Delineating Hierarchical Hospital Service Areas in Florida

Hospital service area (HSA) and hospital referral region (HRR), known as a hierarchical HSA system, have been used as analysis units in a growing body of large‐scale studies of healthcare spending, utilization, and outcome in the United States. However, the popular Dartmouth HSAs and HRRs were produced more than two decades ago and are unable to represent contemporary healthcare markets. This research uses a revised Huff Model to delineate two levels of hospital service areas in Florida, resulting in sixty‐four HSAs nested in twenty‐one HRRs. Three elements distinguish our method from existing work. First, a best‐fitting distance‐decay function derived from the actual travel pattern of hospitalization is embedded in the Huff Model to strengthen the model's theoretical foundation in individual spatial behavior. Secondly, the hierarchal central place structure is supported by the differing travel‐friction coefficients for general versus specialized patients; general patients experience a steeper gradient and thus a shorter average travel range that supports delineating more HSAs of smaller area size, and specialized patients exhibit a flatter gradient and thus a longer average travel range that leads to fewer HRRs of large‐sized areas. Finally, the delineation method automated in geographic information systems (GIS) can be easily replicated in other regions to define large‐scale and consistent hierarchical HSA systems.     

What does Gunshot Detection Technology tell us about gun violence?

PurposeEvaluate the sensitivity of Gunshot Detection Technology (GDT) relative to Calls for Service. Existing crime data sources have biases that do not present a complete picture of gun-related crime. GDT may offer a new metric for firearm crimes. However, few studies have assessed the accuracy of GDT and its relationship to other measures of violence.MethodsGDT and gun crime-related Calls for Service in Washington, DC during 2010 were studied. Using temporal comparisons for month, day of year, weekday, and hour of the day, spatial comparisons on a quarter-mile square grid, and a Poisson-Lognormal-CAR spatial regression model on a combined grid by time period dataset, we examined the sensitivity of GDT activations relative to gunshot-related calls for service.ResultsThe results showed that relative GDT sensitivity changed by time and by space. In particular, the relative sensitivity of GDT was much stronger in the evening and at nighttime than in the daytime. In terms of spatial variation, we found that GDT sensitivity decreased with distance from the nearest zone centroid. In addition, there were two small geographic areas in the study area in which the relative GDT sensitivity was lower than expected.ConclusionsGDT systems identify the frequency and locational accuracy of gunshot incidents, particularly at nighttime. This technology has the potential to improve data collection on gun use and violence and produce more accurate representations if the temporal and distance limitations of the technology are understood. GDT may improve gun detection and, thereby, improve police operations and public support for police.     

Housing differentiation and housing poverty in Chinese low-income urban neighborhoods under the confluence of State-market forces

ABSTRACT

Based on a large-scale household survey conducted in six large Chinese cities, this study is among the first attempts to juxtapose factors related to institution, market, and demography to examine the complex patterns and mechanisms of housing differentiation and housing poverty in low-income neighborhoods, which are conventionally conceived as homogenous substandard settlements. Results of Theil indices and multivariate regression models convey several interesting findings. First, the forces of the market and the State have projected different impacts on various aspects of housing status. Institutional factors had significant impacts on some costly and durable housing indicators such as housing tenure and housing area, while market forces have swiftly transformed the most malleable aspects of housing conditions, such as housing facilities, and will eventually replace some institutional legacies. Second, within-group housing differentiation is more palpable than between-group housing differentiation, suggesting that low-income neighborhoods in large Chinese cities are fluid and heterogeneous. Third, different institutional elements have different impacts on housing poverty. The well-functioning market remuneration system helps reduce the risk of housing poverty, yet working poor remains a severe problem. These findings can inform policies promoting social mix and housing affordability.     

‘Borehole Race’ and the Dilemma of Governing the ‘Ungoverned’: Understanding the Urban Political Ecology of Groundwater Exploitation in Nigeria

Groundwater exploitation is an essential aspect of the numerous processes of transforming the urban natural environment for human gains. We use the political ecology of borehole exploitation in Nigeria’s urban environment to understand the micro-and macro-level processes mediating the transformation and changes in urban “groundwater scape”. The fieldwork processes depend on field counting of borehole distribution, in-depth and semi-structured interviews, and a review of secondary literatures. We argue that the social and environmental changes arising from the exploitation of groundwater bespeak the active and continual manifestation of the interplay of combustible interests and power friction among institutional agents within the permissible range of the natural environment. Such dynamic power relations engender a pattern of socio-natural transformation consistent with Swyngedouw’s notion of urban metabolism- “a series of interconnected heterogeneous and dynamic but contested and contestable processes of continuous quantitative and qualitative transformations that re-arranges humans and non-humans in new and often unexpected ways”.     

中国大陆强震中期预报指标研究

在总结近几年预报经验的基础上,主要依据地震活动性资料,从分析全球大震活动规律入手,采用概率预测推理方法对一些重要的相关地震事件或现象进行了深入的分析研究,提出了一系列可用于中国大陆７级大震预测及趋势估计的中期指标．     

