Official Data Sources Research Articles

State Power and Political Elites in Dimension of Global Conflicts and Socio-Economic Development of Ukraine

Introduction: The global political conflicts impact the political elite and socioeconomic development of Ukraine. Many big economies face political conflict, particularly between Russia and Ukraine. The current study evaluates the impact of political conflicts on socio and economic factors in Ukraine using data from different official data sources, including World Development Indicators (WDI). Methods: The study uses the Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA). Results: The results indicate that economic growth has decreased since Ukraine and Russia started their conflict. A drastic change in unemployment level and current account also generated negative values. The Ukrainian currency has decreased by more than 20 per cent. The whole concept shows that the indicators are not going in a good direction, which means the quality of life is decreasing due to problems in socio-economic indicators. The human cost of conflict that hurt the economics of the world and Ukraine. The world’s GDP has reduced by 1%, or $1.5 trillion, and European commerce has decreased by 1%. Developing Europe is badly impacted as the GDP of the European nations that rely on Ukraine declines by 30%. The exports have decreased from 8 to 18 per cent, contributing to the current account deficit. Conclusions: On the other hand, the study concludes that global political conflicts impact leaders regarding international political disputes, which also affect socioeconomic and political elements, security, and politics. Certain sub-factors, such as heightened accountability and scrutiny, shifting alliances, and the power of international institutions, are impacted politically.

Identifying the Urban Development Pattern of Subway Cities Using Predictive Analysis

Starting from the hypothesis that there are structural differences in urban development between cities that have implemented underground transport and those that have not, the paper aims to provide a predictive analysis model to identify cities that show the pattern for the development of the subway network. In order to identify the predictive analysis model capable of classifying urban settlements, the predictive analysis part consisted of two stages. In the first stage, a Random Forest classification model will be estimated on a sample of the 27 capitals of the European Member States. Subsequently, based on this model, 9 cities in Romania will be classified from the perspective of the existence of the urban development pattern for the development of underground public transport. In order for the classification error of the predictive model to be as low as possible, variables from all areas specific to urban development (economic development, population density, circular economy, green city, digitalization, urban mobility) were used. The element of originality of the paper consists in calculating variables on the area of urban mobility, urban infrastructure and circular economy, using GIS coordinates. Thus, in addition to official international data sources, variables calculated by using geospatial technology (average distances, densities of green spaces, etc.) were included in this research. The main results of the research show that there are cities in Romania that present the same pattern of development similar to the capitals of the Member States of the European Union that have implemented underground public transport. Therefore, it can be said that for these cities it is necessary to implement this type of transport, the depreciation of the investment representing an easy process, which can be achieved in a medium or short term.

Spatial disparities in access to NHS dentistry: a neighbourhood-level analysis in England.

Over the past decade, access to National Health Service (NHS) dentistry in England has been problematic. There are increasing media reports of patients being unable to find treatment at a local NHS dentist. However, the extent of this issue varies by location and by the characteristics of the neighbourhood. The study uses official data sources on NHS dental provision and population. Travel accessibility is measured using car journey times. An advanced form of Floating Catchment Area accessibility is used, which accounts for supply competition, varying catchments, and distance decay. Spatial availability and accessibility indices are calculated. Ways in which the method can be used to explore various types of 'what-if' scenarios are outlined. Both availability and accessibility vary by the level of neighbourhood deprivation and the urban/rural nature of the neighbourhood. A case study, based on a real-world situation, shows the impact on the local neighbourhood of the closure of a dental practice. For all neighbourhoods, NHS dental provision is generally less than would be needed to provide basic dental care. The interpretation of outputs needs to take account of edge-effects near to Scotland and Wales. Possible improvements include the inclusion of other modes of travel and the exclusion of the population that does not want to access NHS care.

Integrating Blue-Green Infrastructure strategies to enhance climate resilience in Colombia.

