scholarly journals Science and Binational Cooperation: Bidirectionality in the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program in the Arizona-Sonora Border Region

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 2364
Author(s):  
Jacob D. Petersen-Perlman ◽  
Tamee R. Albrecht ◽  
Elia M. Tapia-Villaseñor ◽  
Robert G. Varady ◽  
Sharon B. Megdal
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Transboundary Aquifer ◽  
Assessment Program ◽  
Scientific Assessment ◽  
Water Cooperation ◽  
Science Production

Sharing scientific data and information is often cited within academic literature as an initial step of water cooperation, but the transfer of research findings into policy and practice is often slow and inconsistent. Certain attributes—including salience, credibility, and legitimacy of scientific information; iterative information production; and sociocultural factors—may influence how easily scientific information can be used in management and policymaking. However, transnationality usually complicates these sorts of interactions. Accordingly, we argue that the production of scientific information and transboundary water cooperation build upon each other bidirectionally, each informing and enhancing the other. We employ a case-study analysis of the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP), a binational collaborative effort for scientific assessment of aquifers shared between Mexico and the United States. Here, information sharing was possible only by first completing a formal, jointly agreed-upon cooperative framework in 2009. This framework resulted in a collaborative science production process, suggesting that the relationship between sharing data and information and transboundary groundwater governance is iterative and self-reinforcing. In keeping with the publication of the TAAP’s first binational scientific report in 2016, we demonstrate the bidirectional relationship between science production and water governance in the TAAP and explore remaining challenges after scientific assessment.

scholarly journals The U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program as a Model for Transborder Groundwater Collaboration

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 530
Author(s):  
Elia M. Tapia-Villaseñor ◽  
Sharon B. Megdal
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Management ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Joint Effort ◽  
Transboundary Aquifer ◽  
Assessment Program ◽  
Transboundary Aquifers

The assessment of transboundary aquifers is essential for the development of groundwater management strategies and the sustainable use of groundwater resources. The Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP) is a joint effort by the United States and Mexico to evaluate shared aquifers. This study examines the TAAP Cooperative Framework as a guide for further transboundary groundwater collaboration. We compared lessons learned from six transboundary aquifers that currently have mechanisms for groundwater collaboration to identify common elements of collaboration. Though the TAAP Cooperative Framework governs an assessment-only program, the elements of collaboration included are consistent with the principles of other institutional agreements around the world. Importantly, all the analyzed agreements included a knowledge-improvement phase, which is the main objective of the TAAP Cooperative Framework. The present study finds evidence of successful outcomes within the TAAP Cooperative Framework consistent with available transboundary groundwater management agreements, demonstrating that this approach is suited to serve as a model for those wishing to engage in transborder aquifer assessments. Furthermore, the TAAP elements of collaboration can help to establish the meaningful and robust binational cooperation necessary for the development of U.S.-Mexico groundwater management agreements at the aquifer level.

Disparities in Health Between Black and White Americans: Current Knowledge and Directions for Future Research

2018 ◽  
pp. 456-478
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Fuller-Rowell ◽  
David S. Curtis ◽  
Adrienne M. Duke
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Conceptual frameworks for racial/ethnic health disparities are abundant, but many have received insufficient empirical attention. As a result, there are substantial gaps in scientific knowledge and a range of untested hypotheses. Particularly lacking is specificity in behavioral and biological mechanisms for such disparities and their underlying social determinants. Alongside lack of political will and public investment, insufficient clarity in mechanisms has stymied efforts to address racial health disparities. Capitalizing on emergent findings from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study and other longitudinal studies of aging, this chapter evaluates research on health disparities between black and white US adults. Attention is given to candidate behavioral and biological mechanisms as precursors to group differences in morbidity and mortality and to environmental and sociocultural factors that may underlie these mechanisms. Future research topics are discussed, emphasizing those that offer promise with respect to illuminating practical solutions to racial/ethnic health disparities.

scholarly journals El Nacimiento del Pueblo Mestizo: Critical Discourse on Historical Trauma, Community Resilience and Healing

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-275
Author(s):  
Lisa Cacari Stone ◽  
Magdalena Avila ◽  
Bonnie Duran
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Mexican Americans ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Historical Trauma ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Field Notes

