The suitable habitat for the endangered and valuable medicinal herb Panax ginseng is gradually decreasing. It is crucial to investigate its suitable growing areas in China for global protection and sustainable utilization of P. ginseng. In this study, 371 distribution points of P. ginseng were collected, and 21 environmental factors were used as ecological indicators. The geographic information system for global medicinal plants(GMPGIS) system, MaxEnt model, and Thiessen polygon method were used to analyze the potential suitable areas for P. ginseng globally. The results showed that the key environmental variables affecting P. ginseng were precipitation in the hottest quarter(Bio18) and the coefficient of temperature seasonality(Bio4). The suitable habitats for P. ginseng were mostly located in the "One Belt, One Road" countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and Russia. The highly suitable habitats were mainly distributed along mountain ranges in southeastern Shandong, southern Shanxi and Shaanxi, northern Jiangsu, and northwestern Henan of China. Data analysis indicated that the current P. ginseng planting sites were all in high suitability zones, and the Thiessen polygon results showed that the geographic locations of P. ginseng production companies were unbalanced and urgently needed optimization. This study provides data support for P. ginseng planting site selection, scientific introduction, production layout, and long-term development planning.
Panax ; Ecosystem ; China ; Geographic Information Systems ; Temperature ; Plants, Medicinal

Spatial epidemiology focuses on the use of geographic information systems and spatial analysis to study spatial distribution and change tendency of diseases and explore the health status of specific populations. In recent years, spatial epidemiology has been applied in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention and control. This review summarizes the progress in the application of spatial epidemiology in the analysis of spatiotemporal distribution, non-monitoring area data estimation, influencing factors of AIDS and health resource allocation and utilization to provide reference for its application in the prevention and control of AIDS in the future.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/prevention & control* ; Geographic Information Systems ; HIV Infections/prevention & control* ; Humans ; Spatial Analysis

Dengue is a global health issue and is also regarded as one of the major public health concerns in the Philippines. Presented in this paper is the application of a geographic information system (GIS) in mapping dengue cases in Baguio City. A descriptive research design was utilized and mapped dengue cases were reconciled with environmental correlates such as land cover, housing information (independent, mixed, or interconnected), hydrology (water bodies and canals), urbanization level (urban or rural), elevation, soil, and land surface temperature. Moreover, demographic factors and practices were utilized for further analysis. Results show that interconnected housing, urbanization, land surface temperature, hydrology, and population density are predictors of dengue cases in Baguio City with the predictive power of 0.3810 (strong), 0.3426 (strong), 0.2509 (medium), 0.1675 (medium), and 0.1323 (medium), respectively. In the context of dengue, several data gaps in health information systems exist. Although the Manual of Procedures for the Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (PIDSR) published by the Department of Health (DOH) of 2014 provides a detailed guide in the management and surveillance of communicable disease, the use of GIS was noted to be unspecified. Using GIS provides the possibility of harmonizing several data sets to better inform policymakers.
Dengue ; Geographic Information Systems

Objectives: Since the effectiveness of the Zero Open Defecation (ZOD) program as a scaling-up approach in lowering the rates of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections has not yet been locally explored, this study aimed to (1) describe the association between environmental determinants and STH cumulative prevalence, and (2) to predict the 2020 STH cumulative prevalence. Methods: A generalized linear regression (GLR) model was used to determine the association of 2014–2015 environmental determinants and observed 2015 STH cumulative prevalence, while a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was used to produce predicted 2020 STH cumulative prevalence. Results: ArcGIS’ GLR tool with R2 of 63% found that statistically significant environmental determinants include distance near to water bodies, forest land use, access to sanitary toilet, level one water source, and ZOD status, while the ArcGIS’ GWR tool found that barangays, Cabangcalan, Matalangtalang, Talabaan, and Talib in Aroroy hypothetically met the national target below 30% for 2020 STH cumulative prevalence. Conclusion This study showed that barangays with a moderately low percentage of area with freshwater bodies, a moderately high percentage of households with sanitary toilet and level one water source, and a 100% status of ZOD have lower rates of STH cumulative prevalence in preschool-aged children in the selected municipalities in Masbate.
Mass Drug Administration ; Hygiene ; Sanitation ; Geographic Information Systems

