Time for a village-level strategy for the elimination of kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis) in India: analysis of potential kala-azar outbreak situation in 2018

2020 ◽  
pp. 004947552095364
Author(s):  
Suman Saurabh

Cases of kala-azar reported during 2013–2018 in Bihar, India were retrospectively analysed. Of 2187 villages reporting cases of kala-azar in 2018, 573 (26.2%) had reported no case in the previous five years but contributed to 20% of disease burden in 2018. On applying potential thresholds of kala-azar outbreaks, 805, 519 and 103 villages reported more than twice, thrice and five times their previous five-year annual average in 2018, respectively. Indoor residual spraying (IRS) in villages reporting any case of kala-azar in the past three years as per current guidelines could cover 72% of incident cases in 2018 vis-a-vis 80% if villages reporting cases in the past five years were considered. Therefore, IRS may be expanded to villages reporting cases in the past five years. Village case trends can be utilised to configure potential outbreak alarms (early warning and response system) on a pre-organised dashboard. A data-driven strategy for villages newly reporting cases and those in potential outbreak situations could prove effective in achieving and sustaining the elimination of kala-azar.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cong Zhu ◽  
Dan-Qi Wang ◽  
Hao Zi ◽  
Qiao Huang ◽  
Jia-Min Gu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Urinary tract infections (UTI), urolithiasis, and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) are three of the most common nonmalignant conditions in urology. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive and updated epidemiological data. This study aimed to investigate the disease burden of UTI, urolithiasis, and BPH in 203 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Methods Data were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease 2019, including incident cases, deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and corresponding age-standardized rate (ASR) from 1990 to 2019. Estimated annual percentage changes (EAPC) were calculated to evaluate the trends of ASR. The associations between disease burden and social development degrees were analyzed using a sociodemographic index (SDI). Results Compared with 1990, the incident cases of UTI, urolithiasis, and BPH increased by 60.40%, 48.57%, and 105.70% in 2019, respectively. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of UTI increased (EAPC = 0.08), while urolithiasis (EAPC = − 0.83) and BPH (EAPC = − 0.03) decreased from 1990 to 2019. In 2019, the age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) of UTI and urolithiasis were 3.13/100,000 and 0.17/100,000, respectively. BPH had the largest increase (110.56%) in DALYs in the past three decades, followed by UTI (68.89%) and urolithiasis (16.95%). The burden of UTI was mainly concentrated in South Asia and Tropical Latin America, while the burden of urolithiasis and BPH was recorded in Asia and Eastern Europe. Moreover, the ASIR and SDI of urolithiasis in high-SDI regions from 1990 to 2019 were negatively correlated, while the opposite trend was seen in low-SDI regions. In 2019, the ASIR of UTI in females was 3.59 times that of males, while the ASIR of urolithiasis in males was 1.96 times higher than that in females. The incidence was highest in the 30–34, 55–59, and 65–69 age groups among the UTI, urolithiasis, and BPH groups, respectively. Conclusion Over the past three decades, the disease burden has increased for UTI but decreased for urolithiasis and BPH. The allocation of medical resources should be based more on the epidemiological characteristics and geographical distribution of diseases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Baggio ◽  
Danielle S. Bassett ◽  
Fabio Pasqualetti

AbstractOur ability to manipulate the behavior of complex networks depends on the design of efficient control algorithms and, critically, on the availability of an accurate and tractable model of the network dynamics. While the design of control algorithms for network systems has seen notable advances in the past few years, knowledge of the network dynamics is a ubiquitous assumption that is difficult to satisfy in practice. In this paper we overcome this limitation, and develop a data-driven framework to control a complex network optimally and without any knowledge of the network dynamics. Our optimal controls are constructed using a finite set of data, where the unknown network is stimulated with arbitrary and possibly random inputs. Although our controls are provably correct for networks with linear dynamics, we also characterize their performance against noisy data and in the presence of nonlinear dynamics, as they arise in power grid and brain networks.


Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 582
Author(s):  
Yoko Ono ◽  
Hidemasa Bono

Hypoxia is a condition in which cells, tissues, or organisms are deprived of sufficient oxygen supply. Aerobic organisms have a hypoxic response system, represented by hypoxia-inducible factor 1-α (HIF1A), to adapt to this condition. Due to publication bias, there has been little focus on genes other than well-known signature hypoxia-inducible genes. Therefore, in this study, we performed a meta-analysis to identify novel hypoxia-inducible genes. We searched publicly available transcriptome databases to obtain hypoxia-related experimental data, retrieved the metadata, and manually curated it. We selected the genes that are differentially expressed by hypoxic stimulation, and evaluated their relevance in hypoxia by performing enrichment analyses. Next, we performed a bibliometric analysis using gene2pubmed data to examine genes that have not been well studied in relation to hypoxia. Gene2pubmed data provides information about the relationship between genes and publications. We calculated and evaluated the number of reports and similarity coefficients of each gene to HIF1A, which is a representative gene in hypoxia studies. In this data-driven study, we report that several genes that were not known to be associated with hypoxia, including the G protein-coupled receptor 146 gene, are upregulated by hypoxic stimulation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksei Seleznev ◽  
Dmitry Mukhin ◽  
Andrey Gavrilov ◽  
Alexander Feigin

<p>We investigate the decadal-to-centennial ENSO variability based on nonlinear data-driven stochastic modeling. We construct data-driven model of yearly Niño-3.4 indices reconstructed from paleoclimate proxies based on three different sea-surface temperature (SST) databases at the time interval from 1150 to 1995 [1]. The data-driven model is forced by the solar activity and CO2 concentration signals. We find the persistent antiphasing relationship between the solar forcing and Niño-3.4 SST on the bicentennial time scale. The dynamical mechanism of such a response is discussed.</p><p>The work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 20-62-46056)</p><p>1. Emile-Geay, J., Cobb, K. M., Mann, M. E., & Wittenberg, A. T. (2013). Estimating Central Equatorial Pacific SST Variability over the Past Millennium. Part II: Reconstructions and Implications, Journal of Climate, 26(7), 2329-2352.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S367) ◽  
pp. 199-209
Author(s):  
Shanshan Li ◽  
Chenzhou Cui ◽  
Cuilan Qiao ◽  
Dongwei Fan ◽  
Changhua Li ◽  
...  

AbstractAstronomy education and public outreach (EPO) is one of the important part of the future development of astronomy. During the past few years, as the rapid evolution of Internet and the continuous change of policy, the breeding environment of science EPO keep improving and the number of related projects show a booming trend. EPO is no longer just a matter of to teachers and science educators but also attracted the attention of professional astronomers. Among all activates of astronomy EPO, the data driven astronomy education and public outreach (abbreviated as DAEPO) is special and important. It benefits from the development of Big Data and Internet technology and is full of flexibility and diversity. We will present the history, definition, best practices and prospective development of DAEPO for better understanding this active field.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026638212110619
Author(s):  
Sharon Richardson

During the past two decades, there have been a number of breakthroughs in the fields of data science and artificial intelligence, made possible by advanced machine learning algorithms trained through access to massive volumes of data. However, their adoption and use in real-world applications remains a challenge. This paper posits that a key limitation in making AI applicable has been a failure to modernise the theoretical frameworks needed to evaluate and adopt outcomes. Such a need was anticipated with the arrival of the digital computer in the 1950s but has remained unrealised. This paper reviews how the field of data science emerged and led to rapid breakthroughs in algorithms underpinning research into artificial intelligence. It then discusses the contextual framework now needed to advance the use of AI in real-world decisions that impact human lives and livelihoods.


2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 597-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel SB Rawson ◽  
Parivash Nourjah ◽  
Stella C Grosser ◽  
David J Graham

