Disease prioritization: what is the state of the art?

2015 ◽  
Vol 143 (14) ◽  
pp. 2911-2922 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. J. BROOKES ◽  
V. J. DEL RIO VILAS ◽  
M. P. WARD
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Decision Science ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Decision Context ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Progression Of Disease ◽  
Health Studies

SUMMARYDisease prioritization is motivated by the need to ensure that limited resources are targeted at the most important problems to achieve the greatest benefit in improving and maintaining human and animal health. Studies have prioritized a range of disease types, for example, zoonotic and foodborne diseases, using a range of criteria that describe potential disease impacts. This review describes the progression of disease prioritization methodology from ad hoc techniques to decision science methods (including multi-criteria decision analysis, conjoint analysis and probabilistic inversion), and describes how these methods aid defensible resource allocation. We discuss decision science in the context of disease prioritization to then review the development of disease prioritization studies. Structuring the prioritization and assessing decision-makers' preferences through value trade-offs between criteria within the decision context are identified as key factors that ensure transparency and reproducibility. Future directions for disease prioritization include the development of validation techniques, guidelines for model selection and neuroeconomics to gain a deeper understanding of decision-making.

scholarly journals Spatial Trade-Offs and Temporal Evolution of Multiple Ecosystem Services in a Marine-Terrestrial Urban-Agglomeration Zone

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huaxiang Chen ◽  
Lina Tang ◽  
Quanyi Qiu ◽  
Baosheng Wang ◽  
Weixiang Hu
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Temporal Evolution ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Research To Practice ◽  
Construction Land ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
To Come

It takes some time for changes to come in ecosystem services, and trade-offs occur in the process of changes. As opposed to a point in time, we use data spanning the years 2000–2005, 2005–2010, and 2010–2015 to study this research. After quantifying types of ecosystem services, this paper uses spatial correlation analysis and root-mean square deviation (RMSD) method to explore the relationships among ecosystem services and calculate the degree of spatial trade-offs (DT). Results show that the construction land increased substantially albeit at a declining rate of growth, and the degree of trade-offs (DT) increased with nontrivial differences in space. The hotspots for trade-offs are spatially aggregated in some areas but have varying patterns between ecosystem service pairs. The increasing area (IA) of construction land does not promote increased DT until the former reaches a certain threshold. With the exception of land use changes, type of industrial development is one of the key factors that influence the trade-offs of ecosystem services in the research region. We apply the models and methods used in this research to practice and discuss the practical value of our results for planners and decision makers vis-à-vis the design and instigation of appropriate development strategies.

scholarly journals Critical Systematic Review of Zoonoses and Transboundary Animal Diseases’ Prioritization in Africa

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 976
Author(s):  
Serge Eugene Mpouam ◽  
Jean Pierre Kilekoung Mingoas ◽  
Mohamed Moctar Mouliom Mouiche ◽  
Jean Marc Kameni Feussom ◽  
Claude Saegerman
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Parasitic Disease ◽  
Resource Use Efficiency ◽  
Animal Diseases ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
Use Efficiency

Background: Disease prioritization aims to enhance resource use efficiency concerning human and animal health systems’ preparedness and response to the most important problems for the optimization of beneficial outcomes. In sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), several prioritizations of zoonoses and transboundary animal diseases (TADs) have been implemented at different scales to characterize potential disease impacts. Method and principal findings: In this systematic review, we analyze the methodologies used, outcomes, and their relevance by discussing criteria required to align decision-makers’ perceptions of impacts to those of other stakeholders for different prioritization in SSA. In general, the sectorial representativeness of stakeholders for processes implemented with the support of international partners showed slight differences with the absence of local stakeholders. Whatever the tool prioritized, zoonoses were similar in general because of the structured nature of those tools in assessing decision-makers’ preferences through value trade-offs between criteria while ensuring transparency and reproducibility. However, by involving field practitioners and farmers, there were different outcomes with processes concerning only decision makers and experts who were more sensitive to infectious TADs, while the former raised parasitic disease constraints. In this context, multicriteria decision analysis-based zoonoses and TADs prioritizations involving a balanced participation of stakeholders might contribute to bridging these divergences, whatever the scale. Conclusion and significance: Prioritization processes were important steps toward building and harmonizing technical laboratory and surveillance networks to coordinate projects to address priority zoonoses and TADs at the country and/or sub-regional level. Those processes should be enhanced.

scholarly journals The interaction between sex-specific selection and local adaptation in species without separate sexes

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1757) ◽  
pp. 20170426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Olito ◽  
Jessica K. Abbott ◽  
Crispin Y. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Fitness Component ◽  
Fitness Components ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Self Fertilization ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Broad Overview