Zha-xun is widely used in Tibetan medicine and is also an international traditional medicine. This study believes that the black organic matter constituting Zha-xun is mainly stored in the rocks. The exudation points of Zha-xun mostly distribute on the cliffs of high mountains, which makes it difficult to evaluate its resource distribution and storage area. This paper was aimed at the exudation environment of Tibetan medicine Zha-xun in Sichuan province and 6 ecological environmental factors of the Zha-xun were determined via the field investigation. Combining with these 6 factors as well as the GIS data of Sichuan province, ArcGIS software was used to extract ideal environmental factors which are suitable for exudation of Zha-xun, including geology types, geomorphological types, altitude, slope, vegetation types, and mean annual temperature. The spatial overlay analyses on the extracted environmental factors were carried out to predict the distribution area of Zha-xun in Sichuan province. Afterwards, field investigation was conducted to verify the prediction. The prediction showed that the exudation spots of Zha-xun in Sichuan province mainly located in 29 counties including 12 in Aba Prefecture, 15 in Ganzi Prefecture, and Muli County and Dechang County in Liangshan Prefecture. The deposit areas of Zha-xun were located in the Triassic, Devonian and Silurian strata and were basically distributed in 9 basins, including Dingqu River, Yalong River, Xianshui River, Dadu River, Suomo River, Minjiang River and Baishui River, characterized by a fragmented patch-like distribution along the mountain ranges, and the exudation spots of Zha-xun were mainly scattered among the rain-free cliffs' concavities of river valleys at a certain altitude. The prediction was consistent with the field investigation results, which suggested that it is possible and feasible to predict distribution of Zha-xun resources based on GIS-analysis. The study may provide a scientific basis for comprehensive investigations into Zha-xun's distribution and formation mechanism, thus promoting rational development and utilization of Zha-xun resources.
China ; Geographic Information Systems ; Geology ; Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Medicine, Traditional ; Temperature

In this paper, the correlation between the chemical constituents of Chinese herbal medicines Daphnes Cortex and the ecological factors and soil factors was studied, which provided a reference for the selection of suitable areas for artificial cultivation of Daphne giraldii and wild tending. The geographic information system(GIS) was applied to obtain the ecological factor information of 23 collection sites of Daphnes Cortex, and the soil factor information was determined by the standard procedure in the soil test standard manual. Combining the information of 93 chemical constituents of Daphnes Cortex in 23 collection sites the correlation between components and ecological factors and soil factors was analyzed by statistical methods. The correlation analysis showed that the longitude, annual average rainfall, annual sunshine intensity, annual average temperature in the ecological factors, soil type, effective copper and pH value were the dominant factors affecting the chemical composition of Daphnes Cortex.
China ; Copper ; Daphne/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Geographic Information Systems ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Rain ; Soil/chemistry* ; Sunlight ; Temperature

It is of great significance to analyze habitable suitability of genuine medicinal materials for Chinese herbal medicine planting according to local environment,for medicinal resources protecting and for reasonable planning introduction. Based on GIS technology,the analytic hierarchy process was applied to analyze the spatial differentiation of habitat suitability of Angelica dahurica in Yanting county of Sichuan province. The evaluation combined local geographical environment characteristics and habitat requirements for A. dahurica planting and adopted the expert experience method to screen out the evaluation index for establishing evaluation system.With the established evaluation system,the index weight of evaluating index was determined by analytic hierarchy process and their grouping values were assigned by Delphi method. The all evaluating index were translated into index distribution maps using Arc GIS software. Using the comprehensive factor weighted evaluating model and spatial index distribution map,the evaluation was obtained by means of the overlay analysis function of Arc GIS 10. 3 software. RESULTS:: showed that A. dahurica had a wide range of suitable planting areas in Yanting county. Highly suitable areas amounted to 165. 01 km2,and mainly distributed in the low hilly area with moderate elevation and fertile soil. Moderately suitable areas amounted to 798. 92 km2 which had extensive distribution in middle and west part of the county. Marginally suitable areas amounted to 0. 33 km2,where the soil was highly viscous with high altitude and low temperature that was not conducive to the growth and development of A. dahurica. Adapting to local conditions and scientific planning plays an important role in the development of local characteristic planting industry of genuine medicinal materials.
Angelica ; growth & development ; China ; Ecosystem ; Geographic Information Systems ; Soil