BACKGROUND: The cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) celecoxib and rofecoxib (before its removal) are marketed as having fewer gastrointestinal (GI)-related complications than nonselective NSAIDs. However, adverse reaction data suggest that the use of COX-2 selective NSAIDs is associated with clinically significant GI events. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether patients receiving celecoxib and rofecoxib have a greater underlying disease burden than patients prescribed nonselective NSAIDs. METHODS: The study population consisted of members of 11 health plans, aged >34 years, with a pharmacy claim for celecoxib or rofecoxib or a nonselective NSAID dispensed between February 1, 1999, and July 31, 2001, who had been continuously enrolled for >364 days before the dispensing date. Celecoxib and rofecoxib patients were randomly selected without replacement from a pool of eligible users in each of the 30 months. Nonselective NSAID users were randomly chosen without replacement within each month on a 2:1 ratio to cases; they could be chosen in more than one month. Univariate analyses comparing 9000 cases and 18 000 controls were performed, followed by a multiple logistic regression analysis conditioned on time. RESULTS: Increasing age, treatment by a rheumatologist or an orthopedic specialist, treatment with a high number of different medications in the past year, treatment with oral corticosteroids in the past year, and having had a previous GI bleed increased the likelihood of receiving celecoxib or rofecoxib, whereas treatment with a high number of nonselective NSAID prescriptions in the past year decreased it. Treatment with a high number of different medications was a predictor of increased prevalence of underlying diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS: Patients having a greater underlying disease burden were more likely to receive COX-2 selective NSAIDs than nonselective ones. Paradoxically, patients at higher risk for cardiovascular disease were channeled toward treatment with COX-2 selective NSAIDs, many of which may confer an increased risk of acute myocardial infarction and other adverse cardiovascular outcomes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Hirata ◽  
Alexandra Vieira Suhogusoff

Abstract Groundwater is an essential resource for society and the environment in Brazil. More than 557 m3/s (17.5 km3/y) are extracted through 2.5 million wells to meet demand in cities and the countryside, generating an economy of R$ 56 billion per year (US$ 14 billion/year). The aquifer has a remarkable function in the hydrological cycle because its large storage regulates the perenniality of rivers, lakes and preserves mangroves, marshes, and vegetation in dry periods. Aquifer discharges maintain between 24% (annual average) and 49% (dry season) of the flow of these surface water bodies. Although studies on groundwater quality are still restricted, it is known that most aquifers still preserve their excellent natural quality. Nevertheless, over the past years, there has been a growing increase in cases of contamination associated with: (i) natural geochemical anomalies (iron, manganese, and fluorine, secondarily, chromium, and barium, and rarely arsenic) due to the dissolution of specific minerals; and (ii) human contaminant activities, related to urban areas without sewage network, or with industrial activities, storage of hazardous products, and solid waste facilities. Among the anthropic compounds commonly handled, the most problematic are the chlorinated organic solvents and heavy metals, and in non-sewage areas, nitrate. The precarious knowledge of aquifer-quality, especially in cities, demonstrates the need to invest in regular and systematic hydrogeological research and mapping projects that drive to the improvement of the practices on aquifer quality protection.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bulat Zagidullin ◽  
Ziyan Wang ◽  
Yuanfang Guan ◽  
Esa Pitkänen ◽  
Jing Tang

Application of machine and deep learning (ML/DL) methods in drug discovery and cancer research has gained a considerable amount of attention in the past years. As the field grows, it becomes crucial to systematically evaluate the performance of novel DL solutions in relation to established techniques. To this end we compare rule-based and data-driven molecular representations in prediction of drug combination sensitivity and drug synergy scores using standardized results of 14 high throughput screening studies, comprising 64,200 unique combinations of 4,153 molecules tested in 112 cancer cell lines. We evaluate the clustering performance of molecular fingerprints and quantify their similarity by adapting Centred Kernel Alignment metric. Our work demonstrates that in order to identify an optimal representation type it is necessary to supplement quantitative benchmark results with qualitative considerations, such as model interpretability and robustness, which may vary between and throughout preclinical drug development projects.


Author(s):  
Hakan Kapucu

The new world order reminds disruptions and turmoil. Exponentially-developing technology plays a significant role in causing these radical changes. These rapidly-changing conditions affect leaders with all humans. As scientific knowledge, digital transformation, technology is a backbone at the point that humanity has reached. Thus, it has become a critical component, which affects leader behaviors and the skillset expected from them. In this context, this article introduces a new leader who distinguishes from other styles. This distinction arises from the skills that leaders must adopt in the future are different than the past, from the reality of the earth’s being on the edge of collapse, business leaders’ being obliged to act upon it. And along with these specific behaviors, the leaders’ having data-driven mindsets, being technology adept.


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