12,526 research outputs found
Identifying influential spreaders and efficiently estimating infection numbers in epidemic models: a walk counting approach
We introduce a new method to efficiently approximate the number of infections
resulting from a given initially-infected node in a network of susceptible
individuals. Our approach is based on counting the number of possible infection
walks of various lengths to each other node in the network. We analytically
study the properties of our method, in particular demonstrating different forms
for SIS and SIR disease spreading (e.g. under the SIR model our method counts
self-avoiding walks). In comparison to existing methods to infer the spreading
efficiency of different nodes in the network (based on degree, k-shell
decomposition analysis and different centrality measures), our method directly
considers the spreading process and, as such, is unique in providing estimation
of actual numbers of infections. Crucially, in simulating infections on various
real-world networks with the SIR model, we show that our walks-based method
improves the inference of effectiveness of nodes over a wide range of infection
rates compared to existing methods. We also analyse the trade-off between
estimate accuracy and computational cost, showing that the better accuracy here
can still be obtained at a comparable computational cost to other methods.Comment: 6 page
Electron-phonon interaction dressed by electronic correlations near charge ordering as the origin for superconductivity in cobaltates
We consider possible routes to superconductivity in hydrated cobaltates
Na_xCoO_2.yH_2O on the basis of the t-J-V model plus phonons on the triangular
lattice. We studied the stability conditions for the homogeneous Fermi liquid
(HFL) phase against different broken symmetry phases. Besides the
sqrt(3)xsqrt(3)-CDW phase, triggered by the nearest-neighbour Coulomb
interaction V, we have found that the HFL is unstable, at very low doping,
against a bond-ordered phase due to J. We also discuss the occurrence of phase
separation at low doping and V. The interplay between the electron-phonon
interaction and correlations near the sqrt(3)xsqrt(3)-CDW leads to
superconductivity in the unconventional next-nearest neighbour f-wave (NNN-f)
channel with a dome shape for Tc around x ~ 0.35, and with values of a few
Kelvin as seen in experiments. Near the bond-ordered phase at low doping we
found tendencies to superconductivity with d-wave symmetry for finite J and
x<0.15. Contact with experiments is given along the paper.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figure
Recommended from our members
Prospective Study of Pre-Gravid Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and the Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
OBJECTIVE: Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) was related to an elevated risk of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance in several recent studies among middle- or older-aged populations. Studies on SSB consumption and glucose intolerance among pregnant women, however, are lacking. We therefore examined the association between regular SSB consumption before pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a prospective study among 13,475 U.S. women who reported at least one singleton pregnancy between 1992 and 2001 in the Nurses' Health Study II. GDM was self-reported and validated by medical record review in a subsample. Cox proportional hazards models with multivariate adjustments were applied to examine the association of SSB consumption with GDM risk. RESULTS: During 10 years of follow-up, 860 incident GDM case subjects were identified. After adjustment for age, parity, race, physical activity, smoking, alcohol intake, prepregnancy BMI, and Western dietary pattern, intake of sugar-sweetened cola was positively associated with the risk of GDM, whereas no significant association was found for other SSBs and diet beverages. Compared with women who consumed <1 serving/month, those who consumed ≥5 servings/week of sugar-sweetened cola had a 22% greater GDM risk (relative risk 1.22 [95% CI 1.01–1.47]). CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study suggest that prepregnancy higher consumption of sugar-sweetened cola (≥5 servings/week) is associated with an elevated GDM risk, whereas no significant association with GDM risk was observed for other SSBs and diet beverages
A Qualitative Study
Background: Social media is frequently used by consumers and health care
professionals; however, our knowledge about its use in a professional capacity
by pharmacists is limited. Objective: Our aim was to investigate the
professional use of social media by pharmacists. Methods: In-depth
semistructured interviews were conducted with practicing pharmacists (N=31)
from nine countries. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and
thematically analyzed. Results: Wikipedia, YouTube, and Facebook were the main
social media platforms used. Professional use of social media included
networking with peers, discussion of health and professional topics, accessing
and sharing health and professional information, job searching, and
professional promotion. Wikipedia was the participants’ first choice when
seeking information about unfamiliar topics, or topics that were difficult to
search for. Very few pharmacy-related contributions to Wikipedia were
reported. YouTube, a video-sharing platform, was used for self-education.
