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Monitoring Trends (monitoring + trend)
Selected AbstractsMonitoring Regional Riparian Forest Cover Change Using Stratified Sampling and Multiresolution Imagery,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 2 2010Peter R. Claggett Claggett, Peter R., Judy A. Okay, and Stephen V. Stehman, 2010. Monitoring Regional Riparian Forest Cover Change Using Stratified Sampling and Multiresolution Imagery. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):334-343. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00424.x Abstract:, The Chesapeake Bay watershed encompasses 165,760 km2 of land area with 464,098 km of rivers and streams. As part of the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort, state and federal partners have committed to restoring 26,000 miles (41,843 km) of riparian forest buffers. Monitoring trends in riparian forest buffers over large areas is necessary to evaluate the efficacy of these restoration efforts. A sampling approach for estimating change in riparian forest cover from 1993/1994 to 2005 was developed and implemented in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, to exemplify a method that could be applied throughout the Bay watershed. All stream reaches in the county were stratified using forest cover change derived from Landsat imagery. A stratified random sample of 219 reaches was selected and forest cover change within the riparian buffer of each sampled reach was interpreted from high-resolution aerial photography. The estimated footprint of gross change in riparian forest cover (i.e., the sum of gross gain and gross loss) for the county was 1.83% (SE = 0.22%). Stratified sampling taking advantage of a priori knowledge of locations of change proved to be a practical and efficient protocol for estimating riparian forest buffer change at the county scale and the protocol would readily extend to much broader scale monitoring. [source] SELECTED DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIAL AND WORK CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AUSTRALIAN GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONER WORKFORCE: COMPARING CAPITAL CITIES WITH REGIONAL AREASAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 6 2000David Wilkinson ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to compare selected characteristics of the Australian general medical practitioner workforce in capital cities and regional areas. Data were derived from the 1996 Census of Population and Housing. Characteristics included age, sex, full- or part-time work, place of birth and change in residential address. Analyses were performed for each state and territory in Australia, the statistical division containing each capital city and all other statistical divisions in each state and territory. Of the 26 359 general medical practitioners identified, 68% were male. More female than male general medical practitioners were aged < 45 years (74 vs 52%, respectively; P < 0.0001). The proportion of general medical practitioners aged < 35 years was higher in capital cities (30%) than regional areas (24%; P < 0.0001). Overall, 32% of the general medical practitioner workforce was female and almost 50% of those aged < 35 years were female. The proportion of female general medical practitioners was higher in capital cities than regional areas, by up to 30%. While 13% of male general medical practitioners reported part-time work, 42% of females also reported part-time work and these figures were similar in capital cities and regional areas. Approximately 40% of the Australian general medical practitioner workforce was born outside Australia and while fewer migrants have entered in recent years they were more likely to be living in regional areas than the capitals. The census provides useful medical workforce data. The regional workforce tends to be made up of more males and is older than in capital cities. Monitoring trends in these characteristics could help to evaluate initiatives aimed at addressing regional workforce issues. [source] Changes in left ventricular ejection time and pulse transit time derived from finger photoplethysmogram and electrocardiogram during moderate haemorrhageCLINICAL PHYSIOLOGY AND FUNCTIONAL IMAGING, Issue 3 2009Paul M. Middleton Summary Objectives:, Early identification of haemorrhage is difficult when a bleeding site is not apparent. This study explored the potential use of the finger photoplethysmographic (PPG) waveform derived left ventricular ejection time (LVETp) and pulse transit time (PTT) for detecting blood loss, by using blood donation as a model of controlled mild to moderate haemorrhage. Methods:, This was a prospective, observational study carried out in a convenience sample of blood donors. LVETp, PTT and R-R interval (RRi) were computed from simultaneous measurement of the electrocardiogram (ECG) and the finger infrared photoplethysmogram obtained from 43 healthy volunteers during blood donation. The blood donation process was divided into four stages: (i) Pre-donation (PRE), (ii) first half of donation (FIRST), (iii) second half of donation (SECOND), (iv) post-donation (POST). Results and conclusions:, Shortening of LVETp from 303+/,2 to 293+/,3 ms (mean+/,SEM; P<0·01) and prolongation of PTT from 177+/,3 to 186+/,4 ms (P<0·01) were observed in 81% and 91% of subjects respectively when comparing PRE and POST. During blood donation, progressive blood loss produced falling trends in LVETp (P<0·01) and rising trends in PTT (P<0·01) in FIRST and SECOND, but a falling trend in RRi (P<0·01) was only observed in SECOND. Monitoring trends in timing variables derived from non-invasive ECG and finger PPG signals may facilitate detection of blood loss in the early phase. [source] Testing the use of interviews as a tool for monitoring trends in the harvesting of wild speciesJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Julia P. G. Jones Summary 1Many aspects of human behaviour impact on ecological systems. Ecologists therefore need information on changes in these behaviours and are increasingly using methods more familiar to social scientists. 2Understanding patterns of wildlife harvesting is important for assessing the sustainability of harvests. Interviews are commonly used in which informants are asked to summarize their activities over a period of time. However, few studies have investigated the reliability of such data, the usefulness of interviews for monitoring trends, and how their information content can be maximized. 