Senegal's capital floods again as experts blame poor planning

Senegal's Interior Minister, Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome, visits flooded areas after heavy rain in Dakar SEYLLOU AFP


Issued on: 24/08/2021 -
Dakar (AFP)

Senegal's Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome is up to his knees in water, in a suburb of the West African country's capital, surveying flood damage.

He's inspecting a home in the eastern Keur Massar district: The first floor and courtyard have been submerged in brown water for three days.

Dragonflies hover over the swampy courtyard, which a lone pump is struggling to drain. Inside, furniture has been raised off the ground.

The owner of the home, who declined to be named, is scathing.

"They are incapable," he tells AFP, gesturing towards the minister and his entourage.

Anger has been growing over the increasingly routine flooding in Dakar.

Diome and other officials were booed as they toured Keur Massar, and protesters elsewhere in Dakar blocked a highway.

Comprising about 3.7 million people, the city regularly floods during the July-October rainy reason. But the problem is getting worse. This year, heavy flooding struck after only two days of rain.

The floods have also come after repeated government promises to solve the problem.

Moise David Ndour, another Keur Massar resident, is also fed up. "Nothing has been done," he says. "Some people have even moved away because of this".

Many are expecting worse flooding to come as the rains continue.

According to experts interviewed by AFP, whole districts are built on flood plains, and on soft soils close to the water table. Planning is haphazard and local authorities appear to exert little control.

- 'Worrying paradox -

Senegalese President Macky Sall launched a 10-year plan to combat flooding when he came to power in 2012, with a budget the equivalent of about 1.14 billion euros ($1.4 billion).

Water pumps and culverts have been installed in some areas of Dakar, successfully warding off flooding. However, other districts of the rapidly expanding city have been left untouched.

Dakar regularly floods during the July-October rainy reason, but the problem is getting worse SEYLLOU AFP

About a quarter of Senegal's population of 16 million people live in the seaside city, where there is fierce pressure to build because of housing shortages.

The government has sought to relieve inundated areas without tackling the reasons underlying regular flooding, according to Senegalese geologist Pape Goumbo Lo.

"The construction of housing must take into account the nature of the soil," he said, adding that there is a need for more studies of the land and the water table.

Free-for-all construction has also exacerbated flooding even as downpours have become less frequent.

"This is a very worrying paradox," says Cheikh Gueye, a geographer and researcher at the Dakar-based NGO Enda Tiers-Monde.

"Less and less rain is causing more and more damage," he adds.

- Horses to the rescue -

In Mbao, another Dakar suburb, it hasn't rained in three days, but the main road is still flooded with stagnant water.

The government has sought to relieve inundated areas without tackling the reasons underlying regular flooding, experts say SEYLLOU AFP/File

Motorbikes, scooters and public transportation vehicles can no longer use it.

Ibrahim Cisse, a local with water lapping round his ankles, says "we have no choice but to get wet or use the horse-drawn carriages to cross the street".

In front of him, about a dozen people are perched on a horse-cart, which are common in Senegal but are mostly used to transport goods.

"There is a lot of damage, the shopkeepers can't open," says another local, who declines to be named. "We have to get past this".

But Cheikh Gueye, the geographer, is pessimistic.

"We build in flood zones: Every day new neighbourhoods are created, and the same mistakes are made".

© 2021 AFP

STALINISM 2.0

Hong Kong censorship law to check old films for national security breaches

Hong Kong historically boasted a thriving film scene and for much of the latter half of the last century, Cantonese cinema was world-class 

VIVEK PRAKASH AFP/File

Issued on: 24/08/2021 - 

Hong Kong (AFP)

Hong Kong will scrutinise past films for national security breaches under a tough new censorship law announced on Tuesday in the latest blow to the financial hub's political and artistic freedoms.

Authorities have embarked on a sweeping crackdown to root out Beijing's critics after huge and often violent democracy protests convulsed the city two years ago.

A new China-imposed security law and an official campaign dubbed "Patriots rule Hong Kong" has since criminalised much dissent and strangled the democracy movement.

Authorities previously announced in June that the city's censorship board would check any future films for content that breached the security law.

