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Study: Racist neighborhood 'redlining' has led to fewer green spaces today


Researchers say that the racist legacy of "redlining," which was outlawed in the 1960s, has left many urban neighborhoods with fewer green spaces -- a threat to the health of people who live in them. 

Photo by Free-Photos/Pixabay

A racist mortgage appraisal practice used in the United States decades ago has resulted in less green space in some urban neighborhoods today, researchers say.

Those so-called "redlined" neighborhoods have higher rates of air and noise pollution, racial segregation and poverty -- all of which can contribute to poorer health.

In the 1930s, the Home Owners' Loan Corporation, or HOLC, gave neighborhoods nationwide risk grades that were based on racial makeup and other factors.

"Hazardous" areas -- often those whose residents included people of color -- were outlined in red on HOLC maps.

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In the decades since, these neighborhoods have seen less private and public investment and have remained segregated.

"Though redlining is now outlawed, its effects on urban neighborhoods persist in many ways, including by depriving residents of green space, which is known to promote health and buffer stress," said study first author Anthony Nardone, a medical student at the University of California, San Francisco.

Senior author Joan Casey called for action to remedy the problem.

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"Future policies should, with the input of local leaders, strive to expand availability of green space, a health-promoting amenity, in communities of color," she said. Casey is an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.

For the study, the researchers examined the relationship between HOLC risk grades and 2010 satellite images of green space in 72 urban areas.

The analysis doesn't provide an indication of green space quality. For example, green space in hot, dry regions may not be reasonable substitutes for closeness to natural environments and their health-related benefits.
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Nor did the researchers distinguish between public and private green space or untended forest and manicured parks.

In some areas, the presence of green space in the 1930s may have reduced a neighborhood's chances of being redlined, the study authors noted in a Columbia University news release.

The practice was banned in 1968, but racist banking and real estate practices have persisted, according to the study authors.

They said these are reflected in the fallout of the subprime mortgage crisis, in which those communities were disproportionately targeted with foreclosures and predatory loans by banks.

The findings were published this week in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.More information

The National Recreation and Park Association has more on the health benefits of green space.




Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Outlook projects 10,000 U.S. 

retail stores will close in 2021



A furniture store is seen closed and boarded up on Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 12, 2020, as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo


Jan. 28 (UPI) -- There could be more than 10,000 retail stores that close in the United States this year, directly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, an industry analytics group said in an outlook on Thursday.In its report, Coresight Research estimates 10,000 closures over the course of 2021.

Coresight predicted last summer that closures in the United States could reach 25,000 by the end of 2020, but noted fewer than 9,000 by year's end. It reported about 9,800 closures in 2019.

Coresight noted Thursday that the COVID-19 vaccine should help a bit.

"In 2021, the rollout of [coronavirus] vaccination programs should result in a partial recovery in store-based sales," CEO Deborah Weinswig said. "However, these programs may take many months to reach a wide base of consumers."

The firm said apparel stores were most affected by closures in 2020, accounting for 36% of the total. It said the trend will likely continue in 2021.

"Although retail was significantly impacted in 2008 and 2009 [during the financial crisis], the repercussions in terms of retail bankruptcies peaked in 2010," Weinswig added. "We could see history repeat itself in 2021, resulting in greater numbers of store closures this year than we saw in 2020."

The analysis says discount stores, meanwhile, are expected to open about 4,000 stores in 2021

U.S. economy grew 4% in Q4, but 2020 saw biggest decline since WWII

"Something like 9 million people remain unemployed as a consequence of the pandemic. 

That's as many people lost their jobs at the peak of the global financial crisis."

The New York Stock Exchange is seen Wednesday on Wall Street in New York City. 

Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo


Jan. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. economy declined by nearly 4% for all of 2020, according to government figures on Thursday -- the worst single-year performance since the end of World War II.

The Commerce Department noted the figures in its fourth-quarter report, which also summarized economic performance for the year.

