Search

This study proposed a line of research on entrepreneurship based on the analysis of personality traits and geographical area. Its objective is to identify whether certain personality traits or sociocultural variables typical of a particular geographical area influence those who have already started an entrepreneurial activity to keep it up, in other words, to maintain their entrepreneurial intention. The research results reach a sample of 479 entrepreneurs from two Iberian Peninsula geographical areas. The analyse of the psychometric properties on the Entrepreneurial Orientation Questionnaire (EOQ) identified five dimensions of the enterprising personality. They also evidence that geographical location is a factor that contributes to the development of the entrepreneurial intentions that determine the business profile. The results show that entrepreneurs in the northern area tend to maintain their business than those in the central zone.

Background: The objective of this paper is to analyze social inequalities in COVID-19 incidence, stratified by age, sex, geographical area, and income in Barcelona during the first two waves of the pandemic. Methods: We collected data on COVID-19 cases confirmed by laboratory tests during the first two waves of the pandemic (1 March to 15 July and 16 July to 30 November, 2020) in Barcelona. For each wave and sex, we calculated smooth cumulative incidence by census tract using a hierarchical Bayesian model. We analyzed income inequalities in the incidence of COVID-19, categorizing the census tracts into quintiles based on the income indicator. Results: During the two waves, women showed higher COVID-19 cumulative incidence under 64 years, while the trend was reversed after that threshold. The incidence of the disease was higher in some poor neighborhoods. The risk ratio (RR) increased in the poorest groups compared to the richest ones, mainly in the second wave, with RR being 1.67 (95% Credible Interval-CI-: 1.41&ndash, 1.96) in the fifth quintile income group for men and 1.71 (95% CI: 1.44&ndash, 1.99) for women. Conclusion: Our results indicate the existence of inequalities in the incidence of COVID-19 in an urban area of Southern Europe.

Spaces are the backbone of intergenerational leisure interests and experiences. The objective of this research was to examine the spaces used in the practice of leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren and their link with the geographical area of residence. A cross-sectional telematic survey was carried out in which 357 grandparents with grandchildren between 6 and 12 years of age living in the northern part of Spain participated, and a descriptive study and inferential analysis of the data were carried out. The results revealed that a descriptive and inferential analysis was performed. The preferred space for intergenerational leisure was the home, especially for cultural activities such as board games, watching television, and reading. Associations, municipal spaces (sports centers, cultural centers, playrooms), and educational centers are more frequently used in the inland populations. Residing in urban towns and coastal municipalities implies a greater preference for the use of private leisure spaces. Living in provinces with a wetter, rainy climate is related to more shared leisure practice at home. The possible exceptionality of the current situation, within the framework of COVID-19, which may have led to significant alterations in the grandparent–grandchildren relationship, is discussed, with the consequent need to continue this line of inquiry.

Background It is unknown whether newer, mainly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and older tricyclic antidepressants are used similarly regardless of the geographical area of residence and education. Methods We included four randomly sampled cohorts of the Finnish working aged population (n = 998,540–1,033,135). The sampling (Dec 31st in 1995, 2000, 2004 and 2010) resulted in non-overlapping time windows where each participant was followed up for four years for the first antidepressant use. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we examined whether the hazard of antidepressant use differed between the capital area and three other areas (Southern, Western and Northern/Eastern Finland). Educational differences were examined using four sub-groups: capital area/high education (reference category); other areas/high education; capital area/low education; and other areas/low education. Results Hazard ratios for the use of newer antidepressants were significantly lower in all other areas compared to the capital area after adjustment for age, sex, marital status, employment status, education, income, and area-level unemployment. Findings remained consistent in all time windows, differences increasing slightly. In the sub-group analysis those with low education had the lowest level of use in all areas, also within the capital area. The results were opposite for older antidepressants in all but the last time window. Limitations Some degree of unmeasured confounding and exposure misclassification is likely to exist. Conclusions Newer antidepressants were more commonly used in the capital than in the other areas, and among those with high versus low education. These differences in antidepressant use suggest socioeconomic inequalities in the mental health treatment quality.

Inadequate diet influences chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in Spain. CVD figures vary from one geographical region to another, this could be associated with different food choices. Our aim was to analyse the influence of geographical area on nutrient intakes among the Spanish adult population with Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). We analysed cross-sectional baseline data from the PREDIMED-Plus study: 6646 Spanish adults, aged 55&ndash, 75 years, with overweight/obesity and MetS in four geographical areas. A validated 143-item Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess energy and nutrient intakes. The prevalence of inadequate nutrient intake was estimated according to Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs). Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between geographical area (North, Central, East and South areas) and inadequate nutrient intake. People in the North area consumed significantly lower amounts of vegetables and fish but more sugar and alcohol (p &lt, 0.001) than other areas. Dietary fibre, vitamin A, E, calcium and magnesium intakes were all lower among men of North area than in the other areas (p &lt, 0.001). Sex (women), non-smoker and physical activity were also associated to adequate nutrient intake. Geographical area influences nutrient intakes. Its effect on dietary quality should be taken into account when planning food policies.

International audience

In the last years, the extraction of the information content from digital images has assumed a crucial role in many application fields, such as risk assessment, analysis of damages, deforestation, environmental monitoring, earth observation, as a fundamental instrument to carry out specific and pointed studies. In this context the change detection of remotely sensed images takes place. Detecting changes means performing a spatial comparison of two or more images acquired over the same geographical area at different times. This operation can be performed on a per-pixel basis as well as on a per-object basis, depending on the aim of the specific application. In particular, in this paper two versions of the same change detection algorithm are presented, the one working on a per-pixel basis while the other working on an per-object basis, applied specifically for the monitoring of a water supply infrastructure. This algorithm provides the changes occurred in optical images' spectral content, as well as in their radiance content, by calculating two change features: the spectral angle made by two corresponding spectral vectors in the compared images, and the so-called Brightness Change Factor. The object-based version of the presented change detection algorithm has been developed according to an IIM - Image Information Mining context, in order to introduce an automated procedure to detect changes; furthermore, it has been developed with an a image analysis framework, called IPAINT - Image Processing Analysis Interpretation and Trasconding, which can be used for various applications thanks to its versatility, since it offers many different techniques for image processing.