But on Tuesday they unveiled a new hardened censorship law which would also cover any titles that had previously been given a green light.

"Any film for public exhibition, past, present and future, will need to get approval," commerce secretary Edward Yau told reporters.

Hong Kong's national security law bans anything authorities deem to be secession, subversion, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces.

Almost all those arrested under the law so far are democracy activists and a legislative brief given to reporters on Tuesday specifically mentioned recent documentaries that "glorified" or "incited" protests.

The new law must be approved by the city's legislature -- a near certainty, given it has been purged of any opposition over the last year.

The maximum sentence for showing illegal films will be increased to up to three years jail and a HK$1 million ($130,000) fine.

Titles deemed a national security risk by censors will not be able to appeal via the usual channels.

Instead they will have to launch a judicial review in Hong Kong's courts, a long and costly legal procedure.

Authorities can also revoke viewing licenses of venues that show titles deemed "contrary to the interests of national security".

The law will bring Hong Kong much closer to the Chinese mainland, where films are rigorously vetted and only a handful of Western movies or documentaries see a commercial release each year.

Hong Kong historically boasted a thriving film scene and for much of the latter half of the last century, Cantonese cinema was world-class.

The city still maintains some key studios, a handful of lauded directors and a thriving indie scene, but new political red lines are being drawn each month.

The announcement of Tuesday's new censorship law came as Hollywood star Nicole Kidman is filming an Amazon-funded series in the city based on a book about the gilded lives of the city's "expats".

Authorities allowed Kidman and her film crew to skip quarantine, sparking public anger last week.

© 2021 AFP

Maersk orders eight carbon-neutral container ships

Issued on: 24/08/2021 - 

Global maritime transport accounts for almost three percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization. Don MacKinnon AFP/File

Copenhagen (AFP)

Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk said Tuesday it was speeding up plans for an environment-friendly fleet with the order of eight carbon-neutral container vessels, a pioneering project in the highly-polluting industry.

Maersk said in a statement that it will introduce the "groundbreaking" ocean-going vessels, capable of operating on carbon-neutral methanol, in the first quarter of 2024.

The ships, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and equipped with dual fuel engines, will be able to each transport 16,000 containers, and will account for about three percent of the company's fleet.

The deal with HHI includes an option for four more vessels in 2025.

According to Maersk, the new ships will enable the company to reduce its annual CO2 emissions by about one million tonnes.

Global maritime transport is more polluting than the aviation sector, according to the Higher Institute of Maritime Economics (Isemar).

It is responsible for 2.98 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, 2018 figures from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) show.

"The time to act is now, if we are to solve shipping's climate challenge," AP Moller-Maersk chief executive Soren Skou said in the statement.

"This order proves that carbon-neutral solutions are available today across container vessel segments and that Maersk stands committed to the growing number of our customers who look to decarbonise their supply chains."

"Further, this is a firm signal to fuel producers that sizable market demand for the green fuels of the future is emerging at speed," he added.

In February, the group announced it would launch its first carbon-neutral vessel in 2023, seven years ahead of its initial target.

That ship will operate on bio-methanol and will sail intra-regional routes.

Maersk, which sold its oil division in 2017 to TotalEnergies, aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.

In 2020, it said it had reduced its carbon emissions by 42 percent from the previous year.

© 2021 AFP

RACIST MEDICINE USA

Mount Sinai study identifies significant inequalities among low-risk births, finds higher rates of unexpected complications for Black and Hispanic infants

Peer-Reviewed Publication

THE MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL / MOUNT SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Mount Sinai researchers who examined racial and ethnic disparities among low-risk newborns found that Black and Hispanic newborns have higher risks of complications compared to white and Asian babies. Their findings, published in the journal Pediatrics on Tuesday, August 24, identify hospital quality as a contributing factor to racial and ethnic inequalities in unexpected complications among relatively healthy newborns.

The study examined more than 480,000 live births at term gestation, or pregnancies carried to at least 37 weeks, in New York City from 2010 through 2014 and found the overall rate of unexpected complications was 48 per 1,000 births. Complication rates were higher among Black (about 72 per 1,000) and Hispanic (54 per 1,000) newborns than among white (about 35 per 1,000) and Asian (about 36 per 1,000) infants. Black infants were roughly twice as likely, and Hispanic infants roughly 1.5 times as likely, to have a complication as white infants, according to the study, which used logistic regression models adjusted for maternal sociodemographic characteristics including age, insurance coverage, and educational attainment.

