Congenital syphilis in the paraíba valley using a spatial approach / Sífilis congênita no vale do paraíba sob enfoque espacial

ABSTRACT Objective: To compare spatial patterns of congenital syphilis (CS) with those of socioeconomic and medical variables in Paraíba Valley, São Paulo, between 2012 and 2016. Methods: Ecological and exploratory study developed using spatial analysis tools, with information on CS cases obtained from official data reports. Rates were found for CS cases per 1,000 live births, number of family health teams and pediatricians available in the health system per 100,000 inhabitants, and social vulnerability index values. Thematic maps were constructed with these variables and compared using TerraView 4.2.2 software. Estimated global Moran (IM) indexes were calculated. In order to detect areas with priority attention regarding the incidence of CS, BoxMaps were developed. The Spearman correlation was estimated for the variable values and compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test. P <0.05 was significant. Results: 144,613 births and 870 CS cases (6.04/1000 live births) occurred during the study period. The average value of CS rates per municipality was 4.0±4.1, (0.0-17.6/1000 live births). Higher CS rates occurred in municipalities of the Upper Vale do Paraíba, contrary to the proportions of pediatricians who were in the far east of the region. The thematic maps of the variables presented a mosaic aspect, which characterized the random distribution of the variables. The IM were not significant. No significant correlation was found between the variables. The BoxMap identified eight municipalities with high CS rates. Conclusions: Even though it was not possible to identify a spatial pattern of CS rates, it was shown that eight municipalities deserve the attention of city managers.

RESUMO Objetivo: Comparar padrões espaciais da sífilis congênita (SC) com os de variáveis socioeconômicas e médicas no Vale do Paraíba paulista nos anos de 2012 a 2016. Métodos: Estudo ecológico e exploratório, utilizando ferramentas da análise espacial, com informações sobre casos de SC obtidas do Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (SINAN) e criadas taxas de casos de SC por 1.000 nascidos vivos (NV), de números de Equipes de Saúde da Família e de pediatras atendendo na rede por 100 mil habitantes e de valores do índice de vulnerabilidade social. Foram construídos mapas temáticos com essas taxas, para comparação entre elas, por meio do programa TerraView 4.2.2, e estimaram-se índices de Moran global (IM) para essas variáveis. Para detectar áreas com prioridade de atenção para a incidência de SC, foi construído Box Map. Estipulou-se a correlação de Spearman para os valores das variáveis, os quais foram comparados pelo teste de Kruskal-Wallis. Adotou-se erro alfa=5%. Resultados: Ocorreram 144.613 nascimentos no período e 870 casos de SC (6,04/1.000 NV); o valor médio das taxas por município foi de 4,0±4,1 (0,0-17,6/1.000 NV). Maiores taxas de SC ocorreram em municípios do Alto Vale do Paraíba, ao contrário das maiores proporções de pediatras, que se encontravam no extremo leste da região. Os mapas temáticos das variáveis apresentaram aspecto de mosaico, que caracteriza distribuição aleatória das variáveis, e os IM não foram significativos. Não houve correlação significativa entre as variáveis, e o Box Map identificou oito municípios que apresentavam altas taxas de SC. Conclusões: Não houve semelhanças entre os padrões espaciais das taxas de SC e demais variáveis, mas identificaram-se oito municípios que merecem atenção dos gestores municipais.

Geographic Information System as an aid instrument for public policies and management of sports facilities and programs

Abstract Aims: This paper sought to evaluate the infrastructure of public swimming pools in a countryside municipality of the state of São Paulo and to present the Geographic Information System (GIS) as a tool capable of assisting in the management of sports facilities and programs. Methods: This is a descriptive study since it intends to expose the characteristics of a certain context. First, documentary research was performed to map the facilities and their respective projects. After that, a field survey was conducted seeking to evaluate the infrastructure of public pools and their surroundings through observation. Lastly, using georeferencing software, the population, and socioeconomic data around these pools were obtained and analyzed. Results: It was identified ten public swimming pools, and in seven the offer of swimming projects was foreseen. The infrastructure of the pools is mainly unsatisfactory, making necessary the improvement of the installation itself and in its surroundings. According to the results of the GIS, each pool has its specific public target concerning the characteristics of the profile of the residents surrounding these facilities. Conclusion: Information regarding the public profile around sports facilities generated from a tool such as GIS showed it is possible to determine which sports projects should be prioritized in each facility, leading to improvement in the management of sports-related public policies.