Colombia is a tropical developing country that faces frequent and unpredictable flood events. Previous efforts to mitigate the impacts of flood have revolved around traditional approaches like the construction of levees. However, as seen in other parts of the world, levees often make flooding worse. Considering the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather associated with a changing climate, it is clear there is a pressing need for more effective strategies to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events. However, poor data availability makes understanding flood risk and developing new approaches a difficult task. This research examines the feasibility of Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) as a nature-based methodological approach to deal with flooding focuses, focusing on the Guarapas River and Pitalito town, in regional Colombia. Utilizing PCSWMM as a modelling tool, the study demonstrates the applicability of BGI in reducing peak flow. Validating the model proved difficult given the substantial gaps in official data sources. So, it was necessary to use proxies such as social media posts of flood events, to determine the date and severity of flood events in the town. The analysis revealed that deploying a limited number of BGI elements can mitigate the adverse effects of floods in a cost-effective manner, and that the underpinning modelling could be carried out using data proxies such as local news reports and social media posts. This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on BGI as a valuable solution for flood management in a changing climate but does so in a developing country context. By showcasing the feasibility of BGI in reducing peak flow and enhancing resilience in a region with limited data resources, this study shows that it is possible for developing countries to move away from traditional and sometimes increasingly ineffective solution. Barriers to adoption are still significant. But nature-based solutions to flooding represent a new, proactive measure in addressing the challenges posed by climate change, with implications for policymakers and stakeholders involved in sustainable planning. Keywords: Blue-Green Infrastructure, Climate change, Sustainable development, Developing countries, Water management.

Agricultural restructuring in a Devon Parish: A new chapter in an old story

The structure of the agricultural industry has undergone significant change over the last century, both in the UK and internationally, with post-war shifts towards larger and more owner-occupied farms being well recorded. The extent and detail of more recent agricultural restructuring in England deserves close attention because there are important shortcomings in the key source of official data (the Defra June survey), which obscure the realities of restructuring by inadequately representing unconventional tenure arrangements and overlooking very small farms. This has contributed to an under-recognition of what we consider to be a new phase of agricultural restructuring, beginning in the 1980s and continuing today, in which tenure arrangements have become increasingly complex and capital increasingly concentrated into the hands of fewer operators, many of which are not the family-run businesses that previously characterised the industry. Using a case study parish in Devon, England, we use a range of data sources in order to explore the details of restructuring between 1941 and 2016. Historical information from the National Farm Survey (1941–1943) was analysed alongside contemporary information from the Land Registry in order to spatially map and track changes in farm sizes and occupancy during this period, with the assistance of a Geographical Information System (ArcGIS). A key informant personally familiar with the farms (and their histories) supplemented this data, providing crucial information that was missing from official data sources. Our findings provide a detailed, hitherto unseen picture of agricultural restructuring at a local level, which demonstrates the importance of attending to the presence of complex tenure arrangements not always represented in official data.

Environmental Sustainability in South America

The purpose of this article is to determine the similarities in the context of environmental practices and sustainability of twelve South American countries and compares the environmental sustainability performance with six principal components. A multivariate analysis as a hierarchical method was carried out with 12 countries of South American with seventeen sustainable environmental indicators, secondary official data sources were consulted, namely the databases of ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), applying eigenvector and eigenvalues from the correlation matrix and Ward's method with squared Euclidean distances. The results suggest that the initial jumps in terms of distance are small. accordingly, the twelve countries analysed in study are grouped into five clusters. Deepening then in the perspective of characteristics of each cluster, CL1: Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, Argentina and Bolivia; CL2: Guyana, Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru; CL3: Brazil; CL4: Ecuador; CL5: Chile. The research highlights significant differences among these South American countries, clustering those presenting similar patterns of behaviour and identifying the best performers. We argue that biodiversity must be protected and encouraged, and awareness raised of the importance of environmental sustainability and support the impact of climate change. Argentina, Uruguay and Chile face severe scarcity water issues and temperatures have risen in every country, but especially in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela.

The impact of urbanization on environmental degradation in Jakarta

Background: The urbanization discussed in this paper refers to the process of expansion in the proportion of the population living in urban areas. Urbanization is seen as one of the processes of increasing population that drives the functional change of an area, from rural to urban activities. The case discussed in this paper is urbanization occurring in Jakarta city. This paper aims to examine the relationship between urbanization and the decline in environmental quality, especially in Jakarta city. Method: In assessing environmental quality, the reference used follows that set by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, namely the Environmental Quality Index (EQI) which consists of three elements, namely the Water Quality Index (WQI), Air Quality Index (AQI) and Land Cover Quality Index (LCQI), so the variables used are WQI, AQI and LCQI. The data collection method used in this paper is secondary data collection through literature review and official data sources from related stakeholders. The collected data is then analyzed descriptively to determine the relationship between urbanization and each of these variables. Results: Based on the literature review and the results of the LCQI data used, it appears that there is a negative correlation between population growth and land cover in Jakarta Province. This condition is marked by an increase in floods and also an increase in surface temperature. In terms of air quality, this paper found a negative correlation between urbanization and AQI. However, for the condition in 2013 - 2018, a positive correlation was found between the population and AQI. Conclusion: This indicates that an increase in population is not always followed by a decrease in environmental quality. Meanwhile, in relation to water quality, population growth from the urbanization process has a significant impact on water quality in Jakarta. Novelty/Originality of this study: The development of a sophisticated and comprehensive correlation analysis method between population growth and environmental quality indicators (IKLH, IKA, IKU), which integrates spatial and temporal data, provides a predictive tool that city governments can use to monitor, manage, and plan mitigation strategies for the impacts of urbanization on the environment more effectively and proactively, and supports data-based decision-making in sustainable urban planning.

