1,379 research outputs found
Herd immunity under individual variation and reinfection
We study a SEIR model considered by Gomes et al. \cite{Gomes2020} and Aguas
et al. \cite{Aguas2020} where different individuals are assumed to have
different levels of susceptibility or exposure to infection. Under this
heterogeneity assumption, epidemic growth is effectively suppressed when the
percentage of population having acquired immunity surpasses a critical level -
the herd immunity threshold - that is lower than in homogeneous populations. We
find explicit formulas to calculate herd immunity thresholds and stable
configuration, and explore extensions of the model
Modelling the epidemiology of residual Plasmodium vivax malaria in a heterogeneous host population : a case study in the Amazon Basin
The overall malaria burden in the Americas has decreased dramatically over the past two decades, but residual transmission pockets persist across the Amazon Basin, where Plasmodium vivax is the predominant infecting species. Current elimination efforts require a better quantitative understanding of malaria transmission dynamics for planning, monitoring, and evaluating interventions at the community level. This can be achieved with mathematical models that properly account for risk heterogeneity in communities approaching elimination, where few individuals disproportionately contribute to overall malaria prevalence, morbidity, and onwards transmission. Here we analyse demographic information combined with routinely collected malaria morbidity data from the town of Mâncio Lima, the main urban transmission hotspot of Brazil. We estimate the proportion of high-risk subjects in the host population by fitting compartmental susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) transmission models simultaneously to age-stratified vivax malaria incidence densities and the frequency distribution of P. vivax malaria attacks experienced by each individual over 12 months. Simulations with the best-fitting SIS model indicate that 20% of the hosts contribute 86% of the overall vivax malaria burden. Despite the low overall force of infection typically found in the Amazon, about one order of magnitude lower than that in rural Africa, high-risk individuals gradually develop clinical immunity following repeated infections and eventually constitute a substantial infectious reservoir comprised of asymptomatic parasite carriers that is overlooked by routine surveillance but likely fuels onwards malaria transmission. High-risk individuals therefore represent a priority target for more intensive and effective interventions that may not be readily delivered to the entire community
Topological Superconductor from the Quantum Hall Phase: Effective Field Theory Description
We derive low-energy effective field theories for the quantum anomalous Hall
and topological superconducting phases. The quantum Hall phase is realized in
terms of free fermions with nonrelativistic dispersion relation, possessing a
global symmetry. We couple this symmetry with a background gauge field
and compute the effective action by integrating out the gapped fermions. In
spite of the fact that the corresponding Dirac operator governing the dynamics
of the original fermions is nonrelativistic, the leading contribution in the
effective action is a usual Abelian Chern-Simons term. The proximity to
a conventional superconductor induces a pairing potential in the quantum Hall
state, favoring the formation of Cooper pairs. When the pairing is strong
enough, it drives the system to a topological superconducting phase, hosting
Majorana fermions. Even though the continuum symmetry is broken down to
a one, we can forge fictitious symmetries that enable us
to derive the effective action for the topological superconducting phase, also
given by a Chern-Simons theory. To eliminate spurious states coming from the
artificial symmetry enlargement, we demand that the fields in the effective
action are instead of gauge fields. In the case we have to
sum over the bundles in the partition function, which projects
out the states that are not invariants. The corresponding edge
theory is the orbifold, which contains Majorana fermions in
its operator content.Comment: 40 pages, 5 figures, journal versio
AVOCADO: A Virtual Observatory Census to Address Dwarfs Origins
Dwarf galaxies are by far the most abundant of all galaxy types, yet their
properties are still poorly understood -especially due to the observational
challenge that their intrinsic faintness represents. AVOCADO aims at
establishing firm conclusions on their formation and evolution by constructing
a homogeneous, multiwavelength dataset for a statistically significant sample
of several thousand nearby dwarfs (-18 < Mi < -14). Using public data and
Virtual Observatory tools, we have built GALEX+SDSS+2MASS spectral energy
distributions that are fitted by a library of single stellar population models.
