Search

Abstract Assessing the social and economic vulnerability of populations within a given area is essential for conducting environmental equity evaluations and devising effective public policies to mitigate disparities. However, prevailing indicators used to measure socio-economic vulnerability exhibit several shortcomings. Primarily relying on factor analysis, these indicators face challenges in terms of comparability over time, lack of standardized scales, and inherent limitations associated with composite indicators. To address these shortcomings, we propose a novel approach that estimates the number of potentially vulnerable individuals by constructing a synthetic population. Our methodology, developed using open tools and datasets, offers a scalable solution applicable to the entire Canadian context. The resulting percentage of potentially vulnerable populations demonstrates strong correlations with traditional vulnerability indicators commonly used in Canada, while overcoming their inherent limitations. The generated dataset holds significant potential and serves as a valuable resource for both researchers and governmental organizations. It provides a robust foundation for conducting equity analyses, assessments, and policy evaluations, thereby facilitating evidence-based decision-making processes aimed at promoting social and economic inclusivity.

Objetivos: Este estudo tem como objetivos determinar a prevalência de aloimunização e avaliar a frequência e a diversidade dos aloanticorpos antieritrocitários presentes em pacientes oncológicos predominantemente de órgãos sólidos atendidos no Hospital Municipal Vila Santa Catarina (HMVSC). Materiais e métodos: Este trabalho consiste em um estudo de análise retrospectiva que abrangeu todos os pacientes com Identificação de Anticorpo Irregular (IAI) positiva, excluindo anticorpos sem especificidade e autoanticorpos, atendidos pelo banco de sangue do HMVSC entre janeiro de 2023 e janeiro de 2024. Os pacientes foram classificados como politransfundidos se apresentassem um total de 6 ou mais transfusões em um período de 3 meses, de acordo com o protocolo do Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (HIAE). Resultados: Foram verificados um total de 5.828 pacientes atendidos em nosso serviço de hemoterapia. Destes, 70 apresentaram algum anticorpo irregular, correspondendo a uma taxa 1,20% (70/5.828) de pacientes aloimunizados. Do total de pacientes aloimunizados, 14,30% (10/70) são politransfundidos e 22,85% (16/70) apresentaram múltiplas associações de anticorpos sendo a combinação de dois anticorpos a mais comum com 75% (12/16). Dentre os 70 pacientes aloimunizados encontramos 94 anticorpos irregulares com as seguintes frequências e especificidades; 26,60% (25/94) anti-E, 12,77% (12/94) anti-D, 11,70% (11/94) anti-K, 8,51% (8/94) anti-C, 7,45% (7/94) anti-Lea, 5,32% (5/94) anti-Dia, 5,32% (5/94) anti-c, 5,32%(5/94) anti-M, 2,13%(2/94) anti-G, 2,13% (2/94) anti-S, 2,13%(2/94) anti-Jkb, 2,13%(2/94) anti-Leb, 2,13%(2/94) anti-P1, 1,06%(1/94) anti-Jka, 1,06%(1/94) anti-Lua, 1,06%(1/94) anti-s, 1,06%(1/94) anti-I, 1,06%(1/94) anti-V e 1,06%(1/94) anti-Fya. Discussão: Na literatura, encontramos uma variedade de estudos sobre as taxas de aloimunização, que geralmente variam de 1% a 3% na população geral e de 1% a 10% em pacientes com câncer sólido não hematopoiético. O nosso estudo apresentou uma taxa próxima do limite inferior descrito pela literatura, o que acreditamos ser resultado de práticas adotadas em nosso serviço de hemoterapia, tais como: compatibilidade na fenotipagem Rh e Kell para pacientes com histórico de anticorpos irregulares e a leucorredução em todas as unidades de concentrado de hemácias e concentrado de plaquetas. Além das práticas adotadas, existem fatores intrínsecos ao paciente que podem influenciar a aloimunização, como: idade, etnia, estado imunológico (supressão ou inflamação) e resposta imunológica a antígenos não próprios. Atualmente, sabe-se que os pacientes podem ser classificados como “respondedores”ou “não respondedores”, e diversos estudos estão em andamento para identificar uma “assinatura”nos pacientes respondedores. Uma vez descoberta essa “assinatura”, será possível adotar estratégias mais eficazes na prevenção da formação de anticorpos irregulares. A maior frequência e incidência dos anticorpos irregulares, como anti-E, anti-D e anti-K, confirmam que os sistemas Rh e Kell continuam a ser os mais imunogênicos, depois do sistema ABO, na prática transfusional. Conclusão: Com este estudo conseguimos analisar o comportamento da taxa de aloimunização eritrocitária e a prevalência dos anticorpos irregulares dos pacientes atendidos no HMVSC, os resultados evidenciam que estamos adotando os procedimentos adequados para garantir uma terapia transfusional segura e eficaz.