Purpose. Historical trauma has been widely applied to American Indian/Alaska Native and other Indigenous populations and includes dimensions of language, sociocultural, and land losses and associated physical and mental disorders, as well as economic hardships. Insufficient evidence remains on the experiences of historical trauma due to waves of colonization for mixed-race Mexican people with indigenous ancestry (el pueblo mestizo). Research Question. Drawing from our critical lenses and epistemic advantages as indigenous feminist scholars, we ask, “How can historical trauma be understood through present-day discourse of two mestizo communities? What are public health practice and policy implications for healing historical trauma among mestizo populations?” Methodology and Approach. We analyzed the discourse from two community projects: focus groups and ethnographic field notes from a study in the U.S.–Mexico border region (2012–2014) and field notes and digital stories from a service-learning course in northern New Mexico (2016–2018). Findings. Our analysis describes the social and historical experiences of Mexicans, Mexican Americans, Chicanas/os, and Nuevo Mexicano peoples in the southwestern border region of the United States. We found four salient themes as manifestations of “soul-wound”: (1) violence/fear, (2) discrimination/shame, (3) loss, and (4) deep sorrow. Themes mitigating the trauma were community resiliency rooted in “querencia” (deep connection to land/home/people) and “conscientizacion” (critical consciousness). Conclusion. Historical trauma experienced by mestizo Latinx communities is rooted in local cultural and intergenerational narratives that link traumatic events in the historic past to contemporary local experiences. Future public health interventions should draw on culturally centered strength-based resilience approaches for healing trauma and advancing health equity.

“I Don’t Know and I Don’t Want to Know”: A Qualitative Examination of Older African American Women’s Knowledge and Experiences With HIV

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 644-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faye Z. Belgrave ◽  
Sarah J. Javier ◽  
Deborah Butler ◽  
Chelsie Dunn ◽  
Joann Richardson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Black Church ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Hiv Knowledge ◽  
Female Population ◽  
American Women ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Older African American Women

While older African American women (e.g., aged 50 years and older) comprise only 11% of the female population in the United States, they account for 50% of HIV diagnoses among women in this age group. Unique sociocultural factors, including a lack of HIV knowledge and stigma, contribute to HIV risk among older African American women. The goal of this qualitative study was to obtain a nuanced perspective from older African American women about HIV knowledge and experiences with HIV using the framework of intersectionality theory. Focus groups were conducted with 35 African American women who were 50 years and older, nonpartnered, and heterosexual. Women were asked what they knew about HIV and if they thought older women were at risk for HIV. A thematic analysis using NVivo 11 yielded two central themes and three subthemes: HIV knowledge, including experiential knowledge, superficial knowledge, and no knowledge, and stigma around HIV in the Black church. Implications for developing HIV prevention programs and testing messages are discussed.

Medicinal importance, pharmacological activities and analytical aspects of canadine in the medicine: An important phytochemical of Hydrastis canadensis

2021 ◽  
Vol 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinesh Kumar Patel
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Modern Medicine ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Pharmacological Activities ◽  
Hydrastis Canadensis ◽  
Biological Importance ◽  
Human Disorders

Background: Natural products and their derived phytochemicals have been used in the medicine and gaining importance in the modern medicine due to their therapeutic potential and health beneficial effect on human disorders. Plenty of herbal drug based products are available in the market and playing an important role in the human health care system due to their health beneficial properties in human being. In the modern age we can find many herbal based products in the market mainly prepared from the natural products and used for the prevention and treatment of various human disorders. Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids are the important class of alkaloidal compounds and the better example are morphine, codeine, sanguinarine, berberine and canadine which are mainly known for their medicinal value in the medicine. Methods: Hydrastis canadensis is the important medicinal plant found to contain a significant amount of canadine, hydrastine and berberine. In the present investigation, numerous scientific databases such as Google, Pubmed, Science direct etc. have been searched to collect the important scientific information of canadine and analyzed to know the health beneficial aspect of canadine in the medicine. All the collected scientific information data’s were analyzed and have been categorized into mainly pharmacological and analytical aspects. Results: From the analysis of the collected scientific information, it was found that Hydrastis canadensis contain significant amount of canadine with many more phytochemical including canadaline, hydrastidine, isohydrastidine etc. Pharmacological activity data analysis revealed the biological importance of Hydrastis canadensis in the medicine for their traditional uses against gastritis, colitis, duodenal ulcers, loss of appetite, liver disease, bile secretion disorder, snake bites and vaginitis in the medicine. However, scientific data analysis of canadine revealed their effectiveness for their acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity, anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-allergic activity and anti-oxidant activity. Different modern analytical tools have been used in the modern medicine for the isolation and quantification of canadine in the Hydrastis canadensis. Conclusion: Present investigation revealed the medicinal importance and pharmacological activities of a canadine in the medicine for the treatment of numerous human health complications. These scientific data will be helpful to the scientist to know the biological importance of canadine in the medicine against various forms of human complications.