According to the data, gross domestic product declined by 3.5% over 2020, the worst yearly decline since at least 1945 when the government began keeping records.

By comparison, the U.S. economy grew by 2.2% in 2019.

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The figures for the final quarter show how the domestic economy performed throughout all of 2020 -- a 5% decline in the first quarter, a record 31.4% dive in the second and a 33.4% rebound in the third. 

FOR A 3% DECLINE IN REAL USD

"The increase in fourth quarter GDP reflected both the continued economic recovery from the sharp declines earlier in the year and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including new restrictions and closures that took effect in some areas of the United States," the department said in the report.

Consumer prices increased by 1.7% in the fourth quarter and disposable personal income improved somewhat with a decrease of 9.5%. In the third quarter, that decline was over 16%.

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The report noted other areas of growth, including housing prices.

The Federal Reserve said at the end of its policy meeting Wednesday that economic recovery is tied to the success of coronavirus vaccinations.

"The economic dislocation has abandoned many lives and created great uncertainty about the future," Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said.

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"Something like 9 million people remain unemployed as a consequence of the pandemic. That's as many people lost their jobs at the peak of the global financial crisis."

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CALIFORNIA DISASTER PORN
California highway closed after section falls into Pacific

BIG SUR GASH 

A section of California's Highway 1 crumbled and fell into the ocean Thursday due to heavy rain and snow that hammered the region this week. Image via Caltrans Region 5/Twitter

Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A section of Highway 1 in California is closed after part of the road crumbled and fell into the Pacific Ocean this week, according to the state's transportation agency.

Caltrans District 5 announced the washout and road closure on Twitter Thursday and released drone footage of the damage Friday when crews began assessing the damage.

The damage was reported near mile marker 30 near Big Sur, a mountainous region on California's central coast.

Check out this amazing drone video of #Hwy1 washout at Rat Creek about 15 miles south of #BigSur. Our crews are on site securing it, assessing damage & starting clean-up/ repairs. Reminder: the road is OPEN from #Carmel thru town of Big Sur. @bigsurkate @BigSurCC @CHP_Coastal pic.twitter.com/rB193DzXhL- Caltrans District 5 (@CaltransD5) January 29, 2021

California Highway Patrol Officer John Yerace said he was in the area on Thursday afternoon when he saw "this section of roadway, specifically the southbound lane, had fallen off into the ocean."

It is not clear how long it will take to repair the damage and reopen the road.

Northern California was hammered by heavy rain and snow caused by an atmospheric river Thursday.

On Saturday morning the National Weather Service predicted another heavy storm affecting the Coast Range in northern California and southern Oregon that could cause "localized flooding" due to wet soil and damage from recent wildfires.

Scientists keep 'Doomsday Clock' at 100 seconds to midnight

"The hands of the Doomsday Clock remain at 100 seconds to midnight, 

as close to midnight as ever"



The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists kept its "Doomsday Clock" at 100 seconds to midnight, describing the COVID-19 pandemic as a "wakeup call" that governments are unprepared to handle grave threats facing the world. File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 27 (UPI) -- The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists on Wednesday chose to keep its "Doomsday Clock" at 100 seconds before midnight, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat of nuclear war and climate change.

The Chicago-based group chose to keep the clock -- which symbolically reflects how close the world is to destruction -- at 11:58 p.m., and 20 seconds, saying the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic indicates a lack of the structures necessary to combat other grave threats.

"The hands of the Doomsday Clock remain at 100 seconds to midnight, as close to midnight as ever," said Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, in a statement. "The lethal and fear-inspiring COVID-19 pandemic serves as a historic 'wake-up call,' a vivid illustration that national governments and international organizations are unprepared to manage the truly civilization-ending threats of nuclear weapons and climate change."

Since the start of the pandemic, 100.7 million people have been infected and 2.17 million have died worldwide, including 25.57 million cases and 428,015 deaths in the United States, according to data gathered by Johns Hopkins University.