Introduction Healthcare gentrification is the process in which the distribution of healthcare resources within a neighbourhood affects residents' access to healthcare services. To understand the complexity of healthcare access and to consider the socio-structural dimensions affecting equity in access to care, we aim to explore how healthcare gentrification has been described in the scientific literature and to document the reported relations between gentrification and healthcare access.Methods and analysis We will conduct a scoping review from data published from inception to September 2024 based on the methodology developed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and improved by Levac et al (2010). We will search the following databases: MEDLINE (OVID), Embase (embase.com), CINAHL Plus with Full Text (EBSCO), Web of Science and Geobase (Engineering Village). The review will be conducted from February 2024 to September 2024. The search strategy will be elaborated in conjunction with a professional librarian. Screening of titles and abstracts and full-text screening will be done in duplicates. A third reviewer will arbitrate discrepancies during the screening process. We will present our results narratively.Ethics and dissemination This scoping review does not require ethical approval since it will be collected from publicly available documents. The results of this scoping review will also be presented as a scientific article, scientific conferences, research webinars also in social media, workshops and conferences organised by healthcare organisations or academic institutions or on any appropriate platform.

Abstract Background Reducing spatial access disparities to healthcare services is a growing priority for healthcare planners especially among developed countries with aging populations. There is thus a pressing need to determine which populations do not enjoy access to healthcare, yet efforts to quantify such disparities in spatial accessibility have been hampered by a lack of satisfactory measurements and methods. This study compares an optimised and the conventional version of the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method to assess spatial accessibility to medical clinics in Montreal. Methods We first computed catchments around existing medical clinics of Montreal Island based on the shortest network distance. Population nested in dissemination areas were used to determine potential users of a given medical clinic. To optimize the method, medical clinics (supply) were weighted by the number of physicians working in each clinic, while the previous year's medical clinic users were computed by ten years age group was used as weighting coefficient for potential users of each medical clinic (demand). Results The spatial accessibility score (SA) increased considerably with the optimisation method. Within a distance of 1 Km, for instance, the maximum clinic accessible for 1,000 persons is 2.4 when the conventional method is used, compared with 27.7 for the optimized method. The t-test indicates a significant difference between the conventional and the optimized 2SFCA methods. Also, results of the differences between the two methods reveal a clustering of residuals when distance increases. In other words, a low threshold would be associated with a lack of precision. Conclusion Results of this study suggest that a greater effort must be made ameliorate spatial accessibility to medical clinics in Montreal. To ensure that health resources are allocated in the interest of the population, health planners and the government should consider a strategy in the sitting of future clinics which would provide spatial access to the greatest number of people.

Abstract Background In health and place research, definitions of areas, area characteristics, and health outcomes should ideally be coherent with one another. Yet current approaches for delimiting areas mostly rely on spatial units "of convenience" such as census tracts. These areas may be homogeneous along socioeconomic conditions but heterogeneous along other environmental characteristics. This heterogeneity can lead to biased measurement of environment characteristics and misestimation of area effects on health. The objective of this study was to assess the soundness of census tracts as units of analysis for measuring the active living potential of environments, hypothesised to be associated with walking. Results Starting with data at the smallest census area level available, zones homogeneous along three indicators of active living potential, i.e. population density, land use mix, and accessibility to services were designed. Delimitation of zones ensued from statistical clustering of the smallest areas into seven clusters or "types of environment". Mapping of clusters into a GIS led to the delineation of 898 zones characterised by one of seven types of environment, corresponding to different levels of active living potential. Homogeneity of census tracts along indicators of active living potential varied. A greater proportion (83%) of variation in accessibility to services was attributable to differences between census tracts suggesting within-tract homogeneity along this variable. However, census tracts were heterogeneous with respect to population density and land use mix where a greater proportion of the variation was attributable to within-tract differences. About 55% of tracts were characterised by a combination of three or more "types of environment" suggesting substantial within-tract heterogeneity in the active living potential of environments. Conclusion Soundness of census tracts for measuring active living potential may be limited. Measuring active living potential with error may lead to misestimation of associations with walking, therefore limiting the correctness of inference about area effects on walking. Future studies should aim to determine homogeneity of spatial units "of convenience" along environment characteristics of interest prior to examining their association with health. Further evidence is needed to assess the extent of this methodological issue with other indicators of environment context relevant to other health indicators.