Local adaptation in hermaphrodite species can be based on a variety of fitness components, including survival, as well as both female and male sex-functions within individuals. When selection via female and male fitness components varies spatially (e.g. due to environmental heterogeneity), local adaptation will depend, in part, on variation in selection through each fitness component, and the extent to which genetic trade-offs between sex-functions maintain genetic variation necessary for adaptation. Local adaptation will also depend on the hermaphrodite mating system because self-fertilization alters several key factors influencing selection and the maintenance of genetic variance underlying trade-offs between the sex-functions (sexually antagonistic polymorphism). As a first step to guide intuition regarding sex-specific adaptation in hermaphrodites, we develop a simple theoretical model incorporating the essential features of hermaphrodite mating and adaptation in a spatially heterogeneous environment, and explore the interaction between sex-specific selection, self-fertilization and local adaptation. Our results suggest that opportunities for sex-specific local adaptation in hermaphrodites depend strongly on the extent of self-fertilization and inbreeding depression. Using our model as a conceptual framework, we provide a broad overview of the literature on sex-specific selection and local adaptation in hermaphroditic plants and animals, emphasizing promising future directions in light of our theoretical predictions. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Linking local adaptation with the evolution of sex differences'.

The Effects of Decision Time on Perceptions of Decisions and Decision Makers in (Moral) Trade-Off Scenarios

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Katharina Spälti ◽  
Mark John Brandt ◽  
Marcel Zeelenberg
Keyword(s):  
Decision Process ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Process Information ◽  
Total N ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Financial Gain ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Sacred Values ◽  
Moral Context

People often have to make trade-offs. We study three types of trade-offs: 1) "secular trade-offs" where no moral or sacred values are at stake, 2) "taboo trade-offs" where sacred values are pitted against financial gain, and 3) "tragic trade-offs" where sacred values are pitted against other sacred values. Previous research (Critcher et al., 2011; Tetlock et al., 2000) demonstrated that tragic and taboo trade-offs are not only evaluated by their outcomes, but are also evaluated based on the time it took to make the choice. We investigate two outstanding questions: 1) whether the effect of decision time differs for evaluations of decisions compared to decision makers and 2) whether moral contexts are unique in their ability to influence character evaluations through decision process information. In two experiments (total N = 1434) we find that decision time affects character evaluations, but not evaluations of the decision itself. There were no significant differences between tragic trade-offs and secular trade-offs, suggesting that the decisions structure may be more important in evaluations than moral context. Additionally, the magnitude of the effect of decision time shows us that decision time, may be of less practical use than expected. We thus urge, to take a closer examination of the processes underlying decision time and its perception.

scholarly journals From Bitcoin to Central Bank Digital Currencies: Making Sense of the Digital Money Revolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Paulo Rupino Cunha ◽  
Paulo Melo ◽  
Helder Sebastião
Keyword(s):  
Central Bank ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Central Banks ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Extensive Search ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Digital Money ◽  
Open Issues

We analyze the path from cryptocurrencies to official Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), to shed some light on the ultimate dematerialization of money. To that end, we made an extensive search that resulted in a review of more than 100 academic and grey literature references, including official positions from central banks. We present and discuss the characteristics of the different CBDC variants being considered—namely, wholesale, retail, and, for the latter, the account-based, and token-based—as well as ongoing pilots, scenarios of interoperability, and open issues. Our contribution enables decision-makers and society at large to understand the potential advantages and risks of introducing CBDCs, and how these vary according to many technical and economic design choices. The practical implication is that a debate becomes possible about the trade-offs that the stakeholders are willing to accept.

scholarly journals A Comeback of Wind Power in Shipping: An Economic and Operational Review on the Wind-Assisted Ship Propulsion Technology

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1880
Author(s):  
Todd Chou ◽  
Vasileios Kosmas ◽  
Michele Acciaro ◽  
Katharina Renken
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Ship Propulsion ◽  
Fuel Savings ◽  
Technological Growth ◽  
The Status ◽  
Promising Solution

Wind-assisted ship propulsion (WASP) technology seems to be a promising solution toward accelerating the shipping industry’s decarbonization efforts as it uses wind to replace part of the propulsive power generated from fossil fuels. This article discusses the status quo of the WASP technological growth within the maritime transport sector by means of a secondary data review analysis, presents the potential fuel-saving implications, and identifies key factors that shape the operational efficiency of the technology. The analysis reveals three key considerations. Firstly, despite the existing limited number of WASP installations, there is a promising trend of diffusion of the technology within the industry. Secondly, companies can achieve fuel savings, which vary depending on the technology installed. Thirdly, these bunker savings are influenced by environmental, on-board, and commercial factors, which presents both opportunities and challenges to decision makers.