A Comparative Analysis of Data Source’s Impact on Renewable Energy Scenario Assessment—The Example of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaics in Germany

The German government aims to convert its energy system to renewable energy by 2045. This requires a comprehensive understanding of land eligibility for renewables, particularly land-intensive ground-mounted photovoltaics (GM-PV). Federal states must set aside at least 2% of their land for renewable energy. This target value was derived using a top-down energy demand approach. Georeferenced land use data can be used to make bottom-up estimates. This study investigates how the choice of data source influences the bottom-up evaluation of land eligibility for GM-PV installations in Germany. This study evaluates the quality of data sources and their applicability for GM-PV scenario assessment by comparing the official data source Basis-DLM as the reference with the open-access data sources OpenStreetMap (OSM), Corine Land Cover (CLC), and Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS). The intersection over union (IoU) and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) methods were used to analyse the differences in land use and eligibility due to the quality of the data sources and to compare their accuracy. The study’s results show the crucial role of data source selection in estimating the potential for GM-PV in Germany. The results indicate that open-access data overestimate land eligibility by 4.0% to 4.5% compared to the official Basis-DLM data. Spatial similarities and discrepancies between the OSM, CEMS CLC, and Basis-DLM land uses were identified. The CLC data exhibit higher consistency with Basis-DLM. These findings emphasise the importance of selecting the appropriate data source depending on the purpose and the use of official data sources for accurate and spatially differentiated decision-making and project planning at different scales. Open-access data sources can be applied for initial orientation and large-scale rough assessment as they balance data accuracy and accessibility.

Subnational assessment of legal and illegal deforestation in the Colombian Amazon: consequences for zero deforestation commitments

Deforestation has been at the heart of the transformation of the Amazon. Global concerns over deforestation and its impact on climate change have resulted in the adoption of a number of initiatives in the framework of zero deforestation. However, undifferentiated application of the concepts of zero net, gross, and illegal deforestation has revealed a lack of understanding of their scope and of challenges to their implementation. Zero legal and illegal deforestation is, in particular, a controversial subject from the point of view of regulation and sovereignty but an essential aspect from the perspective of public policy design. In Colombia, zero deforestation commitments make no mention of legal deforestation. Papers that analyze deforestation and official data sources fail to incorporate the legal dimension in their analysis. This article addresses this gap by identifying areas where deforestation is legal and where it is illegal in one deforestation hotspot of the Colombian Amazon, the administrative department of Guaviare. Our results show that deforestation has increased since 2013, mainly occurs in illegal zones, and that Guaviare department, 85% of which is covered by forest, has very little legal deforestation potential. Our findings reveal that assessing the legality and illegality of deforestation is more complex than often assumed and must become a priority, especially in forested countries where regulation on forest and land management is shared between different level of governments and institutions.

Examining trends in epidemic typhus using historical texts.

Although associated with conflict, epidemic typhus was endemic across Europe into the modem period. The extent of the problem it caused is uncertain as record keeping in the most affected socioeconomic groups was rare. Google Ngram Viewer details the frequency of word usage in written language over time. The objective was to examine whether use of the word typhus reflected potential patterns in epidemic typhus. The frequency of the word 'typhus' was used in British English was studied between 1800 and 2019 and trends were examined. Clear differences in word usage were apparent; use increased throughout the 19 th century corresponding to increasing industrialization. Peaks coinciding with World Wars 1 and 2 were apparent. Strong correlations with the words "conflict", "warfare" and "industry" were seen. Mean shifts corresponded to public health legislation in the UK and the introduction of antibiotics. This study illustrates how examination of word usage can illuminate aspects of disease occurrence where official data sources are lacking.

