Spatial Analysis of Traffic Accidents in the City of Medina Using GIS

The general objective of this research is to determine how to use the spatial analysis of traffic accidents in Medina Menorah City through geographic information systems. This research aimed to identify, locate and define the sites where traffic accidents are concentrated and determine the need to apply specific safety standards to reduce accidents and identify their causes thereof. This current research applied the analytical descriptive approach for its relevance with this specific research. This research collected traffic accidents data from the Ministry of the Interior, Department of General Traffic. That data captured the hotspots accidents in Medina Menorah City. Some of the most important results of the study are as follows: many roads were selected as High Accident Location HAL, such as Central Ring Roads, King Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Road, Prince Abdul Majid bin Abdul-Aziz Road, and King Abdulla bin Abdel-Aziz Road. The high-speed roads are heavily linked to the massive increase of traffic accident rates, and the increase in the street section length led to the soaring number of total accidents. The study recommended performing more studies and different highway safety studies to identify and locate accident patterns on road networks. Due to the fact that the accidents concentration is intensely focused on Medina City center and Prophet’s Mosque, it is a must to increase the number of public transportations to and from Prophet’s Mosque, particularly during the Hajj period, because of the fact that the visitors of Prophet’s Mosque is on the increase during the said period. This study can be applied in other cities because knowing the locations of traffic crash hotspots can provide us with valuable insights into the causes of accidents and this knowledge helps decision-makers to better assess the risk associated with accidents.

Water resource utilization characteristics and driving factors in the Hainan Island

The scarcity of water resources caused by the unique topography and uneven rainfall distribution in Hainan Island has become a major factor restricting local development. In order to provide effective and scientific reference basis for the overall water resource utilization status and solving this problem, this study calculated the water resource utilization situation of Hainan Island from 2017 to 2021 in detail using methods including water resource ecological footprint analysis. Furthermore, a spatial correlation analysis was conducted to examine the island's water resource utilization characteristics, and the driving factors behind the changes in water resource utilization over the past five years were analyzed using the LMDI model. The results show that:(1) During the study period, the water resource ecological footprint in Hainan Island exhibited a slow growth trend, while the ecological carrying capacity showed a downward tendency.The per capita ecological deficit of water resources remains relatively high, and the water consumption per 10 000 yuan GDP in the whole land continues to decrease, indicating that the overall pressure on water resource demand remains high with significant regional differences accompanied by the efficiency of water resource utilization steadily improving at the same time;(2) Agricultural water use accounts for the highest proportion in the entire water use structure, while ecological water use represents the smallest share, with a year-on-year increase, indicating that Hainan Island highlights the agricultural development and is increasingly conscious of the ecological environment;(3) Significant spatial differentiation in water resource utilization characteristics exists in Hainan Island, with the western region being a hot spot aggregation area for per capita water resource ecological footprint, per capita ecological carrying capacity of water resources, water consumption per 10 000 yuan GDP, while it is a cold spot cluster area for per capita ecological deficit of water resources. The opposite holds true for the eastern region of Hainan Island;(4) Economic and technological factors have a major impact on the changes in water resource ecological footprint within the designated area. Among them, economic factors drive the growth of the water resource ecological footprint in Hainan Island, and exacerbate local water resource consumption, while technological factors negatively contribute to the amount of water resource utilization in Hainan Island, indicating that advanced technology has improved water resource utilization efficiency and significantly reduced water resource consumption.

Geospatial characteristics of fire occurrences in southern hemispheric Africa and Madagascar during 2001-2020

For this study of long-term spatial patterns and trends of active fires in southern hemispheric Africa and on Madagascar from 2001 to 2020,active fire data from the MODIS FIRMS global fire data products were analyzed.The annual center of fire concentration tended to migrate toward the preserved rainforests and nature conservation areas in the Congo Basin and the mountain forests on the northeastern coast of Madagascar.Fire frequency varied seasonally at both study areas.We used geo statistical analysis techniques,such as measures of dispersion and emerging hot spot analysis,to reveal long-term trends in spatial patterns of fire events.In southern hemispheric Africa,the observed active fires tended to drift northward toward the Zambia-DRC border in the Congo basin.This northward migration progressed toward humid rainforests,which were better suited to sustaining repeated fire events.On Madagascar,the observed active fires tended to migrate toward the east coast in protected mountain forests.The spatial patterns of long-term trends showed a concentration of fires in the tropical regions of southern hemispheric Africa.Moreover,smaller clusters of new hot spots were located over eastern South Africa,overlapping with undifferentiated woodlands.On Madagascar,both hot and cold spots were identified and were separated by the highland region in the center of the island.Most of the eastern island was characterized by cold spots that received less precipitation than did the rest of the island.The presence of increasing hots spots in the densely vegetated areas highlights the urgent need for fire prevention and management in this region.

