Plos One
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The coronavirus disease 2019 is a respiratory illness spread between people. A primary weapon for reducing or eliminating this disease involves physical distancing to thwart transmission. ⋯ Devising a configuration of desks and/or workspaces that are physically distant is a type of dispersion problem that can be formalized mathematically and solved. Planning efforts for a university campus serve to illustrate how spatial optimization can support safety enhancements.
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Canada implemented a series of laws regulating firearms including background and psychological screening, licensing, and training in the years 1991, 1994, and 2001. The effects of this legislation on suicide and homicide rates were examined over the years 1981 to 2016. Models were constructed using difference-in-difference analysis of firearms and non firearms death rates from 1981 to 2016. ⋯ In conclusion, firearms legislation had no associated beneficial effect on overall suicide and homicide rates. Prevalence of firearms ownership was not associated with suicide rates. Multifaceted strategies to reduce mortality associated with firearms may be required such as steps to reduce youth gang membership and violence, community-based suicide prevention programs, and outreach to groups for which access to care may be a particular issue, such as Aboriginals.
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Disparities in methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) outcomes have received limited attention, but there are important negative outcomes associated with MMT that warrant investigation. Racial discrimination is common in healthcare settings and affects opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and comorbidities. However, race/ethnicity alone may not fully explain experiences of discrimination. MMT remains highly stigmatized and may compound the effect of race/ethnicity on discrimination in healthcare settings. We sought to quantify differential associations between MMT and experiences of racial discrimination between racial/ethnic groups in a U.S. national sample. ⋯ Race/ethnicity alone did not sufficiently account for racial discrimination in healthcare settings among those with a lifetime OUD. MMT status was strongly associated with racial discrimination among AI/AN. Our strong interaction effect is indicative of an additional barrier to health services utilization among AI/AN, which has important implications for OUD treatment outcomes and comorbidities. Health promotion programs aimed at increased adoption of MMT are promising, but should be considered in the context of racial/ethnic disparities, drug use and MMT stigma, and implicit biases in clinical settings.
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Finite element models combined with animal experimental models of spinal cord injury provides the opportunity for investigating the effects of the injury mechanism on the neural tissue deformation and the resulting tissue damage. Thus, we developed a finite element model of the mouse cervical spinal cord in order to investigate the effect of morphological, experimental and mechanical factors on the spinal cord mechanical behavior subjected to transverse contusion. ⋯ Pareto analysis revealed that the material properties had a significant effect (p<0.01) for all regions of interest of the spinal cord and was the most influential factor for 7 out of 8 regions. This highlighted the need for comprehensive mechanical characterization of the gray and white matter in order to develop effective models capable of predicting tissue deformation during spinal cord injuries.