Организация труда среднего медицинского персонала как фактор повышения эффективности деятельности медицинских организаций.

The shortage of mid-level medical personnel is one of the most urgent problems of healthcare system in the Russian Federation and affects negatively the efficiency of hospitals. This deficit is partially caused by a high burden on mid-level medical staff and their necessity to provide a number of non-specific non-medical activities. This leads to the medical services quality reduction, negatively affects the motivation of employees and decreases employment in this area. Purpose of this study is to identify the key problems of the organization of labor of mid-level medical staff and the formation of a new concept of labor organization taking international experience into account. Materials and methods. The research is based on the analysis of existing academic literature, sources of official statistical data, regulatory documents, theoretical and practical aspects of labor management and organization in the field of healthcare, the study of relevant international experience in order to identify innovative approaches and methods of labor organization. Results. According to the research the main problems of organizing the work of mid-level medical personnel include shortage of this personnel, its high workload, problems of regulation etc. The reasons for the shortage of mid-level medical specialists are identified: low wages, dissatisfaction with working conditions, low prestige of the medical profession. A system for delegating non-medical duties of mid-level medical personnel to non-medical assistants is introduced as the most effective way to solve these problems based on examples from international experience. According to this approach the tasks of assistants should include non-medical care of patients, work with documents, communications, cleaning, preparing rooms, and so on. International experience shows that assisting staff increases the efficiency of medical organizations and reduces the burden on mid-level medical staff. Findings. The need has been identified for further elaboration of the concept of labor organization in the healthcare system of the Russian Federation based on the principle of delegating non-medical duties of mid-level medical staff to non-medical assisting staff.

A market intelligence model for the health care business system

Health in Brazil is an old problem that has worsened with the Covid-19 pandemic and resources have become scarce. Studying market behavior and growth trends has become fundamental. This research aims to build a Market Intelligence Model, based on information obtained from official secondary data sources, using the Fuzzy logic methodology. The concepts of Data Analytics and Decision Making applied in the Health Area are addressed. The model was developed in RSdudio software, stored in SQL Database, and presented in Power BI and QGis. The model was validated in private health units in the southeast and northeast regions of Brazil for the treatment of chronic diseases, mainly in the areas of nephrology and oncology. The results were obtained, and it can be concluded that the proposed model has become very effective in estimating the growth of chronic diseases.

An assessment of federal alcohol policies in Canada and priority recommendations: Results from the 3rd Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation Project

ObjectiveTo systematically assess the Canadian federal government’s current alcohol policies in relation to public health best practices.MethodsThe 2022 Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation (CAPE) Project assessed federal alcohol policies across 10 domains. Policy domains were weighted according to evidence for their relative impact, including effectiveness and scope. A detailed scoring rubric of best practices was developed and externally reviewed by international experts. Policy data were collected between June and December 2022, using official legislation, government websites, and data sources identified from previous iterations of CAPE as sources. Contacts within relevant government departments provided any additional data sources, reviewed the accuracy and completeness of the data, and provided amendments as needed. Data were scored independently by members of the research team. Final policy scores were tabulated and presented as a weighted overall average score and as unweighted domain-specific scores.ResultsCompared to public health best practices, the federal government of Canada scored 37% overall. The three most impactful domains—(1) pricing and taxation, (2) marketing and advertising controls, and (3) impaired driving countermeasures—received some of the lowest scores (39%, 10%, and 40%, respectively). Domain-specific scores varied considerably from 0% for minimum legal age policies to 100% for controls on physical availability of alcohol.ConclusionMany evidence-informed alcohol policies have not been adopted, or been adopted only partially, by the Canadian federal government. Urgent adoption of the recommended policies is needed to prevent and reduce the enormous health, social, and economic costs of alcohol use in Canada.