Evaluación de la influencia de la estacionalidad climática en calidad del agua de consumo humano en un sistema de abastecimiento en San José, Costa Rica, periodo 2017-2018 / Evaluation of climatic seasonal influence on the quality of water for human consumption in a San José (Costa Rica) supply system, 2017-2018

Resumen Objetivo: Analizar el estado y la influencia de la variabilidad climática en la calidad del agua de un sistema de abastecimiento para consumo humano en San José, Costa Rica, captado en cuatro microcuencas del cantón Vásquez de Coronado, en el periodo 2017-2018, para brindar recomendaciones al operador y promover la protección de la población abastecida Métodos: Estudio descriptivo de los parámetros de calidad básicos de agua para consumo humano (Escherichia coli, coliformes fecales, turbidez, conductividad, pH, color, temperatura y cloro residual). Los análisis se realizaron siguiendo el Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. Se delimitaron las zonas de captación utilizando sistemas de información geográfica. Se utilizó estadística descriptiva e inferencial para describir la calidad del agua y su variabilidad espacial y estacional. Resultados: La concentración de coliformes fecales en el agua superficial fue > 103 NMP/100 mL y la turbidez >5 UTN en el 76% de las muestras. En la red de distribución se encontraron concentraciones de cloro residual y turbidez (>5 UTN) por encima de los límites recomendados para agua de consumo humano. Se encontró diferencias significativas en todos los parámetros básicos de calidad de agua entre las distintas zonas de captación (p<0,05 en todos los casos), así como entre épocas climáticas por zona de captación. Conclusión: Estos resultados indican que se está utilizando agua de calidad inadecuada para uso y consumo humano, por lo cual se recomienda un monitoreo intensivo y sectorizado de las fuentes para localizar puntos de contaminación.

Abstract Objective: Analyze the water quality and the influence of the climatic variability in supply system for the human consume in San José, Costa Rica, in four catchment areas in Vasquez of Coronado in the period 2017-2018 to give recommendations to the operator and promote the protection of the supplied population. Methods: Descriptive study of the basic parameters of the drinking water (Escherichia coli, fecal coliforms, turbidity, conductivity, pH, color, temperature, and residual chlorine). The analyses were done following Standard Methods for the examination of Water and Wastewater. The catchment areas were delimited using geographic information systems (GIS). Descriptive and inferential statistic was used to describe the water quality, spatial and seasonal variability. Results: The concentration of fecal coliforms in the catchment areas was >10 3 NMP/100 mL and the turbidity >5 UTN in 76% of the samples. In the distribution system were found concentrations of the residual chlorine and turbidity (>5 UTN) above according to recommended limits for drinking water in the country. The results showed significant differences in all of the basic parameters of the water quality between catchment areas (p<0, 05 in all cases) and between climatic periods for catchment areas. Conclusion: These results indicate that water of inadequate quality is being used for human use and consumption, for which reason intensive and sectorized source monitoring is recommended to locate contamination points.

