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Hematology and plasma biochemistries in the Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) in Lake County, Illinois.

ABSTRACT: Chelonians are one of the most imperiled vertebrate taxa on the planet due to changes in the environment, anthropogenic influences, and disease. Over the last two decades, conservation strategies including nest protection, head-starting and meso-predator control have been successfully adopted by the Lake County Forest Preserve District for a population of state-endangered Blanding's turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) in Illinois. Only recently have efforts expanded to assess the effects of management action on turtle health. The objectives of this study were to 1) establish reference intervals for 16 hematologic and plasma biochemical analytes in free-ranging Blanding's turtles, 2) characterize demographic and temporal drivers of clinical pathology values including age class, sex, month, and year, and 3) describe bloodwork differences between a managed (SBCP) and unmanaged (IBSP) study site. Hematology and plasma biochemistries were performed for 393 turtles from 2017-18 at two sites in the Lake Plain region. Subject or population-based reference intervals were established based on the index of individuality per American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology guidelines. Analytes differed by age class [packed cell volume (PCV), total solids (TS), total white blood cell counts (WBC), heterophils, lymphocytes, heterophil:lymphocyte ratio (H:L), total calcium (Ca), calcium:phosphorous (Ca:P), bile acids (BA), aspartate aminotransferase (AST)], sex [H:L, Ca, phosphorus (P), Ca:P, creatine kinase (CK)], month [eosinophils, H:L, Ca, P, uric acid (UA), AST], and year [PCV, WBC, lymphocytes, basophils, H:L, Ca, P, UA]. Several analytes also varied by site [PCV, TS, monocytes, eosinophils, P, UA, AST], suggesting that health status may be affected by habitat management or lack thereof. The results of this study provide a baseline for ongoing health assessments in this region as well as across the Blanding's turtle range.

SUBMITTER: Mumm LE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6857950 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundSpatial access to primary care has been associated with late-stage and fatal breast cancer, but less is known about its relation to outcomes of other screening-preventable cancers such as colorectal cancer. This population-based retrospective cohort study examined whether spatial access to primary care providers associates with colorectal cancer-specific survival.MethodsApproximately 26 600 incident colorectal cancers diagnosed between 2000 and 2008 in adults residing in Cook County, Illinois were identified through the state cancer registry and georeferenced to the census tract of residence at diagnosis. An enhanced two-step floating catchment area method measured tract-level access to primary care physicians (PCPs) in the year of diagnosis using practice locations obtained from the American Medical Association. Vital status and underlying cause of death were determined using the National Death Index. Fine-Gray proportional subdistribution hazard models analyzed the association between tract-level PCP access scores and colorectal cancer-specific survival after accounting for tract-level socioeconomic status, case demographics, tumor characteristics, and other factors.ResultsIncreased tract-level access to PCPs was associated with a lower risk of death from colorectal cancer (hazard ratio [HR], 95% confidence interval [CI]) = 0.87 [0.79, 0.96], P = .008, highest vs lowest quintile), especially among persons diagnosed with regional-stage tumors (HR, 95% CI = 0.80 [0.69, 0.93], P = .004, highest vs lowest quintile).ConclusionsSpatial access to primary care providers is a predictor of colorectal cancer-specific survival in Cook County, Illinois. Future research is needed to determine which areas within the cancer care continuum are most affected by spatial accessibility to primary care such as referral for screening, accessibility of screening and diagnostic testing, referral for treatment, and access to appropriate survivorship-related care.

Project description:BackgroundDuring the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., African-American or Hispanic communities were disproportionately impacted. To better understand the epidemiology and relative effects of COVID-19 among hospitalized Hispanic patients, we compared individual and census-tract level characteristics of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 to those diagnosed with influenza, another viral infection with respiratory transmission. We evaluated temporal changes in epidemiology related to a shelter-in-place mandate.MethodsWe evaluated patients hospitalized at Cook County Health, the safety-net health system for the Chicago metropolitan area. Among self-identified hospitalized Hispanic patients, we compared those with influenza (2019-2020 season) to COVID-19 infection during March 16, 2020-May 11, 2020. We used multivariable analysis to identify differences in individual and census-tract level characteristics between the two groups.ResultsRelative to non-Hispanic blacks and whites, COVID-19 rapidly increased among Hispanics during promotion of social-distancing policies. Whereas non-Hispanic blacks were more likely to be hospitalized for influenza, Hispanic patients predominated among COVID-19 infections (40% relative increase compared to influenza). In the comparative analysis of influenza and COVID-19, Hispanic patients with COVID-19 were more likely to reside in census tracts with higher proportions of residents with the following characteristics: Hispanic; no high school diploma; non-US citizen; limited English speaking ability; employed in manufacturing or construction; and overcrowding. By multivariable analysis, Hispanic patients hospitalized with COVID-19 compared to those with influenza were more likely to be male (adjusted OR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.1 to 2.9), obese (aOR = 2.5; 95% CI 1.5 to 4.2), or reside in a census tract with ≥40% of residents without a high-school diploma (aOR = 2.5; 95% CI 1.3 to 4.8).ConclusionsThe rapid and disproportionate increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations among Hispanics after the shelter-in-place mandate indicates that public health strategies were inadequate in protecting this population-in particular, for those residing in neighborhoods with lower levels of educational attainment.

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Hematology and plasma biochemistries in the Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) in Lake County, Illinois.

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