"Though lethal on a massive scale, this particular pandemic is not an existential threat. Its consequences are grave and will be lasting. But COVID-19 will not obliterate civilization, and we expect the disease will recede eventually," the group said.

The group also warned of the threat of nuclear conflict, particularly between the United States and Russia, calling on the two countries to extend the New START treaty for as long as possible.

"The U.S., Russia and the world's nuclear powers must stop shouting at each other," said former California Gov. Jerry Brown, the group's executive chair. "It's time to eliminate nuclear weapons, not build more of them."

The scientists also expressed the need for the United States to to address the issue of climate change by rejoining the Paris Agreement and reducing the use of fossil fuels. U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order last week to re-enter the pact.

"Over the coming decade, fossil fuel use needs to decline precipitously if the worst effects of climate change are to be avoided," said Susan Solomon, member of the group's science and security board.

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists first began the tradition in 1947 as a way to gauge the world's proximity to nuclear holocaust. In 2007 the group added climate change as a factor in the clock's setting.

The furthest the clock has ever been from midnight was set in 1991, at 11:43, or 17 minutes from "doomsday," after the United States signed the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the Soviet Union dissolved.

Prior to 2020, 2 minutes to midnight had been the closest the clock had ever been set, reaching that point both during the Cold War and following the first U.S. test of a thermonuclear weapon.

 

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My experience with Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

DW's Sergey Satanovskiy was one of many people who took part in a testing program for the Russian COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V. After receiving two shots, he visited his grandmother — and came in contact with coronavirus.


Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is already being rolled out

People in Russia are currently being inoculated against COVID-19, even though stage-three trials of the country's Sputnik V vaccine aren't due to be completed until May.

DW's Sergey Satanovskiy was among the volunteers who agreed to testthe new vaccineand report back in December what it was like to get his first shot and three weeks later his second, the Sputnik V booster. He was then tested for antibodies following the two inoculations. This is his story:

I was actually feeling fine before my antibody test. I had been given the two vaccination doses and hadn't experienced side effects, so on New Year's Eve I decided to visit my 74-year-old grandmother, who happens lives just outside St. Petersburg. I didn't have any symptoms at the time but took a COVID PCR test anyway. The result was negative.

My grandmother moved out of the city and into the country a year ago and has stayed away from St. Petersburg since the outbreak of the virus. She heats her house by turning on her oven and travels once a week to the next town, with 17,000 inhabitants, to do her shopping. But even being 300 kilometers (190 miles) away from the big city didn't mean that she escaped the coronavirus.

She developed a cough on New Year's Day, which continued into the next day. We thought at first that she had caught a cold, because it was so cold outside. We didn't think that she had the coronavirus. On January 3, I went back to St. Petersburg.

That same night my temperature climbed to 37.4 degrees Celsius and I developed a sore throat. My grandmother told me she had similar symptoms.

My symptoms were gone two days later. My grandmother, however, had a fever for three days running and felt pretty weak. She called a doctor and took a COVID PCR test. The results were positive. Although she didn't have to go to the hospital, she did get pretty sick. She had a fever for three weeks, her blood pressure increased and she felt weak and lousy for quite a while.

I, too, took a COVID PCR test and the results were negative.

'
'Lots of antibodies'

Wadim Lynjew, who heads up the lab at the Shostakovich Hospital where I got my two shots, said that the reaction of vaccinated individuals who come in contact with COVID-19 depends on the viral load they're exposed to. If someone who has been vaccinated comes in contact with someone who is only mildly sick, the vaccinated person often doesn't feel anything. But if the vaccinated person is confronted by a high viral load, they could get sick but have a milder case.

That's exactly what happened to me. I was exposed to a lot of the virus when I visited my grandmother but didn't really get sick because of the antibodies in my system. My grandmother had it much worse but is now feeling better, and I'm happy to report that her most recent COVID test was negative.

I was tested for antibodies a few days after returning from St. Petersburg and had the results the next day, which according to Dmitri Denisov, the medical director of the Helix Lab, were good results, especially when compared with others who were vaccinated or had COVID-19.