Analysis of the Relationship Between Tourists Experience, Knowledge, Digital Strategic Decisions of Tourism Site Managers and Tourism Business Sustainability

The aim of this research is to propose a tourism observatory design to support strategic decision-making in tourist destinations. The proposed methodology uses input-output analysis. We propose the destination survey as a model for randomly selecting visitors at tourist attractions. The research results reveal that the observatory concept serves as a viable tool for tourism policy, addressing the information gaps at the destination level, where national statistical operations fall short. Observatories act as management tools that generate and concentrate scientific and statistical information, becoming the main source of official tourist data about a destination. However, in almost provinces, existing information does not fully meet the needs of users. Therefore, this research suggests a tourism observatory model to enhance the availability of systematic and timely information for decision-making at the provincial level. We hope that provinces and territorial units on a sub-national scale, lacking a complete tourism information system, will find the proposed model useful. We expect them to implement tourism observatory projects as a means to address specific needs, resolve local issues by uniting various tourism system participants, and address deficiencies in their current tourism statistics system. In this regard, provincial tourism observatories are expected to play a decisive role in the development of indicators and the calculation of trends, and the results obtained will provide feedback on the actions taken in relation to tourism policy.

Jurnal Pencegahan dan Penanganan Kekerasan Seksual menggunakan Natural Languange Process dan Data Science

Violence against women is something that is often heard and discussed in society. Women are often victims of discrimination, harassment and violence. Sexual harassment and violence in Indonesia is certainly not only experienced by adult women, but can also be experienced by children and adult men. Although in many cases it is more experienced by women. Of all respondents who were victims of sexual violence, almost all preferred or decided not to report the sexual violence and harassment they experienced. The cause is a psychological problem because of what happened to him, which makes him confused, embarrassed, afraid and even feels self-blame for what he experienced. This is the basis for the author to build a Chatbot and Recommendation System as a form of care and also a solution for victims of sexual violence by presenting a website "preventing and handling sexual violence". Chatbots serve as a forum for information related to sexual violence such as definitions, boundaries of sexual violence categories, complaint reporting services, and as a legal umbrella that can be used to protect themselves and criminals who commit sexual violence. The data source was obtained from the Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence. By having easily accessible legal information and official data sources, the author hopes that this can help victims to have the courage to take steps to report the acts of violence they have experienced. The recommender system provides recommendation results in the form of information on legal services and psychological consultations. Not a few victims of sexual violence certainly experience psychological problems such as feelings of confusion, shame towards other people, fear of the perpetrator, not to mention feelings of guilt that seem to blame themselves for what they have experienced. Information on psychological services is available for victims who need psychological recovery.

МЕТОДЫ ОЦЕНКИ ОЗДОРАВЛИВАЮЩИХ ФАКТОРОВ САНАТОРНО-КУРОРТНОЙ СФЕРЫ

Background. Preventive measures aimed at preserving the health of the country's population should be based on health-resort rehabilitation and treatment using the healing factors of health resorts. In this regard, the study, from the point of view of a systematic approach, considers the data availability assessment of the health-improving factors that affect the activities of the health resort sector in the regions of the country with prioritization of the activities of health resort The purpose of the study is to establish the data availability assessment of health-improving factors that affect the activities of health resort organizations. Material and methods. A retrospective analysis of the sources of official statistical data, the state cadastre systems of natural resources, the results of scientific research in the health resort sector and health resort organizations. The level of data availability assessment of the health-improving factors of health resorts is determined by the method of expert assessment. Results. It is proposed to take into account the system of healing factors affecting the health resort sphere in the following components: natural therapeutic potential (biomedical – meteorological characteristics, severity index, etc.) and natural resource – landscape conditions, mineral waters, therapeutic mud). Medical diagnostic and human resources potential is the medical and diagnostic base of health resorts, staff qualifications. Social and cultural potential is the quality of services provided for health resort treatment and rehabilitation, inextricably linked with social and cultural events, as well as the basis to carry out these events, and qualified staff of health resorts. The interrelation of the components is manifested in both internal and external relations of health resort organizations, awareness and degree of satisfaction with the services of health resort treatment of the population. Conclusion. The methods of assessing the healing factors are grouped, the methodology of an integrated approach – monitoring of health resort organizations and the possibility of establishing permanent contacts between healthcare institutions and health resorts of the country is proposed.

AMBER Alert: An Ironic Antidote to “Missing White Girl Syndrome”?

