The objective of the present study was to evaluate intakes and serum levels of vitamin A, vitamin E, and related compounds in a cohort of maternal–infant pairs in the Midwestern USA in relation to measures of health disparities. Concentrations of carotenoids and tocopherols in maternal serum were measured using HPLC and measures of socio-economic status, including food security and food desert residence, were obtained in 180 mothers upon admission to a Midwestern Academic Medical Center labour and delivery unit. The Kruskal–Wallis and independent-samples t tests were used to compare measures between groups; logistic regression models were used to adjust for relevant confounders. P < 0·05 was considered statistically significant. The odds of vitamin A insufficiency/deficiency were 2·17 times higher for non-whites when compared with whites (95 % CI 1·16, 4·05; P = 0·01) after adjustment for relevant confounders. Similarly, the odds of being vitamin E deficient were 3·52 times higher for non-whites (95 % CI 1·51, 8·10; P = 0·003). Those with public health insurance had lower serum lutein concentrations compared with those with private health insurance (P = 0·05), and living in a food desert was associated with lower serum concentrations of β-carotene (P = 0·02), after adjustment for confounders. Subjects with low/marginal food security had higher serum levels of lutein and β-cryptoxanthin compared with those with high food security (P = 0·004 and 0·02 for lutein and β-cryptoxanthin). Diet quality may be a public health concern in economically disadvantaged populations of industrialised societies leading to nutritional disadvantages as well.

a b s t r a c tRichard Florida's creative class theory posits that highly skilled workers with creative-or knowledgeintensive occupations are particularly sensitive to 'quality of place', a key component of which is an open and tolerant attitude toward different peoples, cultures, and lifestyles. While diversity, as a proxy for tolerance, has proven to be a relatively weak pull-factor at the inter-metropolitan level, the potential role of neighborhood-level diversity in the residential location of creative class workers has yet to be explored empirically. In this study we use ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and geographically weighted regression (GWR) to test the hypothesis that there exists significant associations between particular types of neighborhood diversity (i.e., sexual orientation, language, race, and income) and the proportion of workers with specific creative class occupations. The results of our Chicago case study suggest a significant positive relationship between the creative class and the proportion of gay households and income diversity, but not racial or linguistic diversity. Overall, diversity appears to play a limited role in predicting where creative class workers reside, though the GWR analysis indicated substantial spatial variation in the strength of association between neighborhood diversity and creative class share across the study area.

As we experience places, we learn about those places and generalize information into more abstract geographic categories. Rosch's basic‐level theory argues that information known about objects is stored in our memories in a three‐layered hierarchy. Data that could be used to test this theory in a geographic context was generated by having subjects make lists of activities, characteristics, and parts associated with 11 familiar geographic categories. An analysis of the distribution of information among the geographic categories confirmed two basic predictions of Rosch's theory. Significantly more information was stored in the basic‐level geographic categories country, region, state, city, and neighborhood than in the superordinate category place. Significantly more information was not stored in subordinate categories home country, home region, home state, home city, and home neighborhood. The results suggest that geographic information is efficiently stored in memory so that much of what we know about geographic space is stored in basic‐level categories that are both distinctive and informative.

Regional differences within Nebraska present a challenge for rural populations. Novel use of GIS mapping to highlight regional differences and identify solutions for access to care issues could be used by similar states.

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