OBJECTIVES Currently, the incidence of scrub typhus has increased in urban areas. In this study, we described the epidemiological characteristics of scrub typhus cases reported in the urban areas of Korea in 2009. METHODS We analysed the case investigation reports of scrub typhus cases that were collected in Korea in 2009. Specially, the different risk factors such as fieldwork and outdoor ac...

BACKGROUND Maternal healthcare utilization is a major determinant of maternal mortality. Bangladesh is experiencing a rapid pace of urbanization with all future growth in population expected to be in urban areas. Health care infrastructure is different in urban and rural areas thus warranting an examination of equity in use rates of maternal healthcare. This paper addresses whether the urban-ru...

In the past, immunization programmes have focused primarily on rural areas. However, with the recognition of the increasing numbers of urban poor, it is timely to review urban immunization activities. This update addresses two questions: Is there any need to be concerned about urban immunization and, if so, is more of the same kind of rural EPI activity needed or are there specific urban issues...

Background. Cryptotympana atrata and Hyalessa fuscata are the most abundant cicada species in the Korean Peninsula, where their population densities are higher in urban areas than in rural ones. The urban heat island (UHI) effect, wherein human activities cause urban areas to be significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas, may underlie this difference. We predicted a positive relationship...

In this paper we consider the problem of DTM extraction in dense urban areas. To this aim, we need valuable and reliable data in the tiny open areas among buildings, and a suitable algorithm to reconstruct the terrain discarding these same structures. So, we compare first LIDAR and aerial photogrammetry by evaluating the relative accuracy of the three-dimensional reconstructed surface in the sm...

Motivated by concern about rising obesity rates, researchers have begun to map the neighborhood " food environment " and examine its association with the risk of overweight or obesity. Some argue that " food deserts " – areas with little or no provision of fresh produce and other healthy food – may contribute to disparities in obesity, diabetes, and related health problems. When access to healt...

As the number of people who reside and work in urban areas increases, so, too, do the needs and demands placed on the infrastructure. This has led to severe congestion in many European cities, a situation which affects not only the environment in terms of pollution, but most notably levels of traffic safety. In Europe, tens of thousands of people are killed in road traffic accidents, and more t...

The paper presents an advanced system for railway and road traffic noise monitoring in metropolitan areas. This system is a functional part of a more complex solution designed for environmental monitoring in cities utilizing analyses of sound, vision and air pollution, based on a ubiquitous computing approach. The system consists of many autonomous, universal measuring units and a multimedia se...

The effect of small urban areas on cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning activity is analysed for Spain. The results shown that the CG-flash number is enhanced within and downwind the most of towns considered and that large population and higher SO2 concentration contribute to the increase of the number of CG-flashes. INTRODUCTION AND DATA Several studies have reported that large cities of the USA are...