“Missing White Girl Syndrome” (MWGS) has been coined in critique of news media coverage favoritism of victims fitting that description. The AMBER Alert child recovery system was in fact inspired by the abduction and murder of a missing white girl, and some have argued its issuance decisions reflect MWGS. We examine this question using secondary data, including the annual AMBER Alert reports provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART), and the National Crime Information Center (NCIS). We compared the demographics of victims from official AMBER Alert data (NCMEC) with cross-comparable demographics from the two official missing persons data sources to test for potential main-effect bias favoring whites or girls. A fourth dataset derived from media accounts of AMBER Alerts is used to test for any potential interaction effect of issuance preference for white girls. Overwhelmingly the findings suggest AMBER Alert issuance decisions do not reflect MWGS. Thus, we argue the system has the potential to function as an ironic “antidote” to MWGS by virtue of the identities of the children for whom it is routinely deployed. However, we qualify by acknowledging limitations with available data, and that the “black box” of AMBER Alert issuance decisions remains unstudied, leaving open the question of race and/or gender bias occurring at that point. Policy discourse and future research implications are discussed.

Monitoring COVID-19 in Belgian general practice: A tool for syndromic surveillance based on electronic health records

Background COVID-19 may initially manifest as flu-like symptoms. As such, general practitioners (GPs) will likely to play an important role in monitoring the pandemic through syndromic surveillance. Objectives To present a COVID-19 syndromic surveillance tool in Belgian general practices. Methods We performed a nationwide observational prospective study in Belgian general practices. The surveillance tool extracted the daily entries of diagnostic codes for COVID-19 and associated conditions (suspected or confirmed COVID-19, acute respiratory infection and influenza-like illness) from electronic medical records. We calculated the 7-day rolling average for these diagnoses and compared them with data from two other Belgian population-based sources (laboratory-confirmed new COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions for COVID-19), using time series analysis. We also collected data from users and stakeholders about the syndromic surveillance tool and performed a thematic analysis. Results 4773 out of 11,935 practising GPs in Belgium participated in the study. The curve of contacts for suspected COVID-19 followed a similar trend compared with the curves of the official data sources: laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions but with a 10-day delay for the latter. Data were quickly available and useful for decision making, but some technical and methodological components can be improved, such as a greater standardisation between EMR software developers. Conclusion The syndromic surveillance tool for COVID-19 in primary care provides rapidly available data useful in all phases of the COVID-19 pandemic to support data-driven decision-making. Potential enhancements were identified for a prospective surveillance tool.

Municipality-level characteristics associated with very good quality water fluoridation in Brazil in 2018.

The aim of this study was to analyze factors associated with the quality of fluoridation in water supply systems in Brazil in 2018. An ecological study was conducted using official data sources on fluoridation provision and fluoride concentration surveillance in 2018. Inclusion criteria were municipalities with a water supply system and accurate data. Municipalities meeting the quality standard, defined as having 80% or more of water samples within the optimal level for caries prevention were classified as "very good" fluoridation quality. Independent variables encompassed structural aspects, socioeconomic factors, and indicators of managerial and technical capabilities in water surveillance. Prevalence ratios were estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance. A total of 58.9% of municipalities with water supply systems had fluoride-adjusted water, with 65.3% adequately contributing to the surveillance data system. Among these, 42.2% exhibited "very good" fluoridation quality. Quality was higher in larger municipalities with elevated socioeconomic indexes and per capita expenditure on sanitary surveillance above the median. Additionally, municipalities with a conformity rate of free residual chlorine concentration of 75% or higher had better fluoridation quality. After adjusting for all variables, fluoridation quality was lower in municipalities with above-median per capita gross domestic product, higher socioeconomic inequality, and below-median monthly household per capita income. Fluoridation quality was linked to municipality-level characteristics concerning structural aspects, socioeconomic factors, and managerial and technical factors in water surveillance. The information generated regarding the coverage features of surveillance and fluoridation strategies can be highly valuable for redirecting inter-sectoral public policy management.

The state of natural resources of the West Kazakhstan region (1990s – early 2000s)

The purpose of the study was to analyze the state of natural resources in the West Kazakhstan region during the 1990s to the early 2000s. The ecological condition of the region’s natural resources remains one of its most pressing issues, necessitating regular monitoring. Analysis of official data sources revealed that the socio-economic development of the region coincided with the establishment and operation of large industrial and construction enterprises, leading to adverse effects on the region’s natural environment. Monitoring of arable land in areas with dark chestnut soils indicated a continued loss of humus during this period. Presence of nitrates and high permanganate oxidizability suggested the presence of organic compounds linked to the decomposition of heptyl rocket fuel. Disease patterns indicated that populations in the southern areas of the region experienced high chemical burdens alongside radiation exposure. Furthermore, the article addresses concerns regarding the state of forest resources and wildlife, with authors highlighting a significant risk of natural resource contamination by industrial waste from heavy industries in the region.