Sputnik V was already being administered in Russia in mid-December

What seems to be certain is that my antibodies are due to my Sputnik V vaccine. If I had been ill with the virus, I wouldn't have been able to build up so many antibodies, so quickly in the short time leading up to the antibody test.
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According to Denisov, everyone has a different immune response after getting the vaccine. "It depends on numerous factors," he said. "Previous illnesses, recent infections and the kinds of diets people have, not to mention the individual way in which people respond generally."

No one can say for sure whether having the same level of antibodies as I had could offer failproof protection from getting COVID-19. According to Denisov, the jury is still out on the matter, since worldwide vaccinations are just beginning and clinical trials are winding down.

 

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Ultrasound Blasts 'Jumpstarted' The Brains of 2 People in Coma-Like State

DAVID NIELD
31 JANUARY 2021

Scientists have reported finding some success in using low intensity, focused ultrasound to 'jumpstart' parts of the brains of people in coma-like conditions, reawakening certain functions in patients who had previously been in a "minimally conscious state" (MCS).

The method uses ultrasound stimulation to excite the neurons in the thalamus, a processing hub for the whole brain, and a region that's known to be weaker after a coma. Two 10-minute treatment sessions were given to three MCS patients, with a week between each session.

While one patient showed no response, researchers observed significant improvements in the other two patients. The research builds on similar findings from 2016, involving one patient who was recovering from surgery and a medically induced coma. In the new study, the coma-like states had lasted much longer.

A person in a minimally conscious state may show clear but subtle or inconsistent signs of consciousnesses. These signs, like blinking on command or wakefulness, are generally sustained enough that they aren't seen as reflexive behaviours, and they help to differentiate MCS from comas or vegetative states.

"I consider this new result much more significant because these chronic patients were much less likely to recover spontaneously than the acute patient we treated in 2016 – and any recovery typically occurs slowly over several months and more typically years, not over days and weeks, as we show," says neuroscientist Martin Monti, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).


"It's very unlikely that our findings are simply due to spontaneous recovery."

One of the patients to respond to the treatment was a 56-year-old man, who had been in a minimally conscious state for more than 14 months, unable to communicate at all. After treatment, he could not only look towards the photographs of relatives when their names were mentioned, he could also drop or grasp a ball on demand. When asked simple questions about his identity, he was able to shake his head 'yes' or 'no'.

The other patient to show signs of progress, a 50-year-old woman, had been in an even deeper MCS for more than two-and-a-half years. After the ultrasound sessions, she was able to understand speech and recognise basic objects, including a pencil and a comb.

Researchers say the technique is safe as it only uses a small amount of energy, and there were no changes to the blood pressure, heart rates, or blood oxygen levels of the patients.

A small device aims ultrasound at the thalamus. (Martin Monti/UCLA)

"This is what we hoped for, but it is stunning to see it with your own eyes," says Monti. "Seeing two of our three patients who had been in a chronic condition improve very significantly within days of the treatment is an extremely promising result."

It's important to emphasise that the research is still in an early and experimental phase. While the 50-year-old woman showed increased signs of awareness months afterwards, the differences from the MCS starting point weren't that significant. And after a few months without treatment, the 56-year-old man had returned to something close to his original coma-like state.

Add in the one patient that didn't respond at all to the treatment, and the researchers remain cautious about how successful ultrasound can be, and how quickly it can be rolled out. Nevertheless, these results are very encouraging – there are definite signs that this kind of treatment could help some patients some of the time.

The treatment can be applied in a device about the size of a saucer, and the researchers are hoping that it can eventually be used in the home on patients who are in long-term minimally conscious or vegetative states.

"Importantly, these behaviours are diagnostic markers of emergence from a disorder of consciousness," says Monti. "For these patients, the smallest step can be very meaningful – for them and their families. To them it means the world."

The research has been published in Brain Stimulation.