University lectures, “how-to” footage, and professionally made videos were
commonly watched. No professional contribution was made to YouTube. Facebook,
a general social networking site, was used for professional networking,
promotion of achievements, and job advertisements. It also afforded engagement
in professional discussions and information sharing among peers. Conclusions:
Participants used social media in a professional capacity, specifically for
accessing and sharing health and professional information among peers.
Pharmacists, as medicines experts, should take a leading role in contributing
to health information dissemination in these user-friendly virtual
environments, to reach not only other health care professionals but also
health consumers. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(9):e258 doi:10.2196/jmir.570
Cusp energetic particle events: Implications for a major acceleration region of the magnetosphere
The Charge and Mass Magnetospheric Ion Composition Experiment (CAMMICE) on board the Polar spacecraft observed 75 energetic particle events in 1996 while the satellite was at apogee. All of these events were associated with a decrease in the magnitude of the local magnetic field measured by the Magnetic Field Experiment (MFE) on Polar. These new events showed several unusual features: (1) They were detected in the dayside polar cusp near the apogee of Polar with about 79% of the total events in the afternoonside and 21% in the morningside; (2) an individual event could last for hours; (3) the measured helium ion had energies up to and many times in excess of 2.4 MeV; (4) the intensity of 1–200 KeV/e helium was anticorrelated with the magnitude of the local geomagnetic field but correlated with the turbulent magnetic energy density; (5) the events were associated with an enhancement of the low-frequency magnetic noise, the spectrum of which typically extends from a few hertz to a few hundreds of hertz as measured by the Plasma Wave Instrument (PWI) on Polar; and (6) a seasonal variation was found for the occurrence rate of the events with a maximum in September. These characterized a new phenomenon which we are calling cusp energetic particle (CEP) events. The observed high charge state of helium and oxygen ions in the CEP events indicates a solar source for these particles. Furthermore, the measured 0.52–1.15 MeV helium flux was proportional to the difference between the maximum and the minimum magnetic field in the event. A possible explanation is that the energetic helium ions are energized from lower energy helium by a local acceleration mechanism associated with the high-altitude dayside cusp. These observations represent a potential discovery of a major acceleration region of the magnetosphere
Inhibition of nitrogenase by oxygen in marine cyanobacteria controls the global nitrogen and oxygen cycles
International audienceCyanobacterial N2-fixation supplies the vast majority of biologically accessible inorganic nitrogen to nutrient-poor aquatic ecosystems. The process, catalyzed by the heterodimeric protein complex, nitrogenase, is thought to predate that of oxygenic photosynthesis. Remarkably, while the enzyme plays such a critical role in Earth's biogeochemical cycles, the activity of nitrogenase in cyanobacteria is markedly inhibited in vivo at a post-translational level by the concentration of O2 in the contemporary atmosphere leading to metabolic and biogeochemical inefficiency in N2 fixation. We illustrate this crippling effect with data from Trichodesmium spp. an important contributor of "new nitrogen" to the world's subtropical and tropical oceans. The enzymatic inefficiency of nitrogenase imposes a major elemental taxation on diazotrophic cyanobacteria both in the costs of protein synthesis and for scarce trace elements, such as iron. This restriction has, in turn, led to a global limitation of fixed nitrogen in the contemporary oceans and provides a strong biological control on the upper bound of oxygen concentration in Earth's atmosphere
Relationship Between Increased In Vivo Meniscal Loads and Abnormal Tibiofemoral Surface Alignment in ACL deficient Sheep is Varied
Prepregnancy Consumption of Fruits and Fruit Juices and the Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
OBJECTIVE Examine the association of prepregnancy habitual consumption of fruits and fruit juices and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A prospective study among women with at least one singleton pregnancy in the Nurses’ Health Study II from 1991 to 2001. RESULTS Among 13,475 women, 860 reported a first diagnosis of GDM. The adjusted relative risks (RRs) for GDM from the lowest to highest quintile of whole fruit consumption were 1.00 (referent), 0.80 (95% CI 0.65–0.98), 0.90 (0.73–1.10), 0.80 (0.64–1.00), and 0.93 (0.76–1.16), respectively. The corresponding RRs for fruit juice were 1.00, 0.82 (0.66–1.01), 0.78 (0.63–0.96), 0.84 (0.68–1.04), and 1.00 (0.81–1.23). CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that prepregnancy higher consumption of whole fruits is not associated with an increased GDM risk. The association between fruit juices and GDM risk appears to be nonlinear
- …