Abstract Background Over the past two decades, geographical accessibility of urban resources for population living in residential areas has received an increased focus in urban health studies. Operationalising and computing geographical accessibility measures depend on a set of four parameters, namely definition of residential areas, a method of aggregation, a measure of accessibility, and a type of distance. Yet, the choice of these parameters may potentially generate different results leading to significant measurement errors. The aim of this paper is to compare discrepancies in results for geographical accessibility of selected health care services for residential areas (i.e. census tracts) computed using different distance types and aggregation methods. Results First, the comparison of distance types demonstrates that Cartesian distances (Euclidean and Manhattan distances) are strongly correlated with more accurate network distances (shortest network and shortest network time distances) across the metropolitan area (Pearson correlation greater than 0.95). However, important local variations in correlation between Cartesian and network distances were observed notably in suburban areas where Cartesian distances were less precise. Second, the choice of the aggregation method is also important: in comparison to the most accurate aggregation method (population-weighted mean of the accessibility measure for census blocks within census tracts), accessibility measures computed from census tract centroids, though not inaccurate, yield important measurement errors for 5% to 10% of census tracts. Conclusion Although errors associated to the choice of distance types and aggregation method are only important for about 10% of census tracts located mainly in suburban areas, we should not avoid using the best estimation method possible for evaluating geographical accessibility. This is especially so if these measures are to be included as a dimension of the built environment in studies investigating residential area effects on health. If these measures are not sufficiently precise, this could lead to errors or lack of precision in the estimation of residential area effects on health.

Abstract Background Access to varied, healthy and inexpensive foods is an important public health concern that has been widely documented. Consequently, there is an increasing interest in identifying food deserts, that is, socially deprived areas within cities that have poor access to food retailers. In this paper we propose a methodology based on three measures of accessibility to supermarkets calculated using geographic information systems (GIS), and on exploratory multivariate statistical analysis (hierarchical cluster analysis), which we use to identify food deserts in Montréal. Results First, the use of three measures of accessibility to supermarkets is very helpful in identifying food deserts according to several dimensions: proximity (distance to the nearest supermarket), diversity (number of supermarkets within a distance of less than 1000 metres) and variety in terms of food and prices (average distance to the three closest different chain-name supermarkets). Next, the cluster analysis applied to the three measures of accessibility to supermarkets and to a social deprivation index demonstrates that there are very few problematic food deserts in Montréal. In fact, census tracts classified as socially deprived and with low accessibility to supermarkets are, on average, 816 metres away from the nearest supermarket and within 1.34 kilometres of three different chain-name supermarkets. Conclusion We conclude that food deserts do not represent a major problem in Montréal. Since geographic accessibility to healthy food is not a major issue in Montréal, prevention efforts should be directed toward the understanding of other mechanisms leading to an unhealthy diet, rather than attempting to promote an even spatial distribution of supermarkets.

Sinopse O autor apresenta neste trabalho a descrição de Aspidosperma williamsii A. P. Duarte, uma nova espécie de Apocynaceae da Flora Amazônica.

Many studies have proven that urban greenness is an important factor when cyclists choose a route. Thus, detecting trees along a cycling route is a major key to assessing the quality of cycling routes and providing further arguments to improve ridership and the better design of cycling routes. The rise in the use of video recordings in data collection provides access to a new point of view of a city, with data recorded at eye level. This method may be superior to the commonly used normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from satellite imagery because satellite images are costly to obtain and cloud cover sometimes obscures the view. This study has two objectives: (1) to assess the number of trees along a cycling route using software object detection on videos, particularly the Detectron2 library, and (2) to compare the detected canopy on the videos to other canopy data to determine if they are comparable. Using bicycles installed with cameras and GPS, four participants cycled on 141 predefined routes in Montréal over 87 h for a total of 1199 km. More than 300,000 images were extracted and analyzed using Detectron2. The results show that the detection of trees using the software is accurate. Moreover, the comparison reveals a strong correlation (>0.75) between the two datasets. This means that the canopy data could be replaced by video-detected trees, which is particularly relevant in cities where open GIS data on street vegetation are not available.