珠江口海水密度的研究

用磁力浮沉子密度测量装置,在１５ ～２５ ℃之间的三个温度下测定了珠江口２０ 个水样的密度。结果表明,测定值皆高于相应条件下国际标准海水状态方程的计算值,在海水盐度范围０．０８～３３ ．４４６ ,密度平均偏差范围为２ ．４ ～５４．０ ×１０ － ３ｋｇ／ｍ３ 。测定密度和计算密度的偏差随盐度的降低而增大,与盐度的变化成直线相关：与（Ｃａ２ ＋ ）／Ｓ、ＳＯ４２ － ／Ｓ比和比碱度之间皆呈指数曲线相关。珠江口水样（Ｃａ２ ＋ ）／Ｃ１ 、ＳＯ４２ － ／Ｃ１ 和比碱度平均值分别超出大洋水平均值１７ ．８ ％ 、８ ．２１ ％ 和１５２ ％ ,其余的Ｎａ ＋ ／Ｃ１、Ｋ＋ ／Ｃ１ 和Ｓｒ２ ＋ ／Ｃ１ 比值与大洋水无明显差别,基本类同。珠江口海水的高碱度、高（Ｃａ２ ＋ ）／Ｃ１ 和高ＳＯ４２ － ／Ｃ１ 是造成其海水密度正偏差的主要因素。经计算机拟合,首次导出了珠江口海水密度的状态方程,该方程计算值与实验值的平均标准偏差为±２．５×１０－ ３ｋｇ／ｍ３ 。     

地质和岩土工程光电传感监测研究新进展——第六届OSMG国际论坛综述

第六届地质(岩土)工程光电传感监测国际论坛于2017年11月3~5日在南京大学顺利召开。本届论坛主题为"基础设施监测技术前沿及应用",共设置了35场特邀报告,来自近20个国家和地区的350余位代表参会。本届论坛显示,近几年来国内外地质和岩土工程光电传感监测领域的研究工作又取得了很多新进展:(1)光电感测解调技术不断成熟和完善,监测信噪比、空间分辨率等指标也突飞猛进;(2)国际上出现了一系列适用于地质与岩土工程监测的新型光电传感器,如聚合物光纤土工织物等;(3)光电传感器及其监测系统成为保障隧道、堤坝、核电站、桥梁等基础设施安全运营的有力工具,为这些设施的健康状态诊断和损伤识别提供了数据支撑;(4)光电传感监测技术在地质灾害监测预警中扮演了越来越重要的角色。未来的研究热点主要集中于3个方面:(1)高性价比的分布式光纤传感解调技术的研发;(2)匹配地质和岩土工程监测需求的新型光纤传感器及其布设工艺的研发;(3)基于人工智能的监测数据处理和灾害预警系统的开发。     

Evaluation of the carrying capacity of marine industrial parks: A case study in China

Carrying capacity is an important index used to evaluate the status of regional resources, ecological environment, and regional economic development. Marine industrial parks have gained substantial attention from domestic and foreign investors and governments at all levels; in particular, these parks are an essential part of the national blue economy development plan of the Chinese government. The carrying capacity of a marine industrial park is important to all related stakeholders. In this study, an evaluation system was established based on the literature review and expert interviews by using 32 indices under three dimensions (pressure, bearing, and transformation) to determine the carrying capacity of a marine industrial park. The carrying capacity of marine industrial parks in Shandong Province was evaluated using this system across diverse dimensions by incorporating state space and analytic hierarchy processes. Results indicated that carrying capacity significantly differed among regions, parks, and specific dimensions. Comparison among different types of marine industrial parks indicated that the modern marine service industry and fishery industrial parks showed improved and efficient development with relatively high bearing rates. By contrast, the modern marine manufacturing industry and strategic emerging industrial parks were significantly underdeveloped. This study proposes academic approaches and practical implications for the involved governments and managing committees. Furthermore, suggestions on park planning, policy support, industrial cluster, and industry–university–research institute alliances are provided to the government and enterprise perspectives to increase the carrying capacity of marine characteristic industrial parks.     

State estimation of tidal hydrodynamics using ensemble Kalman filter

This paper presents a coupling of an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) with a discontinuous Galerkin-based, two-dimensional circulation model (DG ADCIRC-2DDI) to improve the state estimation of tidal hydrodynamics including water surface elevations and depth-integrated velocities. The methodology in this paper using EnKF perturbs the modeled hydrodynamics and bottom friction parameterization in the model while assimilating data with inherent error, and demonstrates a capability to apply EnKF within DG ADCIRC-2DDI for data assimilation. Parallel code development presents a unique aspect of the approach taken and is briefly described in the paper, followed by an application to a real estuarine system, the lower St. Johns River in north Florida, for the state estimation of tidal hydrodynamics. To test the value of gauge observations for improving state estimation, a tide modeling case study is performed for the lower St. Johns River successively using one of the four available tide gauging stations in model-data comparison. The results are improved simulations of water surface elevations and depth-integrated velocities using DG ADCIRC-2DDI with EnKF, both locally where data are available and non-locally where data are not available. The methodology, in general, is extensible to other modeling and data applications, for example, the use of remote sensing data, and specifically, can be readily applied as is to study other tidal systems.     

Groundwater potential zones using a combination of geospatial technology and geophysical approach: case study in Dehradun,India

ABSTRACT

A combination of geospatial, geophysical and statistical models using satellite data, the weighted index overlay (WIO) method and two-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography (2D-ERT) is applied to generate the highest potential groundwater area and to further explore the groundwater in Dehradun, India. The results show that of 19.7 km² total basin area, 0.26% falls under the “poor” category as a prospect zone for groundwater, 4.3% is “moderate”, 10.10% “moderately good”, 4.9% “good” and 0.17% “very good”. In addition, the demonstration of the geophysical survey is presented, in which Purkal Youth Society Division (PYSD) site is categorized as a shallow aquifer zone and the Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary School (GNFCS) site is a deeper aquifer zone. Our study emphasizes remote sensing and geographic information system integrated with a geophysical survey to support prospecting the most probable area and confirm the existence of groundwater.