Does Plan B work? Home range estimations from stored on board and transmitted data sets produced by GPS-telemetry in the Colombian Amazon / ¿Funciona el plan B? Estimación de rango de hogar a partir de datos almacenados en instrumentos a bordo de animales y los obtenidos a partir de telemetría satelital de GPS en el Amazonas colombiano

Abstract:Telemetry based on Global Positioning Systems (GPS) makes possible to gather large quantities of information in a very fine scale and work with species that were impossible to study in the past. When working with GPS telemetry, the option of storing data on board could be more desirable than the sole satellite transmitted data, due to the increase in the amount of locations available for analysis. Nonetheless, the uncertainty in the retrieving of the collar unit makes satellite-transmitted technologies something to take into account. Therefore, differences between store-on-board (SoB) and satellite-transmitted (IT) data sets need to be considered. Differences between SoB and IT data collected from two lowland tapirs (Tapirus terrestris), were explored by means of the calculation of home range areas by three different methods: the Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP), the Fixed Kernel Density Estimator (KDE) and the Brownian Bridges (BB). Results showed that SoB and IT data sets for the same individual were similar, with fix ranging from 63 % to 85 % respectively, and 16 m to 17 m horizontal errors. Depending on the total number of locations available for each individual, the home ranges estimated showed differences between 2.7 % and 79.3 %, for the 50 % probability contour and between 9.9 % and 61.8 % for the 95 % probability contour. These differences imply variations in the spatial coincidence of the estimated home ranges. We concluded that the use of IT data is not a good option for the estimation of home range areas if the collar settings have not been designed specifically for this use. Nonetheless, geographical representations of the IT based estimators could be of great help to identify areas of use, besides its assistance to locate the collar for its retrieval at the end of the field season and as a proximate backup when collars disappear. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (4): 1441-1450. Epub 2016 December 01.

Resumen:La telemetría basada en los sistemas de geopocisionamiento global (GPS) hace posible recopilar gran cantidad de información a escalas muy finas, y trabajar con especies imposibles de estudiar en el pasado. Al trabajar con telemetría de GPS, la opción de guardar información en la memoria interna del instrumento puede ser más deseable que sólo tener acceso a la información enviada vía satélite, debido a la mayor cantidad de localizaciones disponibles para analizar. No obstante, la incertidumbre de recuperar el collar hace que las tecnología de trasmisión vía satélite deba ser tenida en cuenta. Diferencias entre las bases de datos almacenadas en el collar (SoB) y las trasmitidas vía satélite (IT), recolectadas de dos individuos de Tapir de tierras bajas (Tapirus terrestris), son consideradas, en términos de las áreas de los rangos de hogar calculados con cada uno y mediante el uso de tres metodologías diferentes: Mínimo Polígono Convexo (MCP), Estimador de Densidad de Kernel Fijo (KDE) y los Puentes Brownianos (BB). Las bases de datos SoB e IT son similares, con tasas de acierto de localizaciones que oscilan entre 63 % to 85 % y errores horizontales de 16 m y 17 m respectivamente. Dependiendo del número total de localizaciones disponibles para cada individuo, los rangos de hogar estimados muestran diferencias entre 2.7 % y 79.3 %, para el contorno del 50 % de probabilidades, y entre 9.9 % y 61.8 % para el contorno del 95 % de probabilidades. Estas diferencias implican variaciones en la coincidencia espacial de los rangos de hogar estimados. Concluimos que el uso de la información trasmitida vía satélite no es una buena opción para la estimación de rangos de hogar, si la programción de los collares no ha sido diseñada específicamente para tal fin. Sin embargo, las representaciones geográficas de los estimados a partir de las bases de datos IT pueden ser de gran ayuda para la identificación de áreas de uso, además de su utilidad para la localización y recuperación de collares tras su liberación de los individuos monitoreados y como una base de datos de soporte en caso de pérdida del collar.