The Ethics of COVID-19 Vaccine Passports

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Joseph Meaney ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
The United States ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
World Health ◽  
Medical Decisions ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Divided Society ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

COVID-19 vaccine passports run the risk of creating a divided society where social privileges or restrictions based on “fitness” lead to discrimination based on immunization status. Individuals have a strong right to be free of coercion to take a COVID-19 vaccine, and we should be very leery of further invasion of private medical decisions. These concerns are shared both internationally and in the United States, and the World Health Organization, the Biden administration, and many US governors oppose COVID-19 vaccine credentials. In addition, regulations for COVID-19 vaccine credentials face practical barriers, including lack of access globally, especially among the poor; and lack of scientific data on the efficacy of these vaccines.

Abstract 002: Assessing Profiles Of Cardiometabolic Risk Among South Asians Living In The United States Using A Syndemic Framework And Acculturation

Circulation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco A Montiel Ishino ◽  
Katia M Canenguez ◽  
Jeffrey H Cohen ◽  
Belinda Needham ◽  
Namratha Kandula ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Family Income ◽  
South Asians ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Religiosity And Spirituality

Background: South Asians (SA) are the second largest US immigrant group and have excess cardiometabolic (CM) disease. While acculturation is associated with increased CM risk among immigrants and refugees, the role of acculturation on SA CM risk is relatively unknown. CM disease presents as a syndemic or synergistic epidemic involving multiple disease clusters as well as the biological, social, and psychological interactions from the acculturative process to worsen morbidity within subgroups. Methods: We used latent class analysis to identify SA CM risk based on acculturation subgroups using data from adults aged 40-84 in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America study (N=771). The distal outcome of CM risk was constructed using hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and body mass index. Proxies of acculturation included years lived in the US, English proficiency, cuisine eaten at home, cultural traditions, ethnicity of friends, social and neighborhood support, and experienced discrimination; as well as mental health indicators, which included depression, trait anxiety, anger, and positive and negative spiritual coping. Covariates included demographic characteristics, family income, education, study site, exercise, smoking, alcohol use, religiosity and spirituality. Results: Four CM risk profiles and acculturation subgroups were identified: 1) lowest risk [73.8%] were the most integrated with both SA and US culture; 2) intermediate-low risk [13.4%] had high mental health distress and discrimination and separated from SA and US culture; 3) intermediate-high risk [8.9%] were more assimilated with US culture; and 4) highest risk [3.9%] were more assimilated with US culture [Figure]. Conclusion: Our approach identified distinct nuanced profiles of syndemic CM risk to understand how acculturation and sociocultural factors cluster with health in US South Asians. Our syndemic framework will further understanding of CM risk among SA to best design tailored prevention and intervention programs.

Concrete Biodeterioration in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region

2010 ◽  
Vol 1278 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. E. Rendon ◽  
M. E. Lara ◽  
S. K. Rendon ◽  
M. Rendon ◽  
X. Li
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Arid Region ◽  
Mexican American ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
The United States ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Hardened Concrete ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Sewage Systems

AbstractConcrete biodeterioration is defined as the damage that the products of microorganism metabolism, in particular sulfuric acid, do to hardened concrete. In Canada and in the northern part of the United States, sewer failures from concrete biodeterioration are almost unknown. In the southern part of the United States and in Mexico, however, it is a serious and expensive problem in sewage collection systems, which rapidly deteriorate. Also, leaking sewage systems result in the loss of groundwater resources particularly important in this arid region. Almost every city in the Mexican-American border region, who's combined population is more than 15 million people, faces this problem. The U.S. cities have made some provision to face these infrastructure problems, but the Mexican cities have made less effort. We recommend here the Mexican norm (NMX-C-414-ONNCCE-2004) [1] to be reviewed, or at least that a warning be issued as a key measure to avoid concrete biodeterioration.

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