The researchers also found that Black and Hispanic women typically delivered in different and lower-quality hospitals than did white women, further demonstrating the importance of the delivery hospital. One-third of Black and Hispanic women—33.1 percent and 34.3 percent, respectively—gave birth in hospitals with risk-adjusted newborn morbidity rates ranking in the highest third, compared to only 10 percent of white and Asian women.

“Term births make up the vast majority of deliveries, and minimizing potentially preventable morbidity at term would have substantial population-level impact,” said senior investigator Kimberly B. Glazer, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Population Health Science and Policy, and Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “By identifying disparities among otherwise healthy, low-risk infants, we emphasize patient safety and quality improvement—targeting routine obstetric and neonatal care—as a critical but underutilized approach to disparity reduction.”

More than 90 percent of births occur at term, most with relatively low risk for complications. Still, babies carried to term can face significant complications, including severe infection, shock, organ failure, and respiratory distress, which can lead to critical consequences for immediate and long-term well-being.

In the new study, Mount Sinai researchers evaluated the extent to which racial and ethnic disparities exist among low-risk, term newborns, and estimated the influence of hospital quality on such disparities. Most research to date has only studied preterm birth and quality of care for high-risk deliveries.

The retrospective cohort study examined birth certificates linked to hospital discharge records for more than 480,000 live births in New York City from 2010 through 2014. The research team considered the “unexpected newborn complications” quality measure used by The Joint Commission to identify potentially avoidable severe and moderate complications among relatively healthy, term births. Using the “unexpected newborn complications” quality measure, the researchers determined whether these complication rates varied by race and ethnicity, and identified whether differences in the delivery hospital explained patterns in morbidity risk. To evaluate hospital quality, the researchers calculated risk-standardized newborn complication rates for each of the 40 New York City hospitals in the study’s sample. They ranked hospitals by these adjusted morbidity rates and compared the distribution of births between racial and ethnic groups across hospital rankings.

The study’s findings are consistent with previous research on disparities among high-risk preterm and low-birth-weight deliveries, and calls attention to a critical need for hospital quality improvement through targeting routine obstetric and neonatal care for greater equity in perinatal outcomes. The study relies on the accuracy of diagnosis and procedure codes in hospital discharge data, and the researchers recommend future research include information on contextual factors such as the neighborhood environment.

The Mount Sinai team collaborated with researchers from the Obstetrical Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team at the Centre of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (CRESS), INSERM, Université de Paris; the Grossman School of Medicine, New York University; the School of Public Health, University of Washington; and the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

This study is supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, a part of the National Institutes of Health, under Award Number R01HD078565.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City’s largest academic medical system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. We advance medicine and health through unrivaled education and translational research and discovery to deliver care that is the safest, highest-quality, most accessible and equitable, and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 7,300 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 free-standing joint-venture centers; more than 410 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” of the top 20 U.S. hospitals and among the top in the nation by specialty: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Urology, and Rehabilitation. Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital is ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” among the country’s best in four out of 10 pediatric specialties. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked among the Top 20 nationally for ophthalmology. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report's “Best Medical Schools,” aligned with a U.S. News & World Report “Honor Roll” Hospital, and No. 14 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding. Newsweek’s “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals” ranks The Mount Sinai Hospital as No. 1 in New York and top five globally, and Mount Sinai Morningside as top 20 globally, and “The World’s Best Specialized Hospitals” ranks Mount Sinai Heart as No. 1 in New York and No. 5 globally and the Division of Gastroenterology as No. 5 globally.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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JOURNAL

PEDIATRICS

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Hospital Quality of Care and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Unexpected Newborn Complications

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

24-Aug-2021

Racial differences in recovery following sports-related concussion identified in young black and white athletes

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JOURNAL OF NEUROSURGERY PUBLISHING GROUP

Charlottesville, VA (August 24, 2021). Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers examined whether race (Black or White) influences outcomes and subjective experiences in young athletes who have sustained a sports-related concussion. Of primary interest were how long it takes for symptom resolution and return to school as well as changes in daily activities and sports behaviors. Findings of the study can be found in the article “Exploring the outcomes and experiences of Black and White athletes following a sport-related concussion: a retrospective cohort study” by Aaron M. Yengo-Kahn, MD, and colleagues, published today in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics (https://thejns.org/doi/abs/10.3171/2021.2.PEDS2130).

