Computational Modeling of Interventions and Protective Thresholds to Prevent Disease Transmission in Deploying Populations

Military personnel are deployed abroad for missions ranging from humanitarian relief efforts to combat actions; delay or interruption in these activities due to disease transmission can cause operational disruptions, significant economic loss, and stressed or exceeded military medical resources. Deployed troops function in environments favorable to the rapid and efficient transmission of many viruses particularly when levels of protection are suboptimal. When immunity among deployed military populations is low, the risk of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks increases, impacting troop readiness and achievement of mission objectives. However, targeted vaccination and the optimization of preexisting immunity among deployed populations can decrease the threat of outbreaks among deployed troops. Here we describe methods for the computational modeling of disease transmission to explore how preexisting immunity compares with vaccination at the time of deployment as a means of preventing outbreaks and protecting troops and mission objectives during extended military deployment actions. These methods are illustrated with five modeling case studies for separate diseases common in many parts of the world, to show different approaches required in varying epidemiological settings

Polynitroxyl Albumin and Albumin Therapy After Pediatric Asphyxial Cardia Arrest: Effects on Cerebral Blood Flow and Neurologic Outcome

Postresuscitation cerebral blood flow (CBF) disturbances and generation of reactive oxygen species likely contribute to impaired neurologic outcome after pediatric cardiac arrest (CA). Hence, we determined the effects of the antioxidant colloid polynitroxyl albumin (PNA) versus albumin or normal saline (NS) on CBF and neurologic outcome after asphyxial CA in immature rats. We induced asphyxia for 9 minutes in male and female postnatal day 16 to 18 rats randomized to receive PNA, albumin, or NS at resuscitation from CA or sham surgery. Regional CBF was measured serially from 5 to 150 minutes after resuscitation by arterial spin-labeled magnetic resonance imaging. We assessed motor function (beam balance and inclined plane), spatial memory retention (water maze), and hippocampal neuronal survival. Polynitroxyl albumin reduced early hyperemia seen 5 minutes after CA. In contrast, albumin markedly increased and prolonged hyperemia. In the delayed period after resuscitation (90 to 150 minutes), CBF was comparable among groups. Both PNA- and albumin-treated rats performed better in the water maze versus NS after CA. This benefit was observed only in males. Hippocampal neuron survival was similar between injury groups. Treatment of immature rats with PNA or albumin resulted in divergent acute changes in CBF, but both improved spatial memory retention in males after asphyxial CA

Managerial Responses to Incentives: Control of Firm Risk, Derivative Pricing Implications, and Outside Wealth Management

We model a firm’s value process controlled by a manager maximizing expected utility from restricted shares and employee stock options. The manager also dynamically controls allocation of his outside wealth. We explore interactions between those controls as he partially hedges his exposure to firm risk. Conditioning on his optimal behavior, control of firm risk increases the expected time to exercise for his employee stock options. It also reduces the percentage gap between his certainty equivalent and the firm’s fair value for his compensation, but that gap remains substantial. Managerial control also causes traded options to exhibit an implied volatility smile

The state of play of blockchain technology in the financial services sector: A systematic literature review

The modern trends of digitalization have completely transformed and reshaped business practices, whole businesses, and even a number of industries. Blockchain technology is believed to be the latest advancement in industries such as the financial sector, where trust is of prime significance. Blockchain technology is a decentralized and coded security system which provides the capability for new digital services and platforms to be created through this emerging technology. This research presents a systematic review of scholarly articles on blockchain technology in the financial sector. We commenced by considering 227 articles and subsequently filtered this list down to 87 articles. From this, we present a classification framework that has three dimensions: blockchain-enabled financial benefits, challenges, and functionality. This research identifies implications for future research and practice within the blockchain paradigm

Disability among US Army Veterans vaccinated against anthrax

Context: To protect troops against the use of anthrax as a biological weapon, the US Department of Defense began an anthrax vaccination program in 1998. 14 years after the inception of the vaccination program, there is no evidence suggesting vaccination against anthrax carries long-term health risks for Active Duty Soldiers. Objective: To investigate the association between Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA) received while on Active Duty and subsequent disability determined by the Veterans Benefits Administration. Design, setting and participants: Case–control study nested in the cohort of all Active Duty personnel known to have separated from the US Army between December 1, 1997 and December 31, 2005. Cases were ≥10% disabled, determined either by the Army prior to separation (N = 5846) or by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) after separation (N = 148,934). Controls (N = 937,705) separated from the Army without disability, and were not receiving pensions from the VBA as of April 2007. Data were from the Total Army Injury and Health Outcomes Database and the VBA Compensation and Pension and Benefits database. Main outcomes: Disability status (yes/no); for primary disability, percent disabled (≥ 10%, 20%, \u3e20%) and type of disability. Results: Vaccination against anthrax was four times more likely among disabled Veterans with hostile fire pay records (HFP, a surrogate for deployment). Vaccinated Soldiers with HFP had lower odds of disability separation from the Army 0.89 (0.80, 0.98); there was no association between vaccine and receiving Army disability benefits among those without HFP (OR = 1.05, CI: 0.96, 1.14). Vaccination was negatively associated with receiving VA disability benefits for those with HFP (OR = 0.66, CI: 0.65, 0.67), but there was little or no association between vaccine and receipt of VA disability benefits for those without HFP (OR = 0.95, CI: 0.93, 0.97). Conclusions: Risk of disability separation from the Army and receipt of disability compensation from the VA were not increased in association with prior exposure to AVA. This study provides evidence that vaccination against anthrax is not associated with long term disability

Doses for X‐ray and electron diffraction: New features in RADDOSE‐3D including intensity decay models

Publication status: PublishedFunder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000266Funder: Collaborative Computing Project Number 4 (CCP4), UKAbstractNew features in the dose estimation program RADDOSE‐3D are summarised. They include the facility to enter a diffraction intensity decay model which modifies the “Diffraction Weighted Dose” output from a “Fluence Weighted Dose” to a “Diffraction‐Decay Weighted Dose”, a description of RADDOSE‐ED for use in electron diffraction experiments, where dose is historically quoted in electrons/Å2 rather than in gray (Gy), and finally the development of a RADDOSE‐3D GUI, enabling easy access to all the options available in the program.</jats:p