration. A large number of laboratories reported results for the E. coli ATCC 25922 reference strain which were outside the quality control ranges. Critical deviations for susceptibility testing of the Salmonella isolates varied from 4% in 2000 to 3% in 2007. Consistent difficulties were observed in susceptibility testing of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, streptomycin, sulfonamides, and tetracycline. Regional variations in performance were observed, with laboratories in central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East not performing as well as those in other regions. Results from the WHO Global Salm-Surv EQAS show that most laboratories worldwide are capable of correctly performing antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Salmonella isolates, but they also indicate that further improvement for some laboratories is needed. In particular, further training and dissemination of information on quality control, appropriate interpretive criteria (breakpoints), and harmonization of the methodology worldwide through WHO Global Salm-Surv and other programs will contribute to the generation of comparable and reliable antimicrobial susceptibility data.

An Enhanced Hail Detection Algorithm for the WSR-88D

An enhanced hail detection algorithm (HDA) has been developed for the WSR-88D to replace the original hail algorithm. While the original hail algorithm simply indicated whether or not a detected storm cell was producing hail, the new HDA estimates the probability of hail (any size), probability of severe-size hail (diameter ≥19 mm), and maximum expected hail size for each detected storm cell. A new parameter, called the severe hail index (SHI), was developed as the primary predictor variable for severe-size hail. The SHI is a thermally weighted vertical integration of a storm cell’s reflectivity profile. Initial testing on 10 storm days showed that the new HDA performed considerably better at predicting severe hail than the original hail algorithm. Additional testing of the new HDA on 31 storm days showed substantial regional variations in performance, with best results across the southern plains and weaker performance for regions farther east.

Regional variation in performance of New Zealand × Spanish white clover (Trifolium repensL.) hybrids in New Zealand

Performances were analysed for F1 progenies derived from hybridisation of 12 Spanish white clover plants with 7 New Zealand plants. Progenies were grown at 4 locations in New Zealand and growth data analysed for different seasons. The F1 progenies successfully combined cool-season growth of the Spanish parents with the warm-season growth of the New Zealand parents. Gains in cool-season growth were, however, usually larger and more consistent at Palmerston North than at the other three locations. Differences among progeny groups from individual parent plants were significant for both the New Zealand and Spanish sources in all seasons at all locations. Progeny performances interacted strongly with season and location. However, results suggested that selection for cool-season growth at Palmerston North should produce material with improved cool-season growth at all locations. Relative gains at Lincoln and Gore would be small wherever selection was carried out. Interactions among individual Spanish and New Zealand parent plants were generally absent or weak. Although the Spanish component contributed greatly to winter growth at Palmerston North, the New Zealand population nevertheless made a large contribution to the genetic variance among F1 progenies. Therefore further selection for winter growth within the F1 propulation should take account of both parents.