The study was performed with the aid of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Registry. The researchers focused on 36 Black and 211 White young athletes (12 to 23 years of age) who sustained a sports-related concussion and were treated between 2012 and 2015. Data were collected via a review of medical records and telephone communications with the athletes and their parents or guardians.

Race was determined on the basis of self-identification by the study participants. Standardized phone interviews were used to elicit information on the young athletes’ outcomes and subjective experiences following the concussion. Patient demographics, family financial status (based on zip code–defined median incomes), and health insurance status were also collected. The data collected were cross-validated with information in patients’ electronic health records; discrepancies were resolved by additional phone contacts. The data were examined using descriptive analyses, multivariable Cox proportional hazards models, and logistic regression.

Four primary outcomes consisted of the number of days between injury and both symptom resolution and return to school, and whether the participants stated that they had experienced post-injury changes in daily activities and/or sports behavior.

If patients noted post-injury changes in daily activities, they were asked more specific questions about whether they had experienced changes in time spent studying for school, watching television, playing video games, and sleeping. If patients noted post-injury changes in sports behavior, they were asked additional questions including whether they had stopped playing the sport in which they had received the concussion, made different choices in wearing protective equipment, and/or changed their style of play (for example, became more or less reckless).

All athletes were enrolled in school (middle school, high school, or college). Fifty-eight percent of White athletes were male, as were 78% of Black athletes. The age distribution within both groups of athletes was similar, and the groups’ past medical and family histories were comparable. More White athletes had private insurance than Black athletes (94% vs. 67%), and more White athletes lived in higher income neighborhoods.

Black athletes reported a shorter time between injury and symptom resolution than White athletes (median 12.3 days [interquartile range {IQR} 6.8–28.0 days] vs. 21.0 days [IQR 10.5–61.0 days]). Black athletes also reported a shorter time away from school (median 0 school days [IQR 0–2 school days] vs. 2 school days [IQR 0–5 school days] before returning to school). In both situations, the differences between the races held true when the researchers adjusted for age, sex, concussion history, median income, and health insurance type.

With respect to changes in daily activities, White athletes reported spending less time sleeping, watching television, and doing homework than Black athletes following the concussion. After the researchers controlled for age, sex, concussion history, median income, and health insurance type, they found that Black athletes had lower odds of reporting a change in daily activities post-injury.

Black athletes reported making a change in protective equipment more often than White athletes (25.0% vs. 12.3%), but, overall, changes in sports behavior did not differ between the two groups.

The researchers discuss a variety of factors that might be associated with the racial differences identified in young athletes with respect to concussion symptom resolution, return to school, and post-concussion changes in daily activities. However, these factors have not been thoroughly studied. The researchers encourage initiation of new studies focusing on the mechanisms and root causes behind these racial differences related to outcomes and experience of sports-related concussion. In closing their article, the authors state, “Understanding the mechanisms of these differences is important for providing effective management strategies and reinforces the necessity of diverse study cohorts going forward.”

When asked about the findings of the study, Dr. Yengo-Kahn, responded, “Across medicine race has been shown to be a social construct and determinant of health; and health outcomes can vary dramatically with regard to race. Despite prior evidence of health inequities across races in neurosurgery and medicine in general, there were disproportionately few studies exploring racial differences with regard to sports-related concussion. This was troubling to us as the student-athlete population, those at risk for sports-related concussion, is so racially and culturally diverse. Our findings suggest racial differences in recovery time, but we must strive to better understand the driving factors and whether these findings are downstream consequences of care access, concussion education resource access, or school-based provider access (i.e. athletic trainers, team doctors). We are currently analyzing care access pathways and a more in-depth analysis of race and clinical recovery to better understand the findings discussed in this article. Regardless of the root cause of these differences, we hope these findings encourage concussion researchers to consistently report the racial and ethnic make-up of their study populations to maximize the utility in the diverse student athlete population.”

