Mosquito-Host Interactions during and after an Outbreak of Equine Viral Encephalitis in Eastern Panama

Mosquito blood meals provide information about the feeding habits and host preference of potential arthropod-borne disease vectors. Although mosquito-borne diseases are ubiquitous in the Neotropics, few studies in this region have assessed patterns of mosquito-host interactions, especially during actual disease outbreaks. Based on collections made during and after an outbreak of equine viral encephalitis, we identified the source of 338 blood meals from 10 species of mosquitoes from Aruza Abajo, a location in Darien province in eastern Panama. A PCR based method targeting three distinct mitochondrial targets and subsequent DNA sequencing was used in an effort to delineate vector-host relationships. At Aruza Abajo, large domesticated mammals dominated the assemblage of mosquito blood meals while wild bird and mammal species represented only a small portion of the blood meal pool. Most mosquito species fed on a variety of hosts; foraging index analysis indicates that eight of nine mosquito species utilize hosts at similar proportions while a stochastic model suggests dietary overlap among species was greater than would be expected by chance. The results from our nullmodel analysis of mosquito diet overlap are consistent with the hypothesis that in landscapes where large domestic animals dominate the local biomass, many mosquito species show little host specificity, and feed upon hosts in proportion to their biomass, which may have implications for the role of livestocking patterns in vector-borne disease ecology.Mosquito blood meals provide information about the feeding habits and host preference of potential arthropod-borne disease vectors. Although mosquito-borne diseases are ubiquitous in the Neotropics, few studies in this region have assessed patterns of mosquito-host interactions, especially during actual disease outbreaks. Based on collections made during and after an outbreak of equine viral encephalitis, we identified the source of 338 blood meals from 10 species of mosquitoes from Aruza Abajo, a location in Darien province in eastern Panama. A PCR based method targeting three distinct mitochondrial targets and subsequent DNA sequencing was used in an effort to delineate vector-host relationships. At Aruza Abajo, large domesticated mammals dominated the assemblage of mosquito blood meals while wild bird and mammal species represented only a small portion of the blood meal pool. Most mosquito species fed on a variety of hosts; foraging index analysis indicates that eight of nine mosquito species utilize hosts at similar proportions while a stochastic model suggests dietary overlap among species was greater than would be expected by chance. The results from our nullmodel analysis of mosquito diet overlap are consistent with the hypothesis that in landscapes where large domestic animals dominate the local biomass, many mosquito species show little host specificity, and feed upon hosts in proportion to their biomass, which may have implications for the role of livestocking patterns in vector-borne disease ecology

Bootstrapping Smooth Functions of Slope Parameters and Innovation Variances in VAR(∞) Models *

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101814/1/1468-2354.t01-1-00016.pd

Being Surveyed Can Change Later Behavior and Related Parameter Estimates

Does completing a household survey change the later behavior of those surveyed? In three field studies of health and two of microlending, we randomly assigned subjects to be surveyed about health and/or household finances and then measured subsequent use of a related product with data that does not rely on subjects' self-reports. In the three health experiments, we find that being surveyed increases use of water treatment products and take-up of medical insurance. Frequent surveys on reported diarrhea also led to biased estimates of the impact of improved source water quality. In two microlending studies, we do not find an effect of being surveyed on borrowing behavior. The results suggest that limited attention could play an important but context-dependent role in consumer choice, with the implication that researchers should reconsider whether, how, and how much to survey their subjectsEconomic

Real-world experience among patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma after Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor failure in Europe: The SCHOLAR-2 retrospective chart review study

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) after relapse is associated with poor prognosis. No standard of care exists and available evidence for treatments is limited, particularly in patients who fail Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi) therapy. This multicentre retrospective chart review study, SCHOLAR-2, addresses this knowledge gap and reports on data collected from 240 patients with relapsed/refractory MCL in Europe who were treated with BTKi-based therapy between July 2012 and July 2018, and had experienced disease progression while on BTKi therapy or discontinued BTKi therapy due to intolerance. The median overall survival (OS) from initiation of first BTKi therapy was 14.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 11.6–20.0) in the overall cohort, 5.5 months (95% CI 3.9–8.2) in 91 patients without post-BTKi therapy, and 23.8 months (95% CI 18.9–30.1) in 149 patients who received post-BTKi therapy (excluding chimeric antigen receptor T-cell treatment). In the latter group, patients received a median of one (range, one to seven) line of post-BTKi therapy, with lenalidomide-containing regimens and bendamustine plus rituximab being the most frequently administered; the median OS from initiation of first post-BTKi therapy was 9.7 months (95% CI 6.3–12.7). These results provide a benchmark for survival in patients with R/R MCL receiving salvage therapy after BTKi failure

Changes in health behaviors, mental and physical health among older adults under severe lockdown restrictions during the covid-19 pandemic in spain

We used data from 3041 participants in four cohorts of community-dwelling individuals aged =65 years in Spain collected through a pre-pandemic face-to-face interview and a telephone interview conducted between weeks 7 to 15 after the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown. On average, the confinement was not associated with a deterioration in lifestyle risk factors (smoking, alcohol intake, diet, or weight), except for a decreased physical activity and increased sedentary time, which reversed with the end of confinement. However, chronic pain worsened, and moderate declines in mental health, that did not seem to reverse after restrictions were lifted, were observed. Males, older adults with greater social isolation or greater feelings of loneliness, those with poorer housing conditions, as well as those with a higher prevalence of chronic morbidities were at increased risk of developing unhealthier lifestyles or mental health declines with confinement. On the other hand, previously having a greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet and doing more physical activity protected older adults from developing unhealthier lifestyles with confinement. If an-other lockdown were imposed during this or future pandemics, public health programs should spe-cially address the needs of older individuals with male sex, greater social isolation, sub-optimal housing conditions, and chronic morbidities because of their greater vulnerability to the enacted movement restrictions. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