New tools for epidemiology: a space odyssey

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) facilitate access to epidemiological data through visualization and may be consulted for the development of mathematical models and analysis by spatial statistics. Variables such as land-cover, land-use, elevations, surface temperatures, rainfall etc. emanating from earth-observing satellites, complement GIS as this information allows the analysis of disease distribution based on environmental characteristics. The strength of this approach issues from the specific environmental requirements of those causative infectious agents, which depend on intermediate hosts for their transmission. The distribution of these diseases is restricted, both by the environmental requirements of their intermediate hosts/vectors and by the ambient temperature inside these hosts, which effectively govern the speed of maturation of the parasite. This paper discusses the current capabilities with regard to satellite data collection in terms of resolution (spatial, temporal and spectral) of the sensor instruments on board drawing attention to the utility of computer-based models of the Earth for epidemiological research. Virtual globes, available from Google and other commercial firms, are superior to conventional maps as they do not only show geographical and man-made features, but also allow instant import of data-sets of specific interest, e.g. environmental parameters, demographic information etc., from the Internet.

Evaluación multicriterio de la exposición al riesgo ambiental mediante un sistema de información geográfica en Argentina / Multicriteria evaluation of environmental risk exposure using a geographic information system in Argentina

OBJETIVO: Elaborar un modelo espacial que integre los factores ambientales que constituyen una amenaza para la salud, de aplicación en la cuenca del río Matanza-Riachuelo (CMR). MÉTODOS: Se implementaron procedimientos de evaluación multicriterio en el entorno de los sistemas de información geográfica para obtener una zonificación del territorio basada en grados de aptitud para residir. Se georreferenciaron variables que caracterizan las condiciones de habitabilidad de las viviendas y las posibles fuentes de contaminación de la cuenca. Se extrajo información de salud de la Encuesta de Factores de Riesgo (EFARS) para medir el riesgo relativo de vivir en zonas no aptas (población expuesta) en relación con las zonas aptas (población no expuesta). RESULTADOS: La CMR presenta 60 por ciento de su superficie en condición de aptitud, situación que afecta a 40 por ciento de la población residente. El resto de la población habita en un territorio no apto, y 6 por ciento se encuentra en la condición más desfavorable de la cuenca. Las condiciones ambientales adversas para la salud presentes en las zonas no aptas se hicieron manifiestas en el estado de salud de los entrevistados a través de tres de las patologías contempladas: diarreas, enfermedades respiratorias y cáncer. CONCLUSIONES: Se obtuvo un diagnóstico regional válido como información de apoyo en la toma de decisiones. La consideración de la cuenca como una unidad de análisis permitió establecer un único protocolo para medir la magnitud del riesgo en forma integral y, de esta manera, establecer prioridades.

OBJECTIVE: Develop a spatial model that includes environmental factors posing a health hazard, for application in the Matanza-Riachuelo River Basin (MRB) in Argentina. METHODS: Multicriteria evaluation procedures were used with geographic information systems to obtain territorial zoning based on the degree of suitability for residence. Variables that characterize the habitability of housing and potential sources of basin pollution were geographically referenced. Health information was taken from the Risk Factor Survey (RFS) to measure the relative risk of living in unsuitable areas (exposed population) compared with suitable areas (unexposed population). RESULTS: Sixty percent of the MRB area is in suitable condition, a situation that affects 40 percent of residents. The rest of the population lives in unsuitable territory, and 6 percent live in the basin's most unsuitable conditions. Environmental conditions that are detrimental to health in the unsuitable areas became evident during the interviews through three of the pathologies considered: diarrheal diseases, respiratory diseases, and cancer. CONCLUSIONS: A regional analysis that provides valid information to support decisionmaking was obtained. Considering the basin as a unit of analysis allowed the use of a single protocol to undertake comprehensive measurement of the magnitude of risk and, thus, set priorities.