Co-investigator Dr. Wallace further added, “This study adds to a growing body of work that underlines racial differences or disparities related to concussion in youth athletes. Many of the differences we are seeing are likely directly related to resource-based inequity and inequality. So, as we continue to identify and understand these differences between Black and White youth athletes, we as a community of concussion researchers and care providers must simultaneously be intentional in our efforts to reduce these differences.”

Article: Yengo-Kahn AM, Wallace J, Jimenez V, Totten DJ, Bonfield CM, Zuckerman SL: Exploring the outcomes and experiences of Black and White athletes following a sport-related concussion: a retrospective cohort study. Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics, published online, ahead of print, August 24, 2021; DOI: 10.3171/2021.2.PEDS2130.

Drs. Yengo-Kahn, Jimenez, Bonfield, and Zuckerman are affiliated with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Totten is affiliated with Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Wallace is affiliated with the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Disclosure: Dr. Yengo-Kahn holds a compensated position on the Scientific Advisory Board of BlinkTBI. This company had no role in the design or execution of this study or the reporting of results. BlinkTBI products were not used in the conduct of this study.

 

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For additional information, please contact: Ms. Jo Ann M. Eliason, Communications Manager, Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group, One Morton Drive, Suite 200, Charlottesville, VA 22903. Email: joanneliason@thejns.org     Phone: 434-982-1209

The Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics is a monthly peer-reviewed journal focused on diseases and disorders of the central nervous system and spine in children. This journal contains a variety of articles, including descriptions of preclinical and clinical research as well as technical notes. The Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics is one of six journals published by the JNS Publishing Group, the scholarly journal division of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Other peer-reviewed journals published by the JNS Publishing Group include the Journal of Neurosurgery, Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, Neurosurgical Focus, Neurosurgical Focus: Video, and Case Lessons. All six journals can be accessed at www.thejns.org.

Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 10,000 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. All active members of the AANS are certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Neurosurgery) of Canada, or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, AC. Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the entire nervous system including the brain, spinal column, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. For more information, visit www.AANS.org.

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JOURNAL

Journal of Neurosurgery Pediatrics

DOI

10.3171/2021.2.PEDS2130 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Racial Differences in Recovery Following Sports-Related Concussion Identified in Young Black and White Athletes

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

24-Aug-2021

COI STATEMENT

Dr. Yengo-Kahn holds a compensated position on the Scientific Advisory Board of BlinkTBI. This company had no role in the design or execution of this study or the reporting of results. BlinkTBI products were not used in the conduct of this study.

Original Investigation 

Infectious Diseases

August 24, 2021

Rates of Influenza-Associated Hospitalization, Intensive Care Unit Admission, and In-Hospital Death by Race and Ethnicity in the United States From 2009 to 2019

Alissa C. O’Halloran, MSPH¹; Rachel Holstein, MPH¹; Charisse Cummings, MPH^1,2; et alPam Daily Kirley, MPH³; Nisha B. Alden, MPH⁴; Kimberly Yousey-Hindes, MPH⁵; Evan J. Anderson, MD^6,7,8; Patricia Ryan, MS⁹; Sue Kim, MPH¹⁰; Ruth Lynfield, MD¹¹; Chelsea McMullen, MSc-GH¹²; Nancy M. Bennett, MD, MS¹³; Nancy Spina, MPH¹⁴; Laurie M. Billing, MPH¹⁵; Melissa Sutton, MD, MPH¹⁶; William Schaffner, MD¹⁷; H. Keipp Talbot, MD¹⁷; Andrea Price, LPN¹⁸; Alicia M. Fry, MD, MPH¹; Carrie Reed, DSc¹; Shikha Garg, MD, MPH¹

Author Affiliations Article Information

JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(8):e2121880. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.21880

Key Points

Question  Are rates of severe influenza disease associated with race and ethnicity?

Findings  In this cross-sectional study of influenza-associated outcomes among 113 352 patients hospitalized with influenza over the course of 10 influenza seasons, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian or Alaska Natives persons had higher rates of hospitalization and intensive care unit admission, even after adjusting for age. The greatest disparities were found in the youngest age groups.