Star formation rates, stellar masses, ages and metallicities are further
complemented with structural parameters that can be used to classify them
morphologically. This unique dataset, coupled with a detailed characterization
of each dwar's environment, allows for a fully comprehensive investigation of
their origins and to track the (potential) evolutionary paths between the
different dwarf types.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. To appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 277,
"Tracing the Ancestry of Galaxies on the Land of our Ancestors", Carignan,
Freeman, and Combes, ed
The gorgonian coral Eunicella labiata hosts a distinct prokaryotic consortium amenable to cultivation
Microbial communities inhabiting gorgonian corals are believed to benefit their hosts through nutrient provision and chemical defence; yet much remains to be learned about their phylogenetic uniqueness and cultivability. Here, we determined the prokaryotic community structure and distinctiveness in the gorgonian Eunicella labiata by Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes from gorgonian and seawater metagenomic DNA. Furthermore, we used a 'plate-wash' methodology to compare the phylogenetic diversity of the 'total' gorgonian bacteriome and its 'cultivatable' fraction. With 1016 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), prokaryotic richness was higher in seawater than in E. labiata where 603 OTUs were detected, 68 of which were host-specific. Oceanospirillales and Rhodobacterales predominated in the E. labiata communities. One Oceanospirillales OTU, classified as Endozoicomonas, was particularly dominant, and closest relatives comprised exclusively uncultured clones from other gorgonians. We cultivated a remarkable 62% of the bacterial symbionts inhabiting E. labiata: Ruegeria, Sphingorhabdus, Labrenzia, other unclassified Rhodobacteraceae, Vibrio and Shewanella ranked among the 10 most abundant genera in both the cultivation-independent and dependent samples. In conclusion, the E. labiata microbiome is diverse, distinct from seawater and enriched in (gorgonian)-specific bacterial phylotypes. In contrast to current understanding, many dominant E. labiata symbionts can, indeed, be cultivated.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [EXPL/MAR-EST/1664/2013, SFRH/BPD/34282/2006]German Volkswagen (VW) foundation [Az. 81 040-2]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Effects of effortful swallowing on cardiac autonomic control in individuals with neurogenic dysphagia: A prospective observational analytical study
Considering that neurogenic oropharyngeal dysphagia is a prevalent condition with or without cardiac disease we should contemplate issues surrounding cardiovascular difficulties during rehabilitation. This study aims to evaluate the effects of effortful swallowing maneuver (ESM) on heart rate variability (HRV) in subjects with neurogenic oropharyngeal dysphagia. We studied 22 individuals [8 Stroke and 14 Parkinson Disease (PD) subjects aged between 41 and 75 years old] with neurogenic oropharyngeal dysphagia regardless of gender. HRV was assessed under two circumstances: spontaneous swallowing versus ESM. Surface electromyography of the suprahyoid muscles was undertaken to measure the swallowing muscle excitation, which then confirmed higher muscle activity during ESM. We attained no changes in HRV between the two swallowing events [HR: spontaneous swallowing 78.68 ± 13.91 bpm vs. ESM 102.57 ± 107.81 bpm, p = 0.201; RMSSD (root-mean square of differences between adjacent normal RR intervals in a time interval): spontaneous swallowing 16.99 ± 15.65 ms vs. ESM 44.74 ± 138.85 ms, p = 0.312; HF (high frequency): spontaneous swallowing 119.35 ± 273 ms2 vs. ESM 99.83 ± 194.58 ms2, p = 0.301; SD1 (standard deviation of the instantaneous variability of the beat-to-beat heart rate): spontaneous swallowing 12.02 ± 1.07 ms vs. ESM 31.66 ± 98.25 ms, p = 0.301]. The effortful swallowing maneuver did not cause clinically significant changes in autonomic control of HR in this group of subjects with oropharyngeal dysphagia
ENERGY COST DURING WALKING AND RUNNING A SAME DISTANCE IS ASSOCIATED WITH VERTICAL OSCILLATION ON GRAVITY CENTER.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate which factors are involved in energetic cost of running and walking a same distance (2,000 meters). Eight healthy men were submitted
to walking (5.5km/h) and running (11Km/h) tests, when oxygen consumption, for energy expenditure of exercise, was monitored, and images of volunteers were recorded for
vertical oscillation of gravity center. Both, total oxygen consumption and estimated energetic cost were significantly higher during the running test (
Clinical profile and treatment discontinuation in a tuberculosis control state programme in Brazil: preliminary results from SINAN database
Poster presented at the 45th ESCP Symposium on Clinical Pharmacy. 4-6 October 2016, Oslo, NorwayN/
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