24 research outputs found
Particle velocity controls phase transitions in contagion dynamics
Interactions often require the proximity between particles. The movement of
particles, thus, drives the change of the neighbors which are located in their
proximity, leading to a sequence of interactions. In pathogenic contagion,
infections occur through proximal interactions, but at the same time the
movement facilitates the co-location of different strains. We analyze how the
particle velocity impacts on the phase transitions on the contagion process of
both a single infection and two cooperative infections. First, we identify an
optimal velocity (close to half of the interaction range normalized by the
recovery time) associated with the largest epidemic threshold, such that
decreasing the velocity below the optimal value leads to larger outbreaks.
Second, in the cooperative case, the system displays a continuous transition
for low velocities, which becomes discontinuous for velocities of the order of
three times the optimal velocity. Finally, we describe these characteristic
regimes and explain the mechanisms driving the dynamics.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 12 supplementary figure
Extracting information from S-curves of language change
It is well accepted that adoption of innovations are described by S-curves
(slow start, accelerating period, and slow end). In this paper, we analyze how
much information on the dynamics of innovation spreading can be obtained from a
quantitative description of S-curves. We focus on the adoption of linguistic
innovations for which detailed databases of written texts from the last 200
years allow for an unprecedented statistical precision. Combining data analysis
with simulations of simple models (e.g., the Bass dynamics on complex networks)
we identify signatures of endogenous and exogenous factors in the S-curves of
adoption. We propose a measure to quantify the strength of these factors and
three different methods to estimate it from S-curves. We obtain cases in which
the exogenous factors are dominant (in the adoption of German orthographic
reforms and of one irregular verb) and cases in which endogenous factors are
dominant (in the adoption of conventions for romanization of Russian names and
in the regularization of most studied verbs). These results show that the shape
of S-curve is not universal and contains information on the adoption mechanism.
(published at "J. R. Soc. Interface, vol. 11, no. 101, (2014) 1044"; DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2014.1044)Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, Supplementary Material is available at
http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.122178
Risk of Coinfection Outbreaks in Temporal Networks: A Case Study of a Hospital Contact Network
We study the spreading of cooperative infections in an empirical temporal network of contacts between people, including health care workers and patients, in a hospital. The system exhibits a phase transition leading to one or several endemic branches, depending on the connectivity pattern and the temporal correlations. There are two endemic branches in the original setting and the non-cooperative case. However, the cooperative interaction between infections reinforces the upper branch, leading to a smaller epidemic threshold and a higher probability for having a big outbreak. We show the microscopic mechanisms leading to these differences, characterize three different risks, and use the influenza features as an example for this dynamics.DFG, 345463468, Interacting Dynamics on Networks, Applications to Epidemiology (idonate
Risk of Coinfection Outbreaks in Temporal Networks: A Case Study of a Hospital Contact Network
[eng] We study the spreading of cooperative infections in an empirical temporal network of contacts between people, including health care workers and patients, in a hospital. The system exhibits a phase transition leading to one or several endemic branches, depending on the connectivity pattern and the temporal correlations. There are two endemic branches in the original setting and the non-cooperative case. However, the cooperative interaction between infections reinforces the upper branch, leading to a smaller epidemic threshold and a higher probability for having a big outbreak. We show the microscopic mechanisms leading to these differences, characterize three different risks, and use the influenza features as an example for this dynamics
Changes in Physiological Levels of Cortisol and Adrenocorticotropic Hormone upon Hospitalization Can Predict SARS-CoV-2 Mortality: A Cohort Study
There is some indication that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis insufficiency. However, being on glucocorticoids makes it difficult to fully investigate this axis, especially in patients with severe COVID-19. We aimed to discover if there was a connection between blood total cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels and mortality in patients with COVID-19. In Iran, 154 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were studied in a prospective cohort study. ACTH and cortisol levels in the blood were measured on the first or second day of hospitalization. Most patients (52.6 vs. 47.4) were men over 50 years old (55.8), and 44.4 had an underlying illness. Serum cortisol and plasma ACTH medians were 15.6 (mu g/dl) and 11.4 (pg/ml), respectively. 9.09 of the patients died. Cortisol levels were substantially lower in those who died (11.3 mu g/dl) than in patients who were discharged (16.7 mu g/dl, P < 0.01), while ACTH levels were unaffected. The most important factors determining mortality, according to the logistic model, were blood cortisol levels, the existence of an underlying disease, and the use of a mechanical ventilator. Cortisol levels that rose by one-unit correlated with a 26 lower risk of mortality. Comorbidities and mechanical ventilation increased the risk of death by 260 and 92 times, respectively. It can be concluded that in patients with COVID-19, a low cortisol level is linked to a high risk of mortality. Patients may sometimes have relative primary adrenal insufficiency. To judge and decide on therapeutic interventions, more reliable and long-term follow-up studies are required