Meaning  These findings suggest that targeted prevention and intervention efforts, such as improved influenza vaccine coverage and early use of antiviral treatment, could improve influenza-associated outcomes among racial and ethnic minority groups identified in this study as having higher rates of severe influenza disease.

Abstract

Importance  Racial and ethnic minority groups, such as Black, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian or Pacific Islander persons, often experience higher rates of severe influenza disease.

Objective  To describe rates of influenza-associated hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and in-hospital death by race and ethnicity over 10 influenza seasons.

Design, Setting, and Participants  This cross-sectional study used data from the Influenza-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (FluSurv-NET), which conducts population-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations in selected counties, representing approximately 9% of the US population. Influenza hospitalizations from the 2009 to 2010 season to the 2018 to 2019 season were analyzed. Data were analyzed from October 2020 to July 2021.

Main Outcomes and Measures  The main outcomes were age-adjusted and age-stratified rates of influenza-associated hospitalization, ICU admission, and in-hospital death by race and ethnicity overall and by influenza season.

Results  Among 113 352 persons with an influenza-associated hospitalization (34 436 persons [32.0%] aged ≥75 years; 61 009 [53.8%] women), 70 225 persons (62.3%) were non-Hispanic White (White), 24 850 persons (21.6%) were non-Hispanic Black (Black), 11 903 persons (10.3%) were Hispanic, 5517 persons (5.1%) were non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander, and 857 persons (0.7%) were non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native. Among persons aged younger than 75 years and compared with White persons of the same ages, Black persons were more likely to be hospitalized (eg, age 50-64 years: rate ratio [RR], 2.50 95% CI, 2.43-2.57) and to be admitted to an ICU (eg, age 50-64 years: RR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.96-2.23). Among persons aged younger than 50 years and compared with White persons of the same ages, American Indian or Alaska Native persons were more likely to be hospitalized (eg, age 18-49 years: RR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.51-1.96) and to be admitted to an ICU (eg, age 18-49 years: RR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.40-2.42). Among children aged 4 years or younger and compared with White children, hospitalization rates were higher in Black children (RR, 2.21; 95% CI, 2.10-2.33), Hispanic children (RR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.77-1.97), American Indian or Alaska Native children (RR, 3.00; 95% CI, 2.55-3.53), and Asian or Pacific Islander children (RR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.16-1.38), as were rates of ICU admission (Black children: RR, 2.74; 95% CI, 2.43-3.09; Hispanic children: RR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.73-2.23; American Indian and Alaska Native children: RR, 3.51; 95% CI, 2.45-5.05). In this age group and compared with White children, in-hospital death rates were higher among Hispanic children (RR, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.23-7.19), Black children (RR, 3.39; 95% CI, 1.40-8.18), and Asian or Pacific Islander children (RR, 4.35; 95% CI, 1.55-12.22). Few differences were observed in rates of severe influenza-associated outcomes by race and ethnicity among adults aged 75 years or older. For example, in this age group, compared with White adults, hospitalization rates were slightly higher only among Black adults (RR, 1.05; 95% CI 1.02-1.09). Overall, Black persons had the highest age-adjusted hospitalization rate (68.8 [95% CI, 68.0-69.7] hospitalizations per 100 000 population) and ICU admission rate (11.6 [95% CI, 11.2-11.9] admissions per 100 000 population).

Conclusions and Relevance  This cross-sectional study found racial and ethnic disparities in rates of severe influenza-associated disease. These data identified subgroups for whom improvements in influenza prevention efforts could be targeted.

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Rates of Influenza-Associated Hospitalization, Intensive Care Unit Admission, and In-Hospital Death by Race and Ethnicity in the United States From 2009 to 2019 | Critical Care Medicine | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

What effect does early social contact have on dairy calves’ welfare?