The effectiveness of a health promotion with group intervention by clinical trial. Study protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The promotion of health and the interventions in community health continue to be one of the pending subjects of our health system. The most prevalent health problems (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes...) are for the most part related to life habits. We propose a holistic and integral approach as the best option for tackling behavior and its determinants. The research team has elaborated the necessary educational material to realize group teaching, which we call "Health Workshops". The goal of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of these Health Workshops in the following terms: Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL), incorporate and maintain a balanced diet, do physical activity regularly, maintain risk factors such as tension, weight, cholesterol within normal limits and diminish cardiovascular risk.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Controlled and random clinical testing, comparing a group of persons who have participated in the Health Workshops with a control group of similar characteristics who have not participated in the Health Workshops.</p> <p>Field of study: the research is being done in Health Centers of the city of Barcelona, Spain.</p> <p>Population studied: The group is composed of 108 persons that are actually doing the Health Workshops, and 108 that are not and form the control group. They are assigned at random to one group or the other.</p> <p>Data Analysis: With Student's t-distribution test to compare the differences between numerical variables or their non parametric equivalent if the variable does not comply with the criteria of normality. (Kolmogorov-Smirnof test). Chi-square test to compare the differences between categorical variables and the Logistic Regression Model to analyze different meaningful variables by dichotomous analysis related to the intervention.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The Health Workshop proposed in the present study constitutes an innovative approach in health promotion, placing the emphasis on the person's self responsibility for his/her own health.</p> <p>The rhythm of a weekly session during 8 weeks with recommended activities to put into practice, as well as the support of the group is an opportunity to incorporate healthy habits and make a commitment to self-care. The sheets handed out are a Health Manual that can always be consulted after the workshop ends.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01440738">NCT01440738</a></p

Mothers with higher twinning propensity had lower fertility in pre-industrial Europe

Historically, mothers producing twins gave birth, on average, more often than non-twinners. This observation has been interpreted as twinners having higher intrinsic fertility - a tendency to conceive easily irrespective of age and other factors - which has shaped both hypotheses about why twinning persists and varies across populations, and the design of medical studies on female fertility. Here we show in >20k pre-industrial European mothers that this interpretation results from an ecological fallacy: twinners had more births not due to higher intrinsic fertility, but because mothers that gave birth more accumulated more opportunities to produce twins. Controlling for variation in the exposure to the risk of twinning reveals that mothers with higher twinning propensity - a physiological predisposition to producing twins - had fewer births, and when twin mortality was high, fewer offspring reaching adulthood. Twinning rates may thus be driven by variation in its mortality costs, rather than variation in intrinsic fertility

Cumulative occupational lumbar load and lumbar disc disease – results of a German multi-center case-control study (EPILIFT)

Background The to date evidence for a dose-response relationship between physical workload and the development of lumbar disc diseases is limited. We therefore investigated the possible etiologic relevance of cumulative occupational lumbar load to lumbar disc diseases in a multi-center case-control study. Methods In four study regions in Germany (Frankfurt/Main, Freiburg, Halle/Saale, Regensburg), patients seeking medical care for pain associated with clinically and radiologically verified lumbar disc herniation (286 males, 278 females) or symptomatic lumbar disc narrowing (145 males, 206 females) were prospectively recruited. Population control subjects (453 males and 448 females) were drawn from the regional population registers. Cases and control subjects were between 25 and 70 years of age. In a structured personal interview, a complete occupational history was elicited to identify subjects with certain minimum workloads. On the basis of job task-specific supplementary surveys performed by technical experts, the situational lumbar load represented by the compressive force at the lumbosacral disc was determined via biomechanical model calculations for any working situation with object handling and load-intensive postures during the total working life. For this analysis, all manual handling of objects of about 5 kilograms or more and postures with trunk inclination of 20 degrees or more are included in the calculation of cumulative lumbar load. Confounder selection was based on biologic plausibility and on the change-in-estimate criterion. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated separately for men and women using unconditional logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, region, and unemployment as major life event (in males) or psychosocial strain at work (in females), respectively. To further elucidate the contribution of past physical workload to the development of lumbar disc diseases, we performed lag-time analyses. Results We found a positive dose-response relationship between cumulative occupational lumbar load and lumbar disc herniation as well as lumbar disc narrowing among men and women. Even past lumbar load seems to contribute to the risk of lumbar disc disease. Conclusions According to our study, cumulative physical workload is related to lumbar disc diseases among men and women

Bootstrapping Structural Change Tests

This paper demonstrates the asymptotic validity of methods based on the wild recursive and wild fixed bootstraps for testing hypotheses about discrete parameter change in linear models estimated via Two Stage Least Squares. The framework allows for the errors to exhibit conditional and/or unconditional heteroscedasticity, and for the reduced form to be unstable. Simulation evidence indicates the bootstrap tests yield reliable inferences in the sample sizes often encountered in macroeconomics. If the errors exhibit unconditional heteroscedasticity and/or the reduced form is unstable then the bootstrap methods are particularly attractive because the limiting distributions of the test statistics are not pivotal