No abstract available.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Geographic Information Systems

OBJECTIVES: Blastocystis hominis is a very common large intestinal protozoan with global prevalence in humans and non-human hosts. No precise statistics exist regarding the geographical distribution of Blastocystis that would enable the identification of high-risk communities. Therefore, the current research aimed to characterize the spatial patterns and demographic factors associated with B. hominis occurrence in northern Iran. METHODS: The current study was performed among 4,788 individuals referred to health centers in Mazandaran Province, from whom stool samples were obtained. Socio-demographic data were gathered using a questionnaire. Samples were examined by a direct wet mount, the formalin-ethyl acetate concentration technique, and trichrome staining. Moran local indicators of spatial association and a geographically weighted regression model were utilized to analyze the results. RESULTS: Generally, the infection rate of Blastocystis parasites was 5.2%, and was considerably higher in the age group of 10-14 years (10.6%) than in other age groups (p=0.005). Our data showed important associations between the occurrence of B. hominis and age, residence, job, contact with domestic animals, anti-parasitic drug consumption, and elevation above sea level (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The current study characterized for the first time the infection rate and risk of B. hominis in the north of Iran, and produced a prediction map. It is expected that this map will help policymakers to plan and implement preventive measures in high-risk areas and to manage already-infected patients.
Animals, Domestic ; Blastocystis hominis ; Blastocystis ; Demography ; Epidemiology ; Geographic Information Systems ; Humans ; Iran ; Parasites ; Prevalence ; Spatial Regression

BACKGROUND: Since 2003, Korea has consistently shown the highest suicide rate among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, and suicide remains the major cause of death. In particular, men are 2–3 times more likely to commit suicide than women, which called the ‘gender paradox of suicide.’ The areas with frequent suicide have spatially clustered patterns because suicide with a social contagion spreads around the neighborhood. The purpose of this study was twofold. The first was to estimate the hotspot areas of age-standardized male suicide mortality from 2008 to 2015. The second was to analyze the relationship between the hotspot areas and the regional characteristics for study years. METHODS: The data was collected through the Korean Statistical Information Service. The study areas were 227 si · gun · gu administrative districts in Korea. The hotspot area was used as a dependent variable. Socio-demographic variables (number of marriages per 1,000 population, number of divorces per 1,000 population, and urbanization rate), financial variables (financial independence and social security budget), and health behaviors (EuroQol-5 dimension [EQ-5D], and depression experience rate) were used as independents variables. RESULTS: The hotspot areas were commonly located in Gangwon-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Chungceongbuk-do. According to the results of panel logit regression, the number of divorces per 1,000 population, social security budget, and EQ-5D were statistically significant variables. CONCLUSION: The results of hotspot analysis showed the need for establishing a prevention zone of suicide using hotspot areas. Also, medical resources could be considered to be preferentially placed in the prevention zone of suicide. This study could be used as basic data for health policymakers to establish a suicide-related policy.
Budgets ; Cause of Death ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Depression ; Divorce ; Female ; Gangwon-do ; Geographic Information Systems ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Information Services ; Korea ; Male ; Marriage ; Mortality ; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ; Residence Characteristics ; Social Security ; Suicide ; Urbanization