New research in the Journal of Dairy Science® examines behavioral, performance, and health effects of early socialization among young calves

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ELSEVIER

Philadelphia, August 24, 2021 – In addition to needs such as food, water, shelter, and medical care, social contact is an important aspect of welfare for animals, just as it is for humans. Yet early socialization of dairy calves is sometimes given lesser priority in the interest of physical health, with young calves housed individually to prevent the spread of contagious diseases such as those that cause diarrhea, or scours, a major source of calf mortality. In a new study appearing in the Journal of Dairy Science®, scientists from the University of Florida Department of Animal Sciences investigated whether this individually housed tactic is justified and what unintended consequences it may have.

Given different practical considerations, dairy calves’ age of introduction to social housing varies from farm to farm. Different ages of first socialization may affect behavioral development and responses to later social grouping. In this study, Holstein calves were housed either individually or in pairs during their first two weeks of life and then moved, first to groups of four and later to groups of eight, reflecting the dynamic conditions of many farms’ housing systems. Throughout the study, researchers monitored the calves’ ability to learn to feed independently from the teat bucket in early life, and then from the autofeeder. Calf health, feed intake, and weight gain were recorded, as well as activity and social interactions—with surprising results.

“We anticipated that calves reared with social contact in the first weeks would engage more with novel pen resources, have increased social interaction, and have increased lying time upon social grouping, compared with calves previously individually housed,” said lead investigator Emily Miller-Cushon, PhD, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. However, the scientists found little difference in most of the measured outcomes between the differently socialized groups. The most important difference was consistently greater social resting time among initially pair-housed calves, suggesting greater overall comfort with pen-mates, even upon first introduction.

Miller-Cushon added that the results showed “minimal other effects on behavior and no detrimental effects on performance.” There was even a tendency for fewer days of diarrhea among calves housed in pairs after birth. Thus, the authors observed, “Although concern for calf health is often cited as reason to house calves individually, at least for a short period after birth, we found a tendency for reduced scours in pair-housed calves, providing evidence that social housing does not negatively affect, and may benefit, early-life calf health.”

 

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JOURNAL

Journal of Dairy Science

DOI

10.3168/jds.2021-20435 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Effects of early social contact on dairy calf response to initial social grouping and regrouping

WATER IS LIFE

New research in rural Costa Rica suggests community-based monitoring can improve water management

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY

New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) suggests that externally-encouraged, community-based monitoring can improve the management of shared resources. Researchers from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC); Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands; and Johns Hopkins University sought to determine if a community-based monitoring approach promoted by an outside organization could help local communities in rural Costa Rica improve water management. Although replications are needed, the results are encouraging -- promising news ahead of World Water Week 2021. 

Citizen engagement program

“Community-based monitoring to facilitate water management by local institutions in Costa Rica” examines a monitoring program aimed to reduce groundwater extraction from aquifers. The program also sought to improve the quality of water accessed by participating Costa Rican communities and their satisfaction with the water supply.

“This study allows us to directly see how community-based monitoring can support more desirable water management outcomes and to analyze the ways to attain those outcomes,” said co-author Maria Bernedo Del Carpio, assistant professor at UMBC. “Monitoring a natural resource or an institution can generate valuable information that will improve governance, but it is necessary to engage decision-makers and the community.”

The process included increased communication about field conditions, additional scrutiny of user and management authority activities, and fostering citizen engagement in water management. Using a specially designed smartphone application and WhatsApp, monitors reported weekly on the conditions of the water system, including service disruptions, water quality, leaks, and source contamination. The app automatically compiled the individual reports into a summary report, which was then made available to the community water management committees and water users. 

Improvements in water quality

The program was randomly implemented in 80 of 161 rural Costa Rican communities that expressed an interest in participating. One year after the program started, the team detected that it had modest effects in the predicted directions: less groundwater extracted, better water quality, and more satisfied users. Although the estimated effects are imprecise, the monitoring program appears to be equally or more cost-effective for reducing groundwater extraction in comparison with another program in the same region that encouraged households to adopt water-efficient technologies.

“Understanding how we can make institutions and governance more effective is essential for successfully addressing the most important policy challenges of the 21st century,” said co-author Paul Ferraro a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University. “We believe this study is an exemplar of how such an understanding can be more effectively generated by careful field testing using the very best scientific practices.”

