Mitigating externalities of terrorism on tourism: global evidence from police, security officers and armed service personnel

In this paper, we investigate the role of security officers, the police and armed service personnel in dampening the effect of terrorism externalities on tourist arrivals. The temporal and geographic scopes are respectively 2010-2015 and 163 countries. Four terrorism measurements are used. They include the number of: incidents, injuries, fatalities and property damages. The main findings indicate that armed service personnel can effectively be used to modulate the damaging influence of all four terrorism externalities in order to achieve a positive net effect on tourist arrivals. Conversely, the corresponding moderating role of security officers and the police is not statistically significant. Moreover, violent demonstrations and homicides have a harmful effect on tourist arrivals while the number of incarcerations displays the opposite effect. Policy implications are discussed

Terrorism and social media: global evidence

The study assesses the relationship between terrorism and social media from a cross section of 148 countries with data for the year 2012. The empirical evidence is based on Ordinary Least Squares, Negative Binomial and Quantile regressions. The main finding is that there is a positive relationship between social media in terms of Facebook penetration and terrorism. The positive relationship is driven by below-median quantiles of terrorism. In other words, countries in which existing levels of terrorism are low are more significantly associated with a positive Facebook-terrorism nexus. The established positive relationship is confirmed from other externalities of terrorism: terrorism fatalities, terrorism incidents, terrorism injuries and terrorism-related property damages. The terrorism externalities are constituents of the composite dependent variable

No evidence for differential sociosexual behavior and space use in the color morphs of the European common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis)

Explaining the evolutionary origin and maintenance of color polymorphisms is a major challenge in evolutionary biology. Such polymorphisms are commonly thought to reflect the existence of alternative behavioral or life-history strategies under negative frequency-dependent selection. The European common wall lizardPodarcis muralisexhibits a striking ventral color polymorphism that has been intensely studied and is often assumed to reflect alternative reproductive strategies, similar to the iconic "rock-paper-scissors" system described in the North American lizardUta stansburiana. However, available studies so far have ignored central aspects in the behavioral ecology of this species that are crucial to assess the existence of alternative reproductive strategies. Here, we try to fill this gap by studying the social behavior, space use, and reproductive performance of lizards showing different color morphs, both in a free-ranging population from the eastern Pyrenees and in ten experimental mesocosm enclosures. In the natural population, we found no differences between morphs in site fidelity, space use, or male-female spatial overlap. Likewise, color morph was irrelevant to sociosexual behavior, space use, and reproductive success within experimental enclosures. Our results contradict the commonly held hypothesis thatP. muralismorphs reflect alternative behavioral strategies, and suggest that we should instead turn our attention to alternative functional explanations

UV-Deprived Coloration Reduces Success in Mate Acquisition in Male Sand Lizards (Lacerta agilis)

Background: Recent work on animal signals has revealed a wide occurrence of UV signals in tetrapods, in particular birds, but also in lizards (and perhaps other Squamate reptiles). Our previous work on the Swedish sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) has verified, both in correlative selection analyses in the wild and with laboratory and field experiments, the importance of the green ‘badge ’ on the body sides of adult males for securing mating opportunities, probably mostly through deterring rival males rather than attracting females. The role of UV in communication has, however, never been examined. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we show that when measured immediately after spring skin shedding, there is also signaling in the UV. By UV-depriving the signal (reflectance) with sun block chemicals fixated with permeable, harmless spray dressing, we show that males in the control group (spray dressing only) had significantly higher success in mate acquisition than UV-deprived males. Conclusions/Significance: These results suggest that at least two colour traits in sand lizards, badge area and UV, contribute to rival deterrence and/or female choice on UV characters, which elevates success in mate acquisition in UV intact male sand lizards

Acceso a pruebas complementarias para el diagnóstico de enfermedades infecciosas en las consultas de pediatría de atención primaria

Introducción En los procesos infecciosos la realización de pruebas complementarias puede aumentar la precisión diagnóstica, la adecuación de los tratamientos, así como dar a conocer la epidemiología y patrón de resistencias bacterianas de la comunidad. El Grupo de Patología Infecciosa de la Asociación Española de Pediatría de Atención Primaria (GPI-AEPap) diseñó este estudio para conocer la accesibilidad a pruebas complementarias (PC) y sus resultados que tienen los pediatras que trabajan en atención primaria en el ámbito de la salud pública. Material y métodos Estudio observacional transversal descriptivo de ámbito nacional, a través de una encuesta de cumplimentación voluntaria, distribuida on line a todos los socios de AEPap y a los suscriptores de la lista de distribución PEDIAP entre los meses de abril y mayo de 2017. Resultados Se obtienen 517 respuestas. Se analizan datos del entorno profesional, así como los referidos a la solicitud de pruebas complementarias básicas (hemograma, bioquímica, sistemático de orina), utilización de Test Rápido Detección de Antígeno para Streptococo grupo A (TRDA), sobre cultivos bacterianos, serologías, pruebas diagnósticas de tosferina y tuberculosis (Mantoux) y pruebas de imagen. Conclusiones Hay variabilidad entre CCAA y áreas asistenciales. Se detectan claras áreas de mejora en la accesibilidad a diferentes PC, tiempo de recogida y envío de muestras, demora en la recepción, en los resultados y en tiempos de espera para pruebas de imagen no urgentes. Esto interfiere en la capacidad de intervención y resolución del pediatra de atención primaria. Introduction: The performing of complementary tests in infectious processes can increase the diagnostic precision, the adequacy of treatments, as well as determining the epidemiology and pattern of bacterial resistance of the community. The Infectious Pathology Group of the Spanish Association of Primary Care Paediatrics (GPI-AEPap) has designed this study in order to determine the availability of complementary tests (CT) for paediatricians working in Primary Care of the public health system as well as their results. Material and methods: Observational cross-sectional descriptive national study was carried out using a voluntary self-report questionnaire distributed online to all AEPap members and to the subscribers of the PEDIAP distribution list between the months of April and May 2017. Results: A total of 517 responses were obtained. An analysis was made of the data from the professional environment, as well as those related to the request for basic supplementary tests (blood count, biochemistry, and routine urine analysis), the use of Rapid Antigen Detection Test for group A Streptococcus, bacterial cultures, serology, diagnostic tests for pertussis and tuberculosis (Mantoux), as well as imaging tests. Conclusions: There is variability between Autonomous Communities and healthcare areas. Areas for improvement were found in the accessibility to different CT, collection time and sending of samples, delay in receiving results, as well as waiting times for non-urgent imaging tests. These affect the intervention and resolution capacity of the primary care paediatrician

Mortality related to tuberculosis-HIV/AIDS co-infection in Brazil, 2000-2011: epidemiological patterns and time trends

Abstract: Co-infection of tuberculosis (TB)-HIV/AIDS is a persistent public health problem in Brazil. This study describes epidemiological patterns and time trends of mortality related to TB-HIV/AIDS co-infection. Based on mortality data from 2000-2011 (almost 12.5 million deaths), 19,815 deaths related to co-infection were analyzed. The average age-adjusted mortality rate was 0.97 deaths/100,000 inhabitants. The highest mortality rates were found among males, those in economically productive age groups, black race/color and residents of the South region. There was a significant reduction in the mortality coefficient at the national level (annual average percent change: -1.7%; 95%CI: -2.4; -1.0), with different patterns among regions: increases in the North, Northeast and Central regions, a reduction in the Southeast and a stabilization in the South. The strategic integration of TB-HIV/AIDS control programmes is fundamental to reduce the burden of mortality related to co-infection in Brazil