Beware of contagion!

Landscape ecology starts from the assumption that diversity and spatial arrangement of ecosystem mosaics has ecological implications and tries to understand the interactions between diversity and structure of large spatially heterogeneous areas and its ecological functions. This approach implies effective use of earth observation techniques and geographic information systems, enabling a global view of the landscape mosaics. Consequently, a large number of indices has been used to quantify the structure of categorical maps as a surrogate of actual landscapes and correlate them to ecological processes. In particular, the entropy-based contagion index has been extensively used to summarize the amount of clumping or fragmentation of patches on raster categorical maps. However, despite its widespread application, the contagion index is very dependent on pixel resolution. This effect may render it inadequate as a meaningful measure of landscape structure. To overcome this major shortcoming, in this short note we propose to quantify pixel adjacency with a bivariate summary statistics that is not adversely influenced by pixel resolution.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.elsevier.co

Risk Factors for Immediate and Delayed-Onset Fever After Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Drainage

Objectives To prospectively investigate the pre and intraprocedural risk factors for immediate (IF) and delayedonset (DOF) fever development after percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD). Methods Institutional review board approval and informed patient consent were obtained. Between February 2013 and February 2014, 97 afebrile patients (77 at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy and 20 at the Sun Yatsen University of Guangzhou, China) with benign (n = 31) and malignant (n = 66) indications for a first PTBD were prospectively enrolled. Thirty pre- and intra-procedural clinical/radiological characteristics, including the amount of contrast media injected prior to PTBD placement, were collected in relation to the development of IF (within 24 h) or DOF (after 24 h). Fever was defined as C37.5 C. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to assess independent associations with IF and DOF. Results Fourteen (14.4 %) patients developed IF and 17 (17.5 %) developed DOF. At multivariable analysis, IF was associated with pre-procedural absence of intrahepatic bile duct dilatation (OR 63.359; 95 % CI 2.658–1510.055; P = 0.010) and low INR (OR 4.7 9 10-4 ; 95 % CI 0.000–0.376; P = 0.025), while DOF was associated with unsatisfactory biliary drainage at the end of PTBD (OR 4.571; 95 % CI 1.161–17.992; P = 0.030)

LaDy: software for assessing local landscape diversity profiles of raster land cover maps using geographic windows

Landscape ecology starts from the assumption that diversity and spatial arrangement of ecosystem mosaics have ecological implications and tries to understand the interactions between diversity and structure of large spatially heterogeneous areas and their ecological functions. These assumptions imply effective use of earth observation techniques and geographic information systems, enabling a global view of the landscape mosaics. In this paper, a software, LaDy (Landscape Diversity Software), for computing Re´nyi’s local landscape diversity profile on raster land cover maps is presented. LaDy is based on the use of Merchant’s adaptive geographic window, which is designed to operate on a neighborhood of patches instead of a fixed rectangular neighborhood of pixels (the conventional approach in image analysis).L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.elsevier.co

Monitoring and assessing old-growth forest stands by plot sampling

Forest inventories are evolving towards multipurpose resource surveys, broadening their scope by including additional topics such as biodiversity issues. Surprisingly, few quantitative surveys have been devoted to old-growth forests, even if they constitute the most acknowledged forest biodiversity icons. In this framework, the use of probabilistic sampling may provide an effective as well as rigorous support for monitoring and assessing old-growth forests. To this purpose, the present paper proposes a two-phase sampling scheme. In the first phase, a coarse survey of few floristic and stand structural attributes is carried out by means of small plots systematically placed on the study area. Subsequently, in the second phase, a fine assessment of a large number of ecological attributes is performed on a subset of enlarged plots selected among the first-phase ones by means of simple random sampling without replacement. The proposed sampling scheme is implemented for monitoring and assessing the old forests of Cilento National Park (southern Italy). Results and comments are provided as an exemplicative case study.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.tandf.co.uk/journals

Confirmation of symmetrical distributions of clinical attachment loss and tooth loss in a homogeneous Mexican adult male population

Background/purpose To ascertain whether or not clinical attachment loss and tooth loss are present with similar severity and prevalence across the two sides of the mouth in a homogeneous sample of urban male adults. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was carried out on 161 policemen (a largely homogeneous group in terms of ethnic background, socioeconomic status, sex, occupation, and medical/dental insurance) in Campeche, Mexico. Periodontal examinations were undertaken using the Florida Probe System in a dental chair by one trained and standardized examiner (kappa ≥ 0.60) to determine clinical attachment loss and tooth loss. We examined six sites in all teeth present in the mouth (a maximum of 168 sites, no third molars). Because of correlated data between observations, McNemar (for tooth loss) and Wilcoxon (for attachment loss) signed-rank tests were used to compare right and left sites within the same patient. Results The mean age was 38.4 ± 11.0 years. The mean number of teeth present was 24.4 ± 4.6; the mean number of periodontal sites/person was 146.7 ± 27.8. All P values were ≥ 0.05 (except for attachment loss in the upper first premolars), suggesting that there were no statistically significant differences between the right and left sides for the frequency of presentation of these two conditions. Conclusion Tooth loss and attachment loss measurements largely resemble each other on both sides of the mouth

Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) and motor rehabilitation in Parkinson\u2019s disease: New frontiers in assessment and intervention protocols

Previous studies have demonstrated that physical therapy accompanied by Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) can improve the motor skills of patients with Parkinson\u2019s disease and, in particular, their gait disturbances. In the present work we describe the neurological bases and perceptual-motor deficits generally associated with Parkinson\u2019s disease, with a specific focus on gait disturbances. Within this framework, we review the role of auditory cueing in the modulation of patients\u2019 gait, addressing this issue from the cognitive, neurological and biomechanical perspectives. In particular, we focus on the new frontiers of both assessment and intervention. With regards to the assessment, we describe the advantages of the three-dimensional quantitative multifactorial gait analysis. As concerns the intervention, we illustrate the potential impact of the administration of ecological footstep sounds as rhythmic cues

Out-Of-Pocket Expenditures on Dental Care for Schoolchildren Aged 6 to 12 Years: A Cross-Sectional Estimate in a Less-Developed Country Setting

Aim: The objective of this study was to estimate the Out-Of-Pocket Expenditures (OOPEs) incurred by households on dental care, as well as to analyze the sociodemographic, economic, and oral health factors associated with such expenditures. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 763 schoolchildren in Mexico. A questionnaire was distributed to parents to determine the variables related to OOPEs on dental care. The amounts were updated in 2017 in Mexican pesos and later converted to 2017 international dollars (purchasing power parities-PPP US $). Multivariate models were created: a linear regression model (which modeled the amount of OOPEs), and a logistic regression model (which modeled the likelihood of incurring OOPEs). Results: The OOPEs on dental care for the 763 schoolchildren were PPP US$53,578, averaging a PPP of US $70.2 ± 123.7 per child. Disbursements for treatment were the principal item within the OOPEs. The factors associated with OOPEs were the child's age, number of dental visits, previous dental pain, main reason for dental visit, educational level of mother, type of health insurance, household car ownership, and socioeconomic position. Conclusions: The average cost of dental care was PPP US$70.2 ± 123.7. Our study shows that households with higher school-aged children exhibiting the highest report of dental morbidity-as well as those without insurance-face the highest OOPEs. An array of variables were associated with higher expenditures. In general, higher-income households spent more on dental care. However, the present study did not estimate unmet needs across the socioeconomic gradient, and thus, future research is needed to fully ascertain disease burden