 

 

 

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JOURNAL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2015177118 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Randomized controlled/clinical trial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Community-based monitoring to facilitate water management by local institutions in Costa Rica

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

20-Jul-2021

Understanding Antarctic ice historic changes could reveal future changes

Peer-Reviewed Publication

RESEARCH ORGANIZATION OF INFORMATION AND SYSTEMS

 

IMAGE: SEDIMENT SAMPLING IN ANTARCTICA. view more 

CREDIT: HIDEKI MIURA (JARE35/NIPR)

The Antarctic Ice Sheet, Earth’s southern polar ice sheet, has grown and receded and grown again over millions of years. This changing mass influences the planet’s climate and sea levels, with historic data recorded in sediment, meltwater and surrounding oceans. However, the remote and difficult nature of the sheet leaves researchers with limited access to collect samples and data that may reveal missing pieces in the ebb and flow of historic climate changes.

The results were published on June 14 in Geology.

“An accurate reconstruction of Antarctic Ice Sheet changes is required to develop a further understanding of ice-sheet response to climate changes,” said paper author Takeshige Ishiwa, postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Polar Research, Research Organization of Information and Systems.

According to Ishiwa, ice sheet changes before the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago, when the ice sheets across the globe were their most extensive, have not been well documented. With limited records, there are inconsistencies in modeled data and geological observations. For example, despite a global sea level drop of more than 40 meters before the Last Glacial Maximum, sedimentary samples from two bays in East Antarctica indicate sea levels did not differ much from modern measurements.

To better understand this inconsistency, the researchers modeled how land under the ice sheet moves, called glacial isostatic adjustment. Even when ice melts, the land has long-lasting effects and moves differently as a result. The researchers simulated various scenarios and found that only one appeared to explain the sea level discrepancy.

“Our glacial isostatic adjustment modeling results reveal that the Indian Ocean sector of Antarctic Ice Sheet would have been required to experience excess ice loads before the Last Glacial Maximum in order to explain limited geological data,” Ishiwa said. “We suggest that the Antarctic Ice Sheet partly reached its maximum thickness before the Last Glacier Maximum.”

The thicker ice appears to have depressed the continent, Ishiwa said, changing the gravitation field of the land and sea to generate the high sea levels.

“Geological evidence supports our glacial isostatic adjustment-based Antarctic Ice Sheet reconstruction before the Last Glacial Maximum,” Ishiwa said, noting how sediment and meltwater data indicates that the ice sheet had partially decayed before the Last Glacial Maximum.

The researchers plan to conduct another field survey and obtain additional geological data to better understand changes in the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Co-authors include Jun’ichi Okuno and Yusuke Suganuma, both with the National Institute of Polar Research and the Department of Polar Research Science, School of Multidisciplinary Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI).  

The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the TOREY Science Foundation and the Giant Reservoirs-Antarctic program supported this work.

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About National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR)

The NIPR engages in comprehensive research via observation stations in Arctic and Antarctica. As a member of the Research Organization of Information and Systems (ROIS), the NIPR provides researchers throughout Japan with infrastructure support for Arctic and Antarctic observations, plans and implements Japan's Antarctic observation projects, and conducts Arctic researches of various scientific fields such as the atmosphere, ice sheets, the ecosystem, the upper atmosphere, the aurora and the Earth's magnetic field. In addition to the research projects, the NIPR also organizes the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition and manages samples and data obtained during such expeditions and projects. As a core institution in researches of the polar regions, the NIPR also offers graduate students with a global perspective on originality through its doctoral program. For more information about the NIPR, please visit:https://www.nipr.ac.jp/english/

About the Research Organization of Information and Systems (ROIS)

The Research Organization of Information and Systems (ROIS) is a parent organization of four national institutes (National Institute of Polar Research, National Institute of Informatics, the Institute of Statistical Mathematics and National Institute of Genetics) and the Joint Support-Center for Data Science Research. It is ROIS's mission to promote integrated, cutting-edge research that goes beyond the barriers of these institutions, in addition to facilitating their research activities, as members of inter-university research institutes.

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JOURNAL

Geology

DOI

10.1130/G48830.1 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Excess ice loads in the Indian Ocean sector of East Antarctica during the last glacial period

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

13-Jun-2021