Estimating the impact and economic trade-offs of infectious disease control strategies using metapopulation models

Infectious diseases remain the main cause of death in low-income countries. Because of this, efforts to control the circulation of infectious agents are a priority for public policy makers. This control is challenged by a combination of complex disease dynamics, funding constraints or lack of political and societal commitment. These challenges are generally heterogeneous between geographical settings making the impact of control strategies hard to assess. In view of this, the purpose of this research is to integrate economic and epidemiological tools in order to improve support for disease control planning and implementation. To do this, I develop a metapopulation model framework to analyse the impact of control strategies when there are neighbouring populations with different epidemiological conditions. The results from this framework can be incorporated into further economic analysis and optimisations. The first section of this project aims to understand interventions’ effects when transmission intensity varies between populations. As a first approach, I implement the framework to analyse indirect effects of interventions for a transmission-stratified population, using generic models. Then, to contextualise the findings from the generic model, I analyse optimal intervention allocation for malaria control. Results from this section evidenced the importance of aligning local and global control strategies. The second section of this project focuses on understanding the consequences of disease control when intervention uptake varies between populations. For this, the metapopulation framework is applied to estimate the burden populations undergo due to the presence of an anti-vaccination movement. First, I analyse the burden of an outbreak of a vaccine preventable disease in a population where there are opposing vaccine acceptance views, implementing a measles transmission. Finally, I use the same approach to estimate the likely impact of vaccine hesitancy on the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of this section highlight the importance of addressing vaccine hesitancy as a public health priorityOpen Acces

Using metadata for content indexing within an OER network

This paper outlines the ICT solution for a metadata portal indexing open educational resources within a network of institutions. The network is aimed at blending academic and entrepreneurial knowledge,by enabling higher education institutions to publish various academic learning resources e.g. video lectures, course planning materials, or thematic content, whereasenterprises can present different forms of expert knowledge, such as case studies, expert presentations on specific topics, demonstrations of software implementation in practice and the like. As these resources need to bediscoverable, accessible and shared by potential learners across the learning environment, it is very important that they are well described and tagged in a standard way in machine readable form by metadata. Only then can they be successfully used and reused, especially when a large amount of these resources is reached, which makes it hard for the user to locate efficiently those of interest. The metadata set adopted in our approach relies on two standards: Dublin Core and Learning Object Metadata. The aim of metadata and the corresponding metadata portal described in this paper is to provide structured access to information on open educational resources within the network

Ohmic treatment of fresh foods: effect on textural properties

The aim of this work was to verify the effects of ohmic heating (OH) treatment on texture of fresh solid food (without pre-treatment in brine solutions), subjected to constant electrical field gradient (1100 V/m; 2200 V/m; 3300 V/m). Samples of fresh potatoes, carrots and apples cut into cylinders (d = 30 mm, h = 9.0 mm) underwent OH for 60, 120, 180 and 240 seconds. Texture measurements were performed in a universal testing machine Instron 4301, with a 100 N load cell, using a single-cycle compression test. The raw untreated sample was used as control. Stress–deformation behavior of food samples processed by OH differs appreciably from raw untreated samples for all cooking times. Firmness of solid samples decreased with OH time. This study confirmed that OH significantly affects texture of solid foods, producing structural damage, even though food has a low electrical conductivity.Fil: Olivera, Daniela Flavia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigaciones En Criotecnología de Alimentos (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; ArgentinaFil: Salvadori, Viviana Olga. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigaciones En Criotecnología de Alimentos (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; ArgentinaFil: Marra, Francesco . Università degli Studi di Salerno. Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale; Itali

Ohmic treatment of fresh foods: effect on textural properties

The aim of this work was to verify the effects of ohmic heating (OH) treatment on texture of fresh solid food (without pre-treatment in brine solutions), subjected to constant electrical field gradient (1100 V/m; 2200 V/m; 3300 V/m). Samples of fresh potatoes, carrots and apples cut into cylinders (d = 30 mm, h = 9.0 mm) underwent OH for 60, 120, 180 and 240 seconds. Texture measurements were performed in a universal testing machine Instron 4301, with a 100 N load cell, using a single-cycle compression test. The raw untreated sample was used as control. Stress–deformation behavior of food samples processed by OH differs appreciably from raw untreated samples for all cooking times. Firmness of solid samples decreased with OH time. This study confirmed that OH significantly affects texture of solid foods, producing structural damage, even though food has a low electrical conductivity.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimento

Influence of baking conditions on the quality attributes of sponge cake

Sponge cake is a sweet bakery product characterized by its aerated and soft crumb and by its thin-coloured crust. The aim of this work is to analyse the influence of baking conditions (natural or forced convection, steam injection, oven temperature from 140 °C to 180 °C) on sponge cake quality. Both crust and crumb regions were characterized by means of colour development, water content, crust/crumb relation, crust thickness and crumb structure (in terms of porosity, crumb density and texture). Colour measurements allowed obtaining an accurate model for browning kinetics. Crumb water content remains almost constant, while considerable dehydration occurs in the crust. In general, no significant differences due to baking conditions were found in the instrumental quality analysis.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimento

Attitudes of the Macedonian Preschool Teachers toward Students with Disabilities

Preschool teachers are seen as key persons to implement inclusive education. Positive attitudes are therefore argued as playing a considerable role in implementing this educational change successfully. The aim of this study was to examine what attitudes Macedonian preschool teachers hold towards early inclusive education; which variables are related to their attitudes. We examined the impact of the teaching experience, age of the teachers, and experience of work with children with special needs. The Opinions Relevant to Integration of Students with Disabilities (ORI) was administered to 94 preschool teachers at 2 preschool institutions. The results of this study showed, in general, that the preschool teachers’ attitudes were more negative than positive towards the inclusion of students with disability (meaning of students with intellectual impairments, visual impairments, hearing impairments, autism spectrum disorder, physical impairments and ADHD). No significance was found in relation to the grade level of education of preschool teachers, occupational experience and previous teaching experience with students with disability.Les enseignants du préscolaire sont considérés comme des personnes clés dans la mise en œuvre des politiques éducatives intégratrices. Les attitudes positives jouent donc un rôle considérable dans la réalisation des changements éducatifs. L’objectif de cette étude était d’examiner les attitudes qu’ont les enseignants du préscolaire de la Macédoine face à l’éducation préscolaire inclusive et de déterminer quelles variables influençaient leurs attitudes. Nous avons examiné l’impact de l’expérience en enseignement, l’âge des enseignants et l’expérience de travail avec des enfants ayant des besoins spéciaux. Quatre-vingt-quatorze enseignants de deux institutions préscolaires ont répondu à un questionnaire portant sur leurs avis quant à l’intégration d’élèves présentant des handicaps. Les résultats indiquent que, de façon générale, les attitudes des enseignants du préscolaire étaient plus négatives que positives face à l’inclusion des élèves avec des handicaps (c’est à dire, ayant une déficience intellectuelle, visuelle, auditive ou physique; souffrant de troubles du spectre autistique ou atteints de TDAH). Nous n’avons pas trouvé de liens significatifs entre les attitudes et la scolarité des enseignants du préscolaire, leur expérience professionnelle et leur expérience avec des élèves présentant des handicaps

Results from a large cross-sectional study assessing Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma spp. and Mycoplasma hominis urogenital infections in patients with primary infertility

Female and male infertility have been associated to Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma spp. and Mycoplasma hominis urogenital infections. However, evidence from large studies assessing their prevalence and putative associations in patients with infertility is still scarce. The study design was a cross-sectional study including 5464 patients with a recent diagnosis of couple’s primary infertility and 404 healthy control individuals from Cordoba, Argentina. Overall, the prevalence of C. trachomatis, Ureaplasma spp. and M. hominis urogenital infection was significantly higher in patients than in control individuals (5.3%, 22.8% and 7.4% vs. 2.0%, 17.8% and 1.7%, respectively). C. trachomatis and M. hominis infections were significantly more prevalent in male patients whereas Ureaplasma spp. and M. hominis infections were more prevalent in female patients. Of clinical importance, C. trachomatis and Ureaplasma spp. infections were significantly higher in patients younger than 25 years. Moreover, Ureaplasma spp. and M. hominis infections were associated to each other in either female or male patients being reciprocal risk factors of their co-infection. Our data revealed that C. trachomatis, Ureaplasma spp. and M. hominis are prevalent uropathogens in patients with couple’s primary infertility. These results highlight the importance of including the screening of urogenital infections in the diagnostic workup of infertility.Fil: Paira, Daniela Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Molina, Guillermo Alejandro. Hospital Privado Centro Médico de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Tissera, Andrea Daniela. Laboratorio de Andrología y Reproducción; ArgentinaFil: Olivera, Carolina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Molina, Rosa Isabel. Laboratorio de Andrología y Reproducción; ArgentinaFil: Motrich, Ruben Dario. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; Argentin

Impact of sous vide cooking on nutritional quality of meat

Cooking becomes the meat more digestible, eating, and palatable. However, heat treatment can cause undesirable nutritional changes inmeat, such as loss of minerals and vitamins, oxidation of lipids and changes in some segments of the protein fraction. The use of sous vide processing technology, which refers to cooking vacuum-sealed food in heat-stable plastic pouches under precisely monitored conditions, representsan interesting cooking alternative in terms of retains its natural sensory qualities of meat along with the nutritional value. In this paper, theresearch on the effect of sous vide cooking of meat on its nutritional quality is reviewed.Fil: Aviles, Maria Victoria. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Bromatología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Naef, Elisa Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Bromatología; ArgentinaFil: Lound, Liliana Haydee. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Bromatología; ArgentinaFil: Olivera, Daniela Flavia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos; Argentin