Evaluation of the altimetry from SRTM-3 and planimetry from high-resolution PALSAR FBD data for semi-detailed topographic mapping in the Amazon Region

The Brazilian Amazon has a deficit of 35 percent of coverage regarding topographic mapping at semi-detailed (1:100,000) scale. This paper presents an alternative to overcome this scenario using a combination of planialtimetric information from two orbital SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) missions. The altimetry was acquired from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), while the planimetry was provided from Fine Beam Dual (FBD) images of the Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) sensor. The research was carried out in the mountainous area of the Serra dos Carajás (Pará State), located on the Amazon region. The quality of the orbital topographic information was evaluated regarding precise planialtimetric measurements acquired from Global Positioning System (GPS) field campaigns. The evaluations were performed following two approaches: (1) the use of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and (2) tendency and precision hypothesis tests. The investigation has shown that the planialtimetric quality of the orbital products fulfilled the Brazilian Map Accuracy Standards requirements for 1:100,000 A Class map. Thus, the use of combination of information provided by PALSAR and SRTM-3 data can be considered a promising alternative for production and update of semi-detailed topographic mapping in similar environments of the Amazon region, where topographic information is lacking or presents low quality.

A Amazônia brasileira possui um déficit de 35 por cento de cobertura em relação ao mapeamento topográfico na escala de semi-detalhe (1:100.000). Este trabalho apresenta uma alternativa para superar este cenário usando a combinação de informação planialtimétrica de duas missões SAR (Radar de Abertura Sintética) orbitais. A altimetria foi adquirida da Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), enquanto que a planimetria foi fornecida de imagens Fine Beam Dual (FBD) do sensor Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR). A pesquisa foi desenvolvida na área montanhosa da Serra dos Carajás (Estado do Pará) localizada na região Amazônica. A qualidade das informações topográficas orbitais foi avaliada em relação a medidas planialtimétricas precisas adquiridas de campanhas de campo com Sistema de Posicionamento Global (GPS). As avaliações foram realizadas seguindo duas abordagens: (1) o uso de Erro Médio Quadrático (EMQ) e (2) testes de hipótese de tendência e precisão. A investigação mostrou que a qualidade planialtimétrica dos produtos orbitais atendeu aos requisitos para a Classe A (1:100.000) do Padrão de Exatidão Cartográfica brasileiro. Assim, o uso da combinação de informações fornecidas pelos dados PALSAR e SRTM-3 pode ser considerado como uma alternativa promissora para a produção e atualização de mapeamento topográfico de semi-detalhe em ambientes similares da região Amazônica, onde a informação topográfica é ausente ou apresenta baixa qualidade.

Áreas contaminadas e águas subterrâneas na unidade de gerenciamento de recursos hídricos do Alto Tietê / Contaminated areas and groundwater in the Unidade de Gerenciamento de Recursos Hídricos do Alto Tietê

A Unidade de Gerenciamento de Recursos Hídricos do Alto Tietê - UGRHI 6, no Estado de São Paulo, é composta por 34 municípios e abrange a parte superior do Rio Tietê, desde a sua cabeceira até a barragem do Reservatório de Pirapora, numa extensão de 133 km. Abriga quase metade da população do Estado e compreende, em seu território, grande parte da Região Metropolitana da Grande São Paulo. As águas subterrâneas na UGRHI do Alto Tietê têm problemas de rebaixamento dos níveis de água por adensamento de poços em conjunto com fontes potenciais de poluição o que pode causar contaminação dos aquíferos. Por meio de pesquisa na modalidade documental na Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo, para levantamento de dados sobre as áreas contaminadas de 2002 a 2010 e no Departamento de Águas e Energia sobre os poços outorgados cadastrados no ano de 2011, procedeu-se o mapeamento das áreas contaminadas e dos poços outorgados na UGRHI do Alto Tietê. Conclui-se que na UGRHI do Alto Tietê existe a possibilidade de riscos para a saúde pública na utilização das águas subterrâneas, principalmente no Município de São Paulo que possui o maior número de áreas contaminadas que podem influir na qualidade das águas subterrâneas obtidas por meio de perfuração de poços de abastecimentos.

Modelling population growth on public water and sanitation facilities using GIS and statistics: A case study of Aboabo, Ghana.

Background: Effect of population increase on public water and sanitation facilities in densely populated area, Aboabo, Kumasi, Ghana. Materials and Methods: Town sheet maps, layout and population census data of Aboabo. GPS for observing spatial locations existing water and sanitation facilities and field verification exercise in the study. GIS for building geodatabase, digitization and Cartographic Visualization. Questionnaires were used to collect non-spatial information on the sanitation facilities and all public facilities. Results: GIS and a Statistical Approach have been respectively used to develop cartographic and mathematical models to analyse, predict and visualize the effect of population increase on public water and sewage facilities in densely populated area. The developed mathematical models correlates with the population at each instance to the required number of water accessible points or standing pipes as well as the number of required public toilet (sewage) facilities. The cartographic and mathematical models provides an efficient and effective means of mitigating diseases associated with water and sanitation; and informs planners and assembly members of the effects of increasing population on public facilities for proper future planning and geospatial decision making; and to ensure proper infrastructural management at the community levels. Conclusions: Effective decision support systems for analysing, predicting and visualizing public water and sewage facilities in densely populated area. Draws the awareness of the government, concerned groups and non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) to the extreme detrimental effect that the increase in population has, especially on public water and sewage facilities and how it can be managed at the community level.

Cobertura e uso do solo e sua influência na ocorrência de raiva nos municípios de Jacareí e Santa Branca, Vale do Paraíba, Estado de São Paulo, entre 2002 e 2009 / Influence of landscape and land use on the occurrence of rabies in the municipalities of Jacareí and Santa Branca, Vale do Paraíba, State of São Paulo, between 2002 and 2009

Objetivo: Realizou-se um estudo, no período de 2002 a 2009, com a finalidade de verificar se as mudanças nas classes de cobertura da terra e no uso do solo podem exercer influência na ocorrência da raiva, nos municípios de Jacareí e de Santa Branca, situados na Região do Vale do Paraíba, no Estado de São Paulo, Sudeste do Brasil. Métodos: A ferramenta utilizada para avaliar estas alterações foi o sensoriamento remoto, através de imagens de satélite Land-sat. Para pesquisar a presença do vírus da raiva (RABV) foram coletados animais silvestres atropelados nas rodovias, morcegos encontrados na área urbana em atitude suspeita, morcegos hematófagos da espécie Desmodus rotundus e animais de interesse econômico (ADIE) que vieram a óbito por enfermidade com sintomatologia nervosa. O material coletado, sistema nervoso central (SNC), desses animais foi encaminhado para o laboratório de referência nacional, o Instituto Pasteur de São Paulo (IP-SP) e para o Laboratório de Sanidade Animal da Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA)- Pólo Regional do Vale Paraíba (PRDTA/VP) - Pindamonhangaba-SP. A determinação da presença do antígeno viral foi feita através da prova de imunofluorescência direta (IFD) e o isolamento do vírus através da inoculação intracerebral em camundongos (IC). Os inóculos das amostras foram submetidos à prova de reação em cadeia pela polimerase transcriptase reversa (RT-PCR) para verificar a presença do vírus da raiva. Resultados: No período de estudo tivemos a ocorrência de dez casos da doença, sendo três em morcegos insetívoros na zona urbana de Jacareí, e sete em ADIE, sendo dois, em Jacareí e cinco, em Santa Branca. Todos os animais silvestres terrestres examinados foram negativos para a presença do vírus da raiva em todas as provas realizadas (IFD, IC, RT-PCR)...

