Genetic Diversity in the SIR Model of Pathogen Evolution

We introduce a model for assessing the levels and patterns of genetic diversity in pathogen populations, whose epidemiology follows a susceptible-infected-recovered model (SIR). We model the population of pathogens as a metapopulation composed of subpopulations (infected hosts), where pathogens replicate and mutate. Hosts transmit pathogens to uninfected hosts. We show that the level of pathogen variation is well predicted by analytical expressions, such that pathogen neutral molecular variation is bounded by the level of infection and increases with the duration of infection. We then introduce selection in the model and study the invasion probability of a new pathogenic strain whose fitness (R0(1+s)) is higher than the fitness of the resident strain (R0). We show that this invasion probability is given by the relative increment in R0 of the new pathogen (s). By analyzing the patterns of genetic diversity in this framework, we identify the molecular signatures during the replacement and compare these with those observed in sequences of influenza A

Analysis of expressed sequence tags from Trypanosoma cruzi amastigotes

A total of 880 expressed sequence tags (EST) originated from clones randomly selected from a Trypanosoma cruzi amastigote cDNA library have been analyzed. Of these, 40% (355 ESTs) have been identified by similarity to sequences in public databases and classified according to functional categorization of their putative products. About 11% of the mRNAs expressed in amastigotes are related to the translational machinery, and a large number of them (9% of the total number of clones in the library) encode ribosomal proteins. A comparative analysis with a previous study, where clones from the same library were selected using sera from patients with Chagas disease, revealed that ribosomal proteins also represent the largest class of antigen coding genes expressed in amastigotes (54% of all immunoselected clones). However, although more than thirty classes of ribosomal proteins were identified by EST analysis, the results of the immunoscreening indicated that only a particular subset of them contains major antigenic determinants recognized by antibodies from Chagas disease patients

Guidance to 2018 good practice : ARIA digitally-enabled, integrated, person-centred care for rhinitis and asthma

AimsMobile Airways Sentinel NetworK (MASK) belongs to the Fondation Partenariale MACVIA-LR of Montpellier, France and aims to provide an active and healthy life to rhinitis sufferers and to those with asthma multimorbidity across the life cycle, whatever their gender or socio-economic status, in order to reduce health and social inequities incurred by the disease and to improve the digital transformation of health and care. The ultimate goal is to change the management strategy in chronic diseases.MethodsMASK implements ICT technologies for individualized and predictive medicine to develop novel care pathways by a multi-disciplinary group centred around the patients.StakeholdersInclude patients, health care professionals (pharmacists and physicians), authorities, patient's associations, private and public sectors.ResultsMASK is deployed in 23 countries and 17 languages. 26,000 users have registered.EU grants (2018)MASK is participating in EU projects (POLLAR: impact of air POLLution in Asthma and Rhinitis, EIT Health, DigitalHealthEurope, Euriphi and Vigour).Lessons learnt(i) Adherence to treatment is the major problem of allergic disease, (ii) Self-management strategies should be considerably expanded (behavioural), (iii) Change management is essential in allergic diseases, (iv) Education strategies should be reconsidered using a patient-centred approach and (v) Lessons learnt for allergic diseases can be expanded to chronic diseases.Peer reviewe

Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) Phase 4 (2018): Change management in allergic rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity using mobile technology

Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) has evolved from a guideline by using the best approach to integrated care pathways using mobile technology in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma multimorbidity. The proposed next phase of ARIA is change management, with the aim of providing an active and healthy life to patients with rhinitis and to those with asthma multimorbidity across the lifecycle irrespective of their sex or socioeconomic status to reduce health and social inequities incurred by the disease. ARIA has followed the 8-step model of Kotter to assess and implement the effect of rhinitis on asthma multimorbidity and to propose multimorbid guidelines. A second change management strategy is proposed by ARIA Phase 4 to increase self-medication and shared decision making in rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity. An innovation of ARIA has been the development and validation of information technology evidence-based tools (Mobile Airways Sentinel Network [MASK]) that can inform patient decisions on the basis of a self-care plan proposed by the health care professional

Magnetic resonance imaging findings of true bifid mandibular condyle with duplicated mandibular fossa

Bifid mandibular condyle (BMC) is a rare asymptomatic morphological alteration with no predilection for age group or gender. Its morphology varies from a shallow groove to two condylar heads with separate necks, oriented mediolaterally or anteroposteriorly. This report describes an unusual case of anteroposterior bifid condyle in a 39-year-old female patient with the main complaint of mouth-opening limitation and a deviation of the mandible to the left side. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings revealed a bifid condyle on the left side and duplicated mandibular fossa, with the articular disc over the anterior head. The MRI images in the open-mouth position revealed minimal movement of the condyle. Despite the increased number of mediolateral bifid mandibular condyle cases described in the literature, none of previously reported cases of BMC included an anteroposterior bifid condyle case with two distinct mandibular fossa. Clin. Anat. 25:650655, 2012. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.25565065

Evaluation of prognostic indexes in critical acute renal failure patients

Objective. To study different prognostic indexes in acute renal failure (ARF) patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Design. Prospective, cohort study. Individual Severity Score-Acute Tubular Necrosis (ISS-ATN) obtained prospectively and retrospectively, Acute Physiologic and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) Score, APACHE II Risk, Lung Injury Score (LIS), and Number of Organ Failures (NOF) were calculated for each patient. the outcome analyzed was death in the ICU. Discrimination was evaluated by the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC). for calibration analysis, the chi-square goodness-of-fit test was used to compare predicted mortality, calculated by ISS-ATN (obtained prospectively or retrospectively) and APACHE II risk, with observed mortality. Setting. ICU, Sao Rafael Hospital, Salvador-BA, Brazil. Patients. Seventy-six ARF patients admitted to the ICU within 6 months. Interventions. Surgical and medical procedures. Measurements and Results. the observed AUC was 0.69 for LIS, 0.73 for prospective ISS-ATN, 0.75 for retrospective ISS-ATN, 0.76 for APACHE II Score, 0.78 for APACHE II Risk, and 0.88 for NOF. These areas were significantly different from 0.5 (p <.001). There was no difference between the observed and expected death rate calculated by ISS-ATN. However, APACHE II underestimated the observed mortality (p <.001). Conclusion. the prognostic indexes studied showed good discriminative power. However, APACHE II was not well calibrated in contrast to the good calibration of ISS-ATN.Sao Rafael Hosp, Nephrol & Hemodialysis Serv, BR-40296720 Salvador, BA, BrazilSao Rafael Hosp, Intens Care Unit, BR-40296720 Salvador, BA, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Med, Div Nephrol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Med, Div Nephrol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc