Large Social Networks can be Targeted for Viral Marketing with Small Seed Sets

In a "tipping" model, each node in a social network, representing an individual, adopts a behavior if a certain number of his incoming neighbors previously held that property. A key problem for viral marketers is to determine an initial "seed" set in a network such that if given a property then the entire network adopts the behavior. Here we introduce a method for quickly finding seed sets that scales to very large networks. Our approach finds a set of nodes that guarantees spreading to the entire network under the tipping model. After experimentally evaluating 31 real-world networks, we found that our approach often finds such sets that are several orders of magnitude smaller than the population size. Our approach also scales well - on a Friendster social network consisting of 5.6 million nodes and 28 million edges we found a seed sets in under 3.6 hours. We also find that highly clustered local neighborhoods and dense network-wide community structure together suppress the ability of a trend to spread under the tipping model

Social Network Intelligence Analysis to Combat Street Gang Violence

In this paper we introduce the Organization, Relationship, and Contact Analyzer (ORCA) that is designed to aide intelligence analysis for law enforcement operations against violent street gangs. ORCA is designed to address several police analytical needs concerning street gangs using new techniques in social network analysis. Specifically, it can determine "degree of membership" for individuals who do not admit to membership in a street gang, quickly identify sets of influential individuals (under the tipping model), and identify criminal ecosystems by decomposing gangs into sub-groups. We describe this software and the design decisions considered in building an intelligence analysis tool created specifically for countering violent street gangs as well as provide results based on conducting analysis on real-world police data provided by a major American metropolitan police department who is partnering with us and currently deploying this system for real-world use

ETHNOBOTANY STUDY OF VEGETABLE SPECIES WITH THERAPEUTIC PURPOSES FROM A RURAL COMMUNITY IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF BARBALHA, CEARÁ, BRAZIL

From the beginnings of mankind man recurs to natural resources for the treatment, cure and prevention of various diseases through the use of medicinal plants. The objective of this study was to revitalize and identify the knowledge regarding plant species with therapeutic purposes used by the traditional Santo Antônio community, Barbalha, Ceará, Brazil, with the aim of assisting chemical and pharmacological studies. The methodology was based on semi-structured interviews to explore informant’s knowledge surrounding medicinal species and to highlight those considered more versatile. 27 species were described, distributed across 21 distinct families, of which the most representative was the Anacardiaceae family. From these species, 05 have gained prominence regarding their versatility: Chenopodium ambrosioides L., Helianthus annuus L., Bauhinia variegata L., Anethum graveolens L., Passiflora cincinnata Mast. In general, the leaf was the most used plant part. As for preparation method, infusion prevailed. For therapeutic purpose, a greater use in disease cases involving problems such as scarring, hypertension, anxiety and diabetes was observed. Most of the indications reported by the local community coincide with findings in the literature, thus, this research may serve as a subsidy for pharmacological and chemical studies which may lead to the discovery of new herbal medicines

One More Piece in the VACV Ecological Puzzle: Could Peridomestic Rodents Be the Link between Wildlife and Bovine Vaccinia Outbreaks in Brazil?

BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that smallpox eradication was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1980, other poxviruses have emerged and re-emerged, with significant public health and economic impacts. Vaccinia virus (VACV), a poxvirus used during the WHO smallpox vaccination campaign, has been involved in zoonotic infections in Brazilian rural areas (Bovine Vaccinia outbreaks - BV), affecting dairy cattle and milkers. Little is known about VACV's natural hosts and its epidemiological and ecological characteristics. Although VACV was isolated and/or serologically detected in Brazilian wild animals, the link between wildlife and farms has not yet been elucidated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we describe for the first time, to our knowledge, the isolation of a VACV (Mariana virus - MARV) from a mouse during a BV outbreak. Genetic data, in association with biological assays, showed that this isolate was the same etiological agent causing exanthematic lesions observed in the cattle and human inhabitants of a particular BV-affected area. Phylogenetic analysis grouped MARV with other VACV isolated during BV outbreaks. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These data provide new biological and epidemiological information on VACV and lead to an interesting question: could peridomestic rodents be the link between wildlife and BV outbreaks

Adverse Events Post Smallpox-Vaccination: Insights from Tail Scarification Infection in Mice with Vaccinia virus