3We carried out rapid assessment interviews with villagers in Madagascar about the quantity, timing and spatial patterns of crayfish Astacoides granulimanus and firewood collection. We compared the results with information from daily interviews with the same informants. We used mixed models to investigate how accurately people reported their activities in the rapid assessment interviews, and estimated the probability of detecting a change in harvesting from two such interviews using a Bayesian approach. 4The interviews provided reliable information on quantities, effort, and the spatial pattern of harvesting. Simulations suggested the interviews would detect changes in catches and harvesting effort with reasonable power; for example, a 20% change in the amount of time spent crayfish harvesting could be detected with 90% power. Power is higher when the same informants are questioned in repeat interviews. 5Synthesis and applications. Ecologists are increasingly using social techniques and it is vital that they are subject to rigorous testing to ensure robustness in trend detection. This study suggests that interviews can be used to monitor changes in harvesting patterns by resource users, but whether the power is adequate will depend on the needs of the study. To maximize the power of interviews, informants should be interviewed independently and the same informants interviewed in subsequent years. [source] Utilizing hospital discharge data (HD) to compare fatal and non-fatal work-related injuries among Hispanic workers in New JerseyAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2010K. McGreevy PhD Abstract Background This study explores the utilization of Hospital Discharge (HD) data to obtain estimates of work-related non-fatal injuries rates in NJ to determine if Hispanics workers have an increased risk of specific work-related injuries. In addition, HD data are used to compare the rate ratios between fatal and non-fatal injuries in this population to demonstrate the effectiveness of using HD as a surveillance tool for monitoring injury trends and performing evaluations. Methods Several types of fatal and non-fatal injuries were modeled using Poisson regression with the following predictor variables: gender, ethnicity, and year. The estimated number of workers by ethnicity employed in NJ each year was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, DataFerrett, Current Population Survey, November 2006, a data mining tool which accesses CPS data. Results These analyses, utilizing estimates of working population at-risk, indicate that Hispanic workers have an increased risk of four particular work-related injuries compared with non-Hispanics, and Hispanics were injured at a younger age than non-Hispanics. In addition the rankings of the rate ratios from the comparison between non-fatal and fatal risk estimates were similar; indicating that occupational surveillance of non-fatal injuries is a viable component to be considered. Conclusions HD data are effective for monitoring trends over time across ethnic groups and injury types. Therefore, non-fatal injury surveillance should be considered for targeting specific worker populations for interventions to reduce exposure to workplace hazards, and can be a valuable surveillance tool in efforts to reduce occupational injuries. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:146,152 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Trends in the prevalence of disability and chronic conditions among the older population: implications for survey design and measurement of disabilityAUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING, Issue 1 2004Xingyan Wen A number of issues that are crucial for measuring disability and monitoring trends in disability prevalence include: (i) Why has a decline in the reported disability prevalence been accompanied by an increase in the reported prevalence of chronic diseases in some developed countries? (ii) Why have different trends (increases and decreases) in disability prevalence been reported among the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries? (iii) While the cross-nation comparison of level of disability prevalence is limited by the differences in survey design and methods, can trends in disability within each country be compared internationally on the basis of the existing survey data? The present paper discusses recent trends in reported prevalence of disability and chronic conditions among the older population and explores implications for population survey methods and measurement of disability. A comparison of examples from the USA and Australia indicates that the reported disability prevalence may be affected by whether the presence of any chronic conditions restricting everyday activity are included as part of the survey definition of disability. Focusing on long-term and severe disability may increase the comparability of disability estimates from different countries, including estimates from time series data. [source] Changes in solarium numbers in Australia following negative media and legislationAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 5 2009Jennifer K. Makin Abstract Objective: To monitor changes in the number of indoor tanning facilities in Australia's capital cities following widespread negative publicity and the introduction of legislation in some states. Methods: An audit of listings under Solarium/Tanning Centres in the most recent hard copy Yellow Pages for Australia's capital cities was conducted, and results were compared with those from a previous audit from 2006. Results: There was a 32% drop in solarium listings for Australia's capital cities between 2006 and 2008/09. In most cases, larger decreases were observed in states where legislation was introduced. Conclusions: Despite underestimating solarium numbers, regular audits of business listings can be a useful way of monitoring trends, particularly when more accurate figures are not available. Solarium numbers can decrease following a combination of negative publicity and legislation. Implications: To achieve and maintain predicted reductions in skin cancer incidence, mortality and costs to the health system, solarium legislation should be a priority for those states where it has not yet been introduced, accompanied by compliance monitoring and enforcement to ensure it is effective. [source] | ||||||||||