BACKGROUND Wisconsin leads the nation in binge-drinking and alcohol consumption rates, creating substantial costs for taxpayers and contributing to countless alcohol-related comorbidities and numerous fatalities each year. This study was designed to assess the nature and extent of the alcohol problem in Wisconsin and compare alcohol- and non-alcohol-related motor vehicle accident (MVA) fatality...

A survey was conducted to examine the geographical distribution of plant-parasitic nematodes in Georgia cotton fields. A total of 778 fields in 11 Georgia counties were sampled from 1 September through 15 December 1995. Four nematode genera parasitic on cotton were found in this survey: Meloidogyne spp., Rotylenchulus sp., Hoplolaimus sp., and Belonolaimus sp. Meloidogyne spp. was present in 9%...

BACKGROUND The maternal mortality rate (MMR) markedly decreased in China, but there has been a significant imbalance among different geographic regions (east, central and west regions), and the mortality in the western region remains high. This study aims to examine how much disparity in the health system and MMR between ethnic minority and non-minority counties exists in Sichuan province of we...

BACKGROUND Evidence of health risks associated with ambient airborne fine particles in nonurban populations is extremely limited. OBJECTIVE We estimated the risk of hospitalization associated with short-term exposures to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 μm (PM2.5) in urban and nonurban counties with population ≥ 50,000. METHODS We utilized a database of daily cardiovasc...

A scientific definition of the type of mountain area and an exploration of the spatial correlation between different types of mountain areas and regional land use at the county level are important for reasonable land resource utilization and regional sustainable development. Here, a geographic information system was used to analyze digital elevation model data and to define the extent of mounta...

OBJECTIVE We examined the existence of disparities in receipt of appropriate diabetes care among California's fee-for-service Medicaid beneficiaries and the effectiveness of a telephonic-based disease management program delivered by a disease management vendor on the reduction of racial/ethnic disparities in diabetes care. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We conducted an intervention-control cohor...

Population growth will result in a significant anthropogenic environmental change worldwide through increases in developed land (DL) consumption. DL consumption is an important environmental and socioeconomic process affecting humans and ecosystems. Attention has been given to DL modeling inside highly populated cities. However, modeling DL consumption should expand to non-metropolitan areas wh...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether limited occurrence data for highly threatened species can provide useful spatial information to inform conservation. The study was conducted across central and southern China. We developed a habitat suitability model for the Critically Endangered Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) based on one biotic and three abiotic parameters from...