A cluster-based method to quantify individual heterogeneity in tuberculosis transmission

Epidemiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Smith ◽  
Neel R. Gandhi ◽  
Benjamin J. Silk ◽  
Theodore Cohen ◽  
Benjamin Lopman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Heterogeneity ◽  
Tuberculosis Transmission

scholarly journals Individual heterogeneity screened umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cells with high Treg promotion demonstrate improved recovery of mouse liver fibrosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Xie ◽  
Shuo Liu ◽  
Liudi Wang ◽  
Hui Yang ◽  
Chenxu Tai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liver Fibrosis ◽  
Umbilical Cord ◽  
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ◽  
Growth Curve ◽  
Immune Regulation ◽  
Stromal Cells ◽  
Mouse Liver ◽  
Individual Heterogeneity ◽  
Therapeutic Outcomes ◽  
Multiple Donors

Abstract Background To investigate the heterogeneities of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (HUCMSCs) derived from different donors and their therapeutic variations when applied to mouse liver fibrosis model. Methods The characteristics of HUCMSCs derived from multiple donors were comprehensively analyzed including expressions of surface markers, viability, growth curve, karyotype analysis, tumorigenicity, differentiation potentials, and immune regulation capability. Then, the HUCMSCs with distinct immunomodulatory effects were applied to treat mouse liver fibrosis and their therapeutic effects were observed. Results The HUCMSCs derived from multiple donors kept a high consistency in surface marker expressions, viability, growth curve, and tumorigenicity in nude mice but had robust heterogeneities in differentiation potentials and immune regulations. In addition, three HUCMSC lines applied to mice liver fibrosis model had different therapeutic outcomes, in line with individual immune regulation capability. Conclusion The HUCMSCs derived from different donors have individual heterogeneity, which potentially lead to distinct therapeutic outcomes in mouse liver fibrosis, indicating we could make use of the donor-variation of MSCs to screen out guaranteed general indicators of MSCs for specific diseases in further stromal cell therapy.

scholarly journals Socio-economic disparities in the dispensation of antibiotics in Sweden 2016–2017: An intersectional analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy

2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482098149
Author(s):  
Maria Wemrell ◽  
Cecilia Lenander ◽  
Kristofer Hansson ◽  
Raquel Vicente Perez ◽  
Katarina Hedin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Individual Heterogeneity ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Swedish Population ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Discriminatory Accuracy ◽  
Intersectional Analysis ◽  
Socio Economic Variables

Aims: Antimicrobial resistance presents an increasingly serious threat to global public health, which is directly related to how antibiotic medication is used in society. Actions aimed towards the optimised use of antibiotics should be implemented on equal terms and according to the needs of the population. Previous research results on differences in antibiotic use between socio-economic and demographic groups in Sweden are not entirely coherent, and have typically focused on the effects of singular socio-economic variables. Using an intersectional approach, this study provides a more precise analysis of how the dispensation of antibiotic medication was distributed across socio-economic and demographic groups in Sweden in 2016–2017. Methods: Using register data from a nationwide cohort and adopting an intersectional analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy, we map the dispensation of antibiotics according to age, sex, country of birth and income. Results: While women and high-income earners had the highest antibiotic dispensation prevalence, no large differences in the dispensation of antibiotics were identified between socio-economic groups. Conclusions: Public-health interventions aiming to support the reduced and optimised use of antibiotics should be directed towards the whole Swedish population rather than towards specific groups. Correspondingly, an increased focus on socio-economic or demographic factors is not warranted in interventions aimed at improving antibiotic prescription patterns among medical practitioners.

Developing National Genotype-Independent Indicators for Recent Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Transmission Using Pediatric Cases—United States, 2011-2017

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492098521
Author(s):  
Alexia V. Harrist ◽  
Clinton J. McDaniel ◽  
Jonathan M. Wortham ◽  
Sandy P. Althomsons
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽  
Statistical Model ◽  
Moving Average ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tuberculosis Transmission ◽  
Average Proportion ◽  
Pediatric Tb ◽  
Case Rate ◽  
Pediatric Tuberculosis

Introduction Pediatric tuberculosis (TB) cases are sentinel events for Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission in communities because children, by definition, must have been infected relatively recently. However, these events are not consistently identified by genotype-dependent surveillance alerting methods because many pediatric TB cases are not culture-positive, a prerequisite for genotyping. Methods We developed 3 potential indicators of ongoing TB transmission based on identifying counties in the United States with relatively high pediatric (aged <15 years) TB incidence: (1) a case proportion indicator: an above-average proportion of pediatric TB cases among all TB cases; (2) a case rate indicator: an above-average pediatric TB case rate; and (3) a statistical model indicator: a statistical model based on a significant increase in pediatric TB cases from the previous 8-quarter moving average. Results Of the 249 US counties reporting ≥2 pediatric TB cases during 2009-2017, 240 and 249 counties were identified by the case proportion and case rate indicators, respectively. The statistical model indicator identified 40 counties with a significant increase in the number of pediatric TB cases. We compared results from the 3 indicators with an independently generated list of 91 likely transmission events involving ≥2 pediatric cases (ie, known TB outbreaks or case clusters with reported epidemiologic links). All counties with likely transmission events involving multiple pediatric cases were identified by ≥1 indicator; 23 were identified by all 3 indicators. Practice Implications This retrospective analysis demonstrates the feasibility of using routine TB surveillance data to identify counties where ongoing TB transmission might be occurring, even in the absence of available genotyping data.

scholarly journals Early‐life conditions determine the between‐individual heterogeneity in plasticity of calving date in reindeer

2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 370-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amélie Paoli ◽  
Robert B. Weladji ◽  
Øystein Holand ◽  
Jouko Kumpula
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Individual Heterogeneity ◽  
Life Conditions ◽  
Early Life Conditions

scholarly journals A Predictive Model Assessing Genetic Susceptibility Risk at Workplace

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiarella ◽  
Capone ◽  
Carbonari ◽  
Sisto
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Genotype Frequency ◽  
Individual Heterogeneity ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Polymorphic Genes ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
The Social

(1) Background: The study of susceptibility biomarkers in the immigrant workforce integrated into the social tissue of European host countries is always a challenge, due to high individual heterogeneity and the admixing of different ethnicities in the same workplace. These workers having distinct cultural backgrounds, beliefs, diets, and habits, as well as a poor knowledge of the foreign language, may feel reluctant to donate their biological specimens for the biomonitoring research studies. (2) Methods: A model predicting ethnicity-specific susceptibility based on principal component analysis has been conceived, using the genotype frequency of the investigated populations available in publicly accessible databases. (3) Results: Correlations among ethnicities and between ethnic and polymorphic genes have been found, and low/high-risk profiles have been identified as valuable susceptibility biomarkers. (4) Conclusions: In the absence of workers’ consent or access to blood genotyping, ethnicity represents a good indicator of the subject’s genotype. This model, associating ethnicity-specific genotype frequency with the susceptibility biomarkers involved in the metabolism of toxicants, may replace genotyping, ensuring the necessary safety and health conditions of workers assigned to hazardous jobs.

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