scholarly journals Using Deliberative Democracy for Better Urban Decision-Making through Integrative Thinking

Urban Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Janette Hartz-Karp ◽  
Dora Marinova
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Capital City ◽  
City Region ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Urban Issues ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

This article expands the evidence about integrative thinking by analyzing two case studies that applied the collaborative decision-making method of deliberative democracy which encourages representative, deliberative and influential public participation. The four-year case studies took place in Western Australia, (1) in the capital city Perth and surrounds, and (2) in the city-region of Greater Geraldton. Both aimed at resolving complex and wicked urban sustainability challenges as they arose. The analysis suggests that a new way of thinking, namely integrative thinking, emerged during the deliberations to produce operative outcomes for decision-makers. Building on theory and research demonstrating that deliberative designs lead to improved reasoning about complex issues, the two case studies show that through discourse based on deliberative norms, participants developed different mindsets, remaining open-minded, intuitive and representative of ordinary people’s basic common sense. This spontaneous appearance of integrative thinking enabled sound decision-making about complex and wicked sustainability-related urban issues. In both case studies, the participants exhibited all characteristics of integrative thinking to produce outcomes for decision-makers: salience—grasping the problems’ multiple aspects; causality—identifying multiple sources of impacts; sequencing—keeping the whole in view while focusing on specific aspects; and resolution—discovering novel ways that avoided bad choice trade-offs.

scholarly journals An improved supervisory protocol for automatic selection of routing protocols in environment-aware vehicular ad hoc networks

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 155014771881505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishtiaq Wahid ◽  
Ata Ul Aziz Ikram ◽  
Masood Ahmad ◽  
Fasee Ullah
Keyword(s):  
Routing Protocols ◽  
Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Mobility Model ◽  
Operational Environment ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Microscopic Features ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Hoc Networks

With resource constraint’s distributed architecture and dynamic topology, network issues such as congestion, latency, power awareness, mobility, and other quality of service issues need to be addressed by optimizing the routing protocols. As a result, a number of routing protocols have been proposed. Routing protocols have trade-offs in performance parameters and their performance varies with the underlying mobility model. For designing an improved vehicular ad hoc network, three components of the network are to be focused: routing protocols, mobility models, and performance metrics. This article describes the relationship of these components, trade-offs in performance, and proposes a supervisory protocol, which monitors the scenario and detects the realistic mobility model through analysis of the microscopic features of the mobility model. An analytical model is used to determine the best protocol for a particular mobility model. The supervisory protocol then selects the best routing protocol for the mobility model of the current operational environment. For this, EstiNet 8.1 Simulator is used to validate the proposed scheme and compare its performance with existing schemes. Simulation results of the proposed scheme show the consistency in the performance of network throughout its operation.

scholarly journals The benefits of ‘One Health’ for pastoralists in Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Greter ◽  
Vreni Jean-Richard ◽  
Lisa Crump ◽  
Mahamat Béchir ◽  
Idriss O. Alfaroukh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vaccination Coverage ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
One Health ◽  
Q Fever ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Mobile Pastoralists ◽  
Serological Studies ◽  
Health Studies

‘One health’ is particularly suited to serve mobile pastoralists. Dinka pastoralists in Sudan inspired Calvin Schwabe to coin the term ‘one medicine’, indicating that there is no difference in paradigm between human and veterinary medicine. Our contemporary definition of ‘one health’ is any added value in terms of improved health of humans and animals or financial savings or environmental services resulting from a closer cooperation of human and animal health sectors. Here we present a summary of ‘one health’ studies with mobile pastoralists in Africa which were done in research partnership, demonstrating such an added value. Initial joint human and animal health studies revealed higher livestock vaccination coverage than in the pastoralist community, leading to joint animal and human vaccination intervention studies which demonstrated a better access to primary health care services for pastoralists in Chad. Further simultaneous animal and human serological studies showed that camel breeding was associated with human Q-fever seropositivity. In Borana communities in Ethiopia, human cases of  Mycobacterium bovis infection could be related to strains isolated from cattle. A challenge remained with regard to how to assess vaccination coverage in mobile populations. With the advent of mobile phones, health and demographic surveillance could be established for mobile pastoralists and their animals. This presents vast possibilities for surveillance and control of human and animal diseases. Pastoralists prefer a ‘one health’ approach and therefore contribute toward the validation of this concept by showing real added value of the cooperation between human and animal health services.

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