Objective: This study was carried out during the period of 2002-2009, with the purpose to verify whether the changes in types of land cover and in land use can influence the occurrence of rabies in Jacareí and Santa Branca, situated in the Vale do Paraíba, State of São Paulo, southeastern brazil. Methods: The tool used to evaluate these alterations was the remote sensing through images of satellite land-sat. In order to search for the presence of rabies virus, brain materials were collected from wild animals roadkilled in highways, bats found in the urban area in suspicious attitude, desmodus rotundus hematophagous bats captured in rural areas and farm animals of economic importance (aei) dead with suspect of rabies. For rabies diagnosis, specimens of central nervous system (cns) of these animals were sent to the Pasteur Institute of São Paulo (IP-SP) - national reference laboratory and to the laboratory of animal Paulista Agency for Agribusiness Technology (APTA) - Polo Valley Regional of Paraíba (PRDTA / VP), in Pindamonhangaba, state of SP. The presence of viral antigen was determined by the direct fluorescent antibody technique (D-FAT) and the isolation of the virus by means of intracerebal mouse inoculation test (MIT). The brain suspensions were submitted to reverse transcriptase. Polymerase chain reaction to check the presence of rabies virus. Results: In the period of study, 10 positive cases were detected, being 3 in insectivorous bats in the urbane zone of jacareí, and 7 in aei, being 2 in jacareí and 5 in santa branca. All the terrestrial wild animals examined were negative for the presence of rabies virus in all tests performed (d-fat, mit, and rt-pcr)...

Distribuição espacial dos idosos de um município de médio porte do interior paulista segundo algumas características sócio-demográficas e de morbidade / Spatial distribution of elderly individuals in a medium-sized city in São Paulo State, Brazil, according to key socio-demographic and morbidity characteristics

Os Sistemas de Informação Geográfica constituem importantes instrumentos dentro da Saúde Pública como técnicas de análise da distribuição de agravos à população, e, portanto, podem ser usados no estudo da localização de indivíduos portadores de doenças crônicas. Este trabalho objetivou a realização de análise espacial da distribuição da população de sessenta anos e mais no Município de Botucatu, São Paulo, Brasil, estudando o perfil sócio-demográfico e a presença de diabetes e hipertensão arterial. Foram analisados dados de 468 idosos da amostra de inquérito populacional realizado entre 2001 e 2002. Os idosos com melhor nível sócio-econômico residem nos setores censitários de estratos sociais mais altos, o que foi estatisticamente comprovado pela utilização de técnicas de análise espacial para renda e escolaridade. Não se encontrou padrão de distribuição espacial para idosos hipertensos e diabéticos que se localizaram no mapa de forma heterogênea. O presente estudo sugere a utilização das técnicas de geoprocessamento para o mapeamento digital das áreas de abrangências das Unidades de Atenção Primária à Saúde, para um melhor controle da distribuição de idosos portadores de doenças crônicas e de sua assistência pelos profissionais de saúde.

Geographic Information Systems serve as important public health tools for analyzing population disease distribution and thus for identifying individuals with chronic non-communicable diseases. The current study performed a spatial analysis of the distribution of the population 60 years and older in the city of Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil, studying the socio-demographic profile and the presence of diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension. Data were analyzed from 468 elderly individuals from a population survey conducted in 2001-2002. Elders with the highest socioeconomic status live in the census tracts with the highest social strata, as proven statistically by spatial analysis techniques for income and schooling. No spatial distribution pattern was found for elderly individuals with hypertension and diabetes, who were located heterogeneously on the map. The study suggests the use of geoprocessing techniques for digital mapping of areas covered by primary health care units, aimed at better monitoring of the distribution of elderly individuals with chronic diseases and their care by health professionals.

Caracterización de manglares de Centroamérica con sensores remotos / Characterization of Central America's mangrove with remote sensors

Satellite images were used to study the mangrove distribution patterns in two different climatic regions of Central America: Gulf of Fonseca in Honduras-El Salvador and Sierpe-Térraba in Costa Rica. The Gulf of Fonseca has higher temperature and solar radiation, and lower precipitation, which can explain the higher structural development and species mixing of the Sierpe-Térraba mangrove. In the latter the transition between species or between heights in the same species is clear. The automatic classification made by the Geographic Information System (IDRISI) fits well the field mangrove distribution, but it was necessary to regroup some subdivisions that represent the same land use as identified by transects and an aerial video. Mixed species and clouds produced less satisfactory results in Sierpe-Térraba indicating a need for better satellite image resolution.