Establishment of trauma registry at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital(QECH), Blantyre, Malawi and mapping of high risk geographic areas for trauma

BACKGROUND: Less attention is directed toward gaining a better understanding of the burden and prevention of injuries, in low and middle income countries(LMICs). We report the establishment of a trauma registry at the Adult Emergency and Trauma Centre(AETC) at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital(QECH) in Blantyre, Malawi and identify high risk geographic areas. METHODS: We devised a paper based two-page trauma registry form. Ten data clerks and all AETC clinicians were trained to complete demographic and clinical details respectively. Descriptive data, regression and hotspot analyses were done using STATA 15 statistical package and ArcGIS(16) software respectively.RESULTS: There were 3,747 patients from May 2013 to May 2015. The most common mechanisms of injury were assault(38.2%), and road traffi c injuries(31.6%). The majority had soft tissue injury(53.1%), while 23.8% had no diagnosis indicated. Fractures(OR 19.94 [15.34–25.93]), head injury and internal organ injury(OR 29.5 [16.29–53.4]), and use of ambulance(OR 1.57 [1.06–2.33]) were found to be predictive of increased odds of being admitted to hospital while assault(OR 0.69 [0.52–0.91]) was found to be associated with less odds of being admitted to hospital. Hot spot analysis showed that at 99% confidence interval, Ndirande, Mbayani and Limbe were the top hot spots for injury occurrence. CONCLUSION: We have described the process of establishing an integrated and potentially sustainable trauma registry. Signifi cant data were captured to provide details on the epidemiology of trauma and insight on how care could be improved at AETC and surrounding health facilities. This approach may be relevant in similar poor resource settings.

Assessing the impact of booster vaccination on diphtheria transmission:Mathematical modeling and risk zone mapping

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in the healthcare system,affecting vaccinations and the management of diphtheria cases.As a consequence of these disruptions,numerous countries have experienced a resurgence or an increase in diphtheria cases.West Java province in Indonesia is identified as one of the high-risk areas for diphtheria,experiencing an upward trend in cases from 2021 to 2023.To analyze the situation,we developed an SIR model,which integrated DPT and booster vaccinations to determine the basic reproduction number,an essential parameter for infectious diseases.Through spatial analysis of geo-referenced data,we identified hotspots and explained diffusion in diphtheria case clusters.The calculation of R0 resulted in an R0=1.17,indicating the potential for a diphtheria outbreak in West Java.To control the increasing cases,one possible approach is to raise the booster vaccination coverage from the current 64.84%to 75.15%,as suggested by simulation results.Furthermore,the spatial analysis revealed that hot spot clusters were present in the western,central,and southern regions,posing a high risk not only in densely populated areas but also in rural regions.The diffusion pattern of diphtheria clusters displayed an expansion-contagious pattern.Understanding the rising trend of diphtheria cases and their geographic distribution can offer crucial insights for government and health authorities to manage the number of diphtheria cases and make informed decisions regarding the best prevention and intervention strategies.

The Spatio-temporal Pattern of Regional Land Use Change and Eco-environmental Responses in Jiangsu, China

Land use change and its eco-environmental responses are foci in geographical research. As a region with uneven economic development, land use change and eco-environmental responses across Jiangsu Province are relevant to China＇s overall development pattern. The external function of regional land use changes during different stages of economic development. In this study, we proposed a novel classification system based on the dominant function of land use according to ＂production-ecology-life＂, and then analyzed land use change and regional eco-environmental responses from a functional perspective of regional development. The results showed that from 1985 to 2008, land use change features in Jiangsu were that productive land area decreased and eco- logical and living land areas increased. Land use changes in southern Jiangsu were the most dramatic. In southern and central parts of Jiangsu the agricultural production function weakened and urban life service function strengthened; in northern Jiangsu, the mining production function＇s comparative advantage highlighted that the rural life service function was weakening. Ecological environmental quality decreased slightly in Jiangsu and its three regions. The maximum contribution rate to ecological environmental change occurred in southern Jiangsu and the minimum rate was located in the north. Eco-environmental quality deteriorated in southern and central Jiangsu, related to expanding construction land in urban and rural areas. Ecological environmental quality deterioration in northern Jiangsu is probably due to land development and consolidation. The main reason for improvements in regional ecological environments is that agricultural production land was converted to water ecological land across Jiangsu.