A unified inter-host and in-host model of antibiotic resistance and infection spread in a hospital ward

As the battle continues against hospital-acquired infections and the concurrent rise in antibiotic resistance among many of the major causative pathogens, there is a dire need to conduct controlled experiments, in order to compare proposed control strategies. However, cost, time, and ethical considerations make this evaluation strategy either impractical or impossible to implement with living patients. This paper presents a multi-scale model that offers promise as the basis for a tool to simulate these (and other) controlled experiments. This is a “unified” model in two important ways: (i) It combines inter-host and in-host dynamics into a single model, and (ii) it links two very different modeling approaches - agent-based modeling and differential equations - into a single model. The potential of this model as an instrument to combat antibiotic resistance in hospitals is demonstrated with numerical examples

A Hybrid Agent-based and Differential Equations Model for Simulating Antibiotic Resistance in a Hospital Ward

Serious infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria are pervasive, and of particular concern within hospital units due to frequent interaction among health-care workers and patients. Such nosocomial infections are difficult to eliminate because of inconsistent disinfection procedures and frequent interactions among infected persons, and because ill-chosen antibiotic treatment strategies can lead to a growth of resistant bacterial strains. Clinical studies to address these concerns have several issues, but chief among them are the effects on the patients involved. Realistic simulation models offer an attractive alternative. This paper presents a hybrid simulation model of antibiotic resistant infections in a hospital ward, combining agent-based simulation to model the inter-host interactions of patients and health-care workers with a detailed differential equations and probabilistic model of intra-host bacterial and antibiotic dynamics. Initial results to benchmark the model demonstrate realistic behavior and suggest promising extensions to achieve a highly-complex yet accurate mechanism for testing antibiotic strategies

Mother-infant consultation during drug treatment: Research and innovative clinical practice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This paper details a model for consulting with mothers and infants, and drug treatment staff used in a residential drug treatment program and relevant to other treatment settings. The role of parent-infant consultation based on the Neonatal Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) was evaluated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A sequential cohort model was used to assign participants to 1. NNNS consultation versus 2. standard care. The effects of NNNS consultation were evaluated using the Parenting Stress Index and NNNS summary scores.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Participants in the NNNS consultation condition had significantly less stress overall, and less stress related to infant behavior than participants in standard care. There were no differences in infant behavior on the NNNS Summary scores.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The implications for NNNS consultation in drug treatment programs is outlined. The importance of prevention/intervention to establish satisfactory mother-infant interaction in recovery programs which include a central parenting component is indicated.</p

Indirect discourse

This essay consists of a critical discussion of the main theories of indirect discourse. It is first argued that the theory put forward by Frege is fundamentally inadequate. Frege views expressions in indirect speech as standing for intensional entities. But application of the substitutivity rule in accordance with Frege's theory sometimes fails to preserve truth-value. There is the problem of quantifying simultaneously into a normal and an oblique context. It is shown that Frege's theory lends a spurious precision to the question of the conditions under which indirect quotation can be said to be successful. A truth theory meeting Tarski's criterion of adequacy is given for a simple Fregean language. It is argued that complex Fregean languages, i.e. those which match the expressive power of natural language, are not truth-theoretically tractable. The conclusion is drawn that an adequate theory must abjurereference to intensional entities and meet the demands of truth theory. Quine's theory meets the first of these requirements: he counts expressions in indirect speech as without semantic significance. But it is shown that Quine dissolves the semantic structure needed by a theory of truth. Both of the requirements are met by the theories of Geach and Davidson. Geach argues that oratio obliqua is logically superfluous and can everywhere be replaced with oratio recta. The arguments advanced against quotational theories prove to be fallacious. But Davidson's theory is prima facie more attractive than Geach's; for it counts oratio obliqua sentences as overtly exhibiting their logical form. Expressions in indirect speech play a normal semantical role: but are semanticallyinsulated from that to which we ascribe a truth-value. But it is shown that Davidson's theory as given is unable to deal with oratio obliqua sentences on their relational reading. In the last resort, Geach's theory seems the more viable of the two. <p

Substance use during pregnancy: time for policy to catch up with research

The phenomenon of substance abuse during pregnancy has fostered much controversy, specifically regarding treatment vs. punishment. Should the pregnant mother who engages in substance abuse be viewed as a criminal or as someone suffering from an illness requiring appropriate treatment? As it happens, there is a noticeably wide range of responses to this matter in the various states of the United States, ranging from a strictly criminal perspective to one that does emphasize the importance of the mother's treatment. This diversity of dramatically different responses illustrates the failure to establish a uniform policy for the management of this phenomenon. Just as there is lack of consensus among those who favor punishment, the same lack of consensus characterizes those states espousing treatment. Several general policy recommendations are offered here addressing the critical issues. It is hoped that by focusing on these fundamental issues and ultimately detailing statistics, policymakers throughout the United States will consider the course of action that views both pregnant mother and fetus/child as humanely as possible

Project Narrative

The Project Narrative for the Citizen Curator Project at UCF

Explanation of Research

Explanation of Research for the Citizen Curator Project at UCF

Call for Participation

The Citizen Curator Project of Central Florida invites participants to create a series of exhibitions in spring and summer 2017 focused on the theme Eliminationism and Resilience. A particularly potent example of eliminationism, defined as discourses, actions, and social policies that seek to suppress, exile, or exterminate perceived opponents, is the recent Pulse nightclub attack, whereas the Orlando United campaign may be viewed as an act of resilience

Budget Justification

This document contains the budget justification for the Citizen Curator Project at UCF