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The irregular timing and spatial variation in the zoonotic arbovirus spillover from vertebrate hosts to humans and livestock present challenges to predicting spillover occurrence over time and across broader geographic areas, compromising effective prevention and control strategies. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of the landscape composition and configuration and dynamic weather events on the 2018 spatiotemporal distribution of eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) (Togaviridae, Alphavirus) and West Nile virus (WNV) (Flaviviridae, Flavivirus) sentinel chicken seroconversion in northeastern Florida. We used a modeling framework that explicitly accounts for joint spatial and temporal effects and incorporates key EO (Earth Observation) information on the climate and landscape in order to more accurately quantify the environmental effects on the transmission to sentinel chickens. We investigated the environmental effects using Bernoulli generalized linear mixed effects models (GLMMs), including a site-level random effect, and then added spatial random effects and spatiotemporal random effects in subsequent runs. The models were executed using an integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA) and a stochastic partial differential equation (SPDE) approach in R-INLA. The GLMMs that included a spatiotemporal random effect performed better relative to models that included only spatial random effects and also performed better than non-spatial models. The results indicated a strong spatiotemporal structure in the seroconversion for both viruses, but EEEV exhibited a more punctuated and compact structure at the beginning of the sampling season, while WNV exhibited a more gradual and diffuse structure across the study area toward the end of the sampling season. The percentage of cypress–tupelo wetland land cover within 3500 m of coop sites and the edge density of the forest land cover within 500 m had a strong positive effect on the EEEV seroconversion, while the best fitting model for WNV was the intercept-only model with spatiotemporal random effects. The lagged climatic variables included in our study did not have a strong effect on the seroconversion for either virus when accounting for temporal autocorrelation, demonstrating the utility of capturing this structure to avoid type I errors. The predictive accuracy for out-of-sample data for the EEEV seroconversion demonstrates the potential to develop a framework that incorporates temporal dynamics in order to better predict arbovirus transmission.

From the Florida District 7 DME, Volusia County, FL. The author reports no conflict of interest. Supplemental digital contents are available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal’s Web site (www.amjforensicmedicine.com). Reprints: James W. Fulcher, MD, Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office, 1360 Indian Lake Rd, Daytona Beach, FL 32124. E-mail: [email protected].

Mosquito control agencies monitor mosquito diversity and abundance through a variety of trap types. Although various long-term ecological data sets exist, little work has been done to address the sampling effort required to capture mosquito community diversity by trap type and few spatiotemporal distributions of vector species have been described. Here, we describe the seasonal distributions of vector species of importance, assess trapping effort needed to capture the diversity of the mosquito community, and use a partial redundancy analysis to identify trap bias from four commonly deployed adult mosquito traps in Volusia County, Florida. Collections were made with American Biophysics Corporation (ABC) light traps, Biogents Sentinel (BGS) traps, chicken coop exit traps, and gravid traps. We collected a total of 238,301 adult female mosquitoes belonging to 11 genera and 36 species, 12 of which we deemed to be vector species of epidemiological importance. We found that ABC traps not only yielded the greatest abundance and diversity but also captured several nonvector species. BGS and gravid traps yielded the highest proportions of vector species; exit traps recorded the lowest abundances and species richness. Wintertime abundances of several species demonstrated a need for year-round surveillance in the study area; partial redundancy analysis revealed that trap type explained a significant proportion of the variance in our data set, with certain vector species associated with specific trap types. Increased awareness regarding the amount of trapping effort needed to detect vector species diversity will help to optimize efforts in the field, leading to more effective resource allocation.

Explores the relevance of Robert Kegan's concepts to the practice of pastoral care in a hospice context and illustrates the explanatory power of the concepts through the use of case histories. Outlines the implications of Kegan's theory for supervision in Clinical Pastoral Education within a hospice environment.

Although the enhancement of a client's level of self-esteem is a frequent goal in psychotherapy, this task is typically approached in an indirect and relatively inefficient manner. A recent investigation, however, suggests that methods of attitude change can be adapted as more direct means of raising levels of esteem. The present study was intended to replicate and extend that initial effort. 144 college students were exposed to a taped counter-attitudinal message under one of eight experimental conditions. These conditions represented various combinations of high or low levels of communicator's attractiveness and expertise and subject ego-involvement. Results supported the earlier findings that levels of esteem could be raised by exposing subjects to appropriate messages under conditions of high credibility.