Unsupervised classification methods are common in geography, but the most widely used such as the Hierarchical Clustering Algorithm (HCA) and the k-means are not designed to work with spatial data. New developments in spatial statistics have brought new algorithms that take space into account. For example, the ClustGeo method is the spatial extension of the classical HCA. At the same time, little attention was given to spatial fuzzy classification method in geography. The paper aims to present the SFCM method, which is a spatial extension of the fuzzy c-means. To do so, we applied this method to socio-environmental data of the agglomeration of Lyon in France. We thus compared the results to its non-spatial counterpart (FCM), to the HAC and the ClustGeo method. The results showed that the SFCM combined both advantages of the fuzzy and spatial approach, making the interpretation of the results easier.

The individual and collective benefits of bicycling in urban environments are well known nowadays. On the individual level, cycling helps to improve people’s physical and mental health, and, collectively, it reduces healthcare costs, traffic congestion, as well as air and noise pollution.Several studies have recently compared the levels of exposure to air pollutants and noise according to the mode of transportation used (car, bicycle, or public transit) in a number of cities around the world. As far as we know, the results of these studies have never been disseminated in the form of a web-mapping application. This would however be a good way to encourage the transfer of knowledge to urban planners and the general public.The aim of this article is therefore to suggest a methodology based on free software and libraries for deploying an interactive web atlas comparing individual exposure to air and noise pollutants in Montreal according to the mode of transportation used. To this end, the structuring of the primary data, the architecture, and the functionalities of the atlas are all extensively discussed.

The question of the "insertion" in space of public housing into the surrounding urban environment is not new. It has often been examined from the perspective of the social environment, but more rarely from that of the physical environment and the accessibility of public and private services and facilities. To qualify the immediate urban environment around Montreal's public housing buildings in its complexity, we are proposing a methodological approach based on the use of several spatial databases in GIS: (1) the Montreal public housing database, (2) individual census data for the Montreal CMA, (3) a satellite image, (4) a land use map, and (5) location data on a series of public and private services and facilities. Use of these spatial data enables us to identify various combinations of advantages and disadvantages within the urban living environment in which Montreal's public housing buildings have been located, according to three dimensions: the social environment, the physical environment, and the accessibility of services and facilities. Our final results show that only a small proportion of public housing tenants (7%) live in residual spaces, that is, in quite unattractive areas of the city which combine a number of urban disadvantages: a degraded physical environment, a high level of social deprivation, and few or no services and facilities.

In recent years several studies have examined changes in the distribution of poverty in the North American cities, with most empirical work assessing neighborhood change between two time points. This paper aims to make a methodological contribution to the study of neighborhood change, by comparing two classification methods, one classical (k-means clustering) the other more novel (Latent Class Growth Modelling; LCGM) to identify groups of census tracts having followed similar trajectories of poverty in the Montreal metropolitan area, Canada. Here trajectories of poverty are measured over a twenty-year period, using five time points. The relative performance of the LCGM vs. the k-means clustering was assessed using a series of multinomial logistic regressions examining how different socioeconomic variables were associated with the trajectories of poverty. Results showed that k-means and LCGM identified similar groups of census tracts characterized by ascending, descending, or stable poverty levels throughout the period, with LGCM only marginally outperforming k-means clustering.

Recent studies have shown for countries other than Canada that the intra-metropolitan distribution of seniors is changing significantly. In this paper, we analyze the evolution of the residential segregation of the elderly population in eight Canadian metropolitan areas from 1981 to 2006. Our analysis was guided by the following research questions. What is the level of segregation of the elderly population, and how has this segregation changed over time? Within these eight metropolises, where are the concentrations of seniors located, and how did these concentrations change between 1981 and 2006? Finally, in 2006, are the patterns of segregation similar across the eight metropolitan areas? In order to answer these questions, various residential segregation indices (evenness, exposure, concentration, clustering, and centralization) are calculated at the census tract level using data from six Canadian censuses for the period 1981-2006. The changes in the values of the location quotients are also mapped to portray the evolution of the spatial distribution of seniors in the three largest metropolises. The changes in the values of the different indices show a decrease in segregation levels in the eight metropolises studied over this period. Moreover, analysis of the changes in the location quotients indicates a relative dispersion of seniors towards the inner suburbs over time. In 2006, we also observe different segregation profiles among the eight metropolises. Finally, several hypotheses are formulated concerning the factors contributing to the changes observed in the spatial distribution of elders.

Segregation indices are today well known and increasingly used in urban studies. However, in the absence of specialized computer tools, calculating segregation indices soon becomes a long and complicated process. The odd free applications designed to calculate indices are implemented in geographic information systems (ArcInfo, ArcView and MapInfo). Users wishing to calculate indices by way of these applications must have the GIS software that contains the application and also a sufficient understanding of how to use geographic information systems—two conditions that can limit the use and correspondingly, broad access to residential segregation indices. To remedy this situation, we propose an independent and free application developed in C#.Net called Segregation Analyzer that allows some forty segregation indices (unigroup, intergroup, and multigroup) to be calculated quickly and easily, regardless of the data or city being studied. This application can be downloaded free of charge from the Spatial Analysis and Regional Economics Laboratory —SAREL— Web site (http://laser.ucs.inrs.ca/EN/Download.html).