Adverse events upon smallpox vaccination with fully-replicative strains of Vaccinia virus (VACV) comprise an array of clinical manifestations that occur primarily in immunocompromised patients leading to significant host morbidity/mortality. The expansion of immune-suppressed populations and the possible release of Variola virus as a bioterrorist act have given rise to concerns over vaccination complications should more widespread vaccination be reinitiated. Our goal was to evaluate the components of the host immune system that are sufficient to prevent morbidity/mortality in a murine model of tail scarification, which mimics immunological and clinical features of smallpox vaccination in humans. Infection of C57BL/6 wild-type mice led to a strictly localized infection, with complete viral clearance by day 28 p.i. On the other hand, infection of T and B-cell deficient mice (Rag1−/−) produced a severe disease, with uncontrolled viral replication at the inoculation site and dissemination to internal organs. Infection of B-cell deficient animals (µMT) produced no mortality. However, viral clearance in µMT animals was delayed compared to WT animals, with detectable viral titers in tail and internal organs late in infection. Treatment of Rag1−/− with rabbit hyperimmune anti-vaccinia serum had a subtle effect on the morbidity/mortality of this strain, but it was effective in reduce viral titers in ovaries. Finally, NUDE athymic mice showed a similar outcome of infection as Rag1−/−, and passive transfer of WT T cells to Rag1−/− animals proved fully effective in preventing morbidity/mortality. These results strongly suggest that both T and B cells are important in the immune response to primary VACV infection in mice, and that T-cells are required to control the infection at the inoculation site and providing help for B-cells to produce antibodies, which help to prevent viral dissemination. These insights might prove helpful to better identify individuals with higher risk of complications after infection with poxvirus

Virulence in Murine Model Shows the Existence of Two Distinct Populations of Brazilian Vaccinia virus Strains

Brazilian Vaccinia virus had been isolated from sentinel mice, rodents and recently from humans, cows and calves during outbreaks on dairy farms in several rural areas in Brazil, leading to high economic and social impact. Some phylogenetic studies have demonstrated the existence of two different populations of Brazilian Vaccinia virus strains circulating in nature, but little is known about their biological characteristics. Therefore, our goal was to study the virulence pattern of seven Brazilian Vaccinia virus strains. Infected BALB/c mice were monitored for morbidity, mortality and viral replication in organs as trachea, lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, brain and spleen. Based on the virulence potential, the Brazilian Vaccinia virus strains were grouped into two groups. One group contained GP1V, VBH, SAV and BAV which caused disease and death in infected mice and the second one included ARAV, GP2V and PSTV which did not cause any clinical signals or death in infected BALB/c mice. The subdivision of Brazilian Vaccinia virus strains into two groups is in agreement with previous genetic studies. Those data reinforce the existence of different populations circulating in Brazil regarding the genetic and virulence characteristics

RECURSOS NATURAIS COMO ALTERNATIVA TERAPÊUTICA EM UMA PERSPECTIVA DE GÊNEROS E URBANIZAÇÃO

A utilização de recursos naturais com finalidades terapêuticas é uma prática consolidada em todo mundo. Em vista disso, a presente pesquisa teve por objetivo caracterizar o saber / uso de recursos naturais para o tratamento de doenças reportado por moradores de diferentes áreas na cidade de Crato, Ceará (Nordeste do Brasil). Utilizou-se do método de amostragem snow ball para composição da amostra e a partir de então, roteiros semiestruturados foram aplicados para a coleta de informações, a técnica de turnê guiada também foi empregada. Os dados foram analisados de forma qualitativa, através de nuvens de palavras, a estratégia agrupa palavras e as organiza graficamente em função da sua frequência. O enlace dos resultados demonstrou declínio de citações, de espécies medicinais e usos, demonstrando que esse conhecimento tende a ser inversamente proporcional à urbanização. Constatou-se que a amostra feminina é detentora de um vasto conhecimento empírico relacionados a recursos naturais com fins terapêuticos, sendo o uso de plantas notadamente marcante, e que, a figura feminina parece ser pouco afetada pela relação de exclusão entre os pares etnosaberes-urbanização em dimensões espaço-temporais, no entanto, tornam-se necessários novos estudos para averiguar a associação entre essas variáveis, a fim de consolidar as informações obtidas nesse estudo. Em adição, a estratégia metodológica das nuvens de palavras para sintetizar os resultados permitiu uma visualização exploratória e dinâmica das informações da pesquisa, otimizando o cunho qualitativo deste estudo