Recent developments in interactive and dynamic cartography and development of Internet technologies have largely contributed to increase the number of interactive atlases on the Internet. With client/server technologies and vector formats for the Internet, it’s now possible to rapidly deploy interactive web-atlases. In this methodological article, we expose a simple and effective approach based on C#, ASP.Net and SVG to product interactive atlases on Internet. This approach is very useful for two reasons: the cartographic production is very simple and fast, and the development of interactive and dynamic mapping functions is facilitated and almost unlimited.

Residential segregation indexes seem to be unrecognized or rarely used in France. The author suggests a definition of residential segregation indices based on a five specific dimensions classification (evenness, exposure, concentration, clustering, centralization) and a presentation of a Mapbasic application. This application has been integrated in the MapInfo software and it allows the automatic calculation of about twenty residential segregation indices.

Tree planting has been favoured in many North American cities, including Montreal which aims to increase its canopy from 20% to 25% in 2025. However, the mortality rate of street trees is especially high in the first few years after planting. Studies have shown that variables that are intrinsic to the tree and those related to its location, the urban form and the socio-demographic characteristics of the surrounding environment are significantly associated either with trees’ survival rate or with vegetation cover. In this research we examine variables that have statistical associations with tree growth, which is the diameter at breast height divided by the number of years on the ground, for approximately 28,000 street trees in Montreal. Independent variables were nested into three spatial scales: the tree (species and physical variables), the street section (urban form variables), and the census tract (socio-demographic variables). Multilevel models reveal that 65.51% of the growth variance is potentially explained by the species and planting physical conditions such as the east and north sides (positive associations with the growth), signage as an obstruction (negative association). 28.54% of the grow variance is potentially explained by the urban form, in our case building age (convex relationship with the growth), mixed zoning (negatively) and residential zoning (positively). At the neighbourhood level, although none of our variables is significant, 6.95% of the growth variance is be potentially explained by other missing variables. New planting programs should hence consider the urban form in order to improve tree growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street trees provide a wide range of benefits for cities. Street tree cover (STC) is explained by urban form, social stratification and lifestyle theories that operate at multiple scales. In this paper we examine how the urban form (street characteristics), social stratification and lifestyle (socio-demographics) account for variations of STC in Montréal. Tree cover was identified from Quickbird images and then overlaid on street segments to compute the STC. Each street segment was nested in a census tract. We used 2-level models with mixed effects and interactions (between street attributes and socio-demographic variables) while introducing a spatial term. Political, socio-economic or other explanatory factors operating at the tract level can potentially explain 17.6% of the variation of STC. Overall, the street characteristics explained more variation in STC than the socio-demographic context. Lifestyle is less important than social stratification. Street length is positively associated with STC; street width and the percentage of duplexes and triplexes are negatively associated with STC, while construction age has a u-shaped effect on STC. Interactions show that STC is higher in expensive and highly-educated areas that have residential streets or streets with large setback (sidewalk). Areas predominantly comprised of low-income households could have higher or lower STC depending on the number of buildings and the percentage of duplexes and triplexes. Streetscape and socio-demographic contexts intertwine to create complex patterns of STC. Greening programs should be designed carefully according to local contexts since certain types of greening can lead to gentrification and displacement of low-income households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We assessed PP in relation to earthquake-induced ejecta dust in Christchurch, NZ. [•] The adjusted post-earthquake cluster had higher relative risk than pre-earthquake. [•] The adjusted spatio-temporal and post-earthquake clusters had matching patterns. [•] We found statistically larger areas affected by ejecta in the space–time cluster. [•] In conclusion, ejecta may have increased PP cases, but was unlikely a direct cause. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Archivos de Medicina Veterinaria is the property of Universidad Austral de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Highlights: [•] In this study we model spatio-temporal clustering of schizophrenia in Quebec from 2004 to 2007. [•] We base our study on the entire province of Quebec. [•] We assess spatial clustering using the SatScan. [•] We found that spatial clusters of schizophrenia are changing in space and rural areas are also facing clustering of schizophrenia. [•] We conclude that it is important to assess neighborhoods factors influencing spatial clustering of schizophrenia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]