Article
Biology
Melissa Collier, Gregory F. Albery, Grant C. McDonald, Shweta Bansal
Summary: Pathogen traits play a crucial role in the persistence of pathogens in a population, and their evolution is influenced by the interaction with host behavior. In this study, we analyzed contact networks of various animal groups and found that the network structure varies according to contact type, especially in fluid-exchange transmission networks. Simulation analysis revealed that pathogens transmitted through fluid-exchange contact types require specific traits for successful proliferation. These findings were supported by a review of known traits of pathogens that transmit in humans. Our study highlights the importance of contact network structure in driving the evolution of pathogen traits and provides essential context for understanding pathogen evolution and ecology.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Biology
Andria Mousa, Peter Winskill, Oliver J. Watson, Oliver Ratmann, Melodie Monod, Marco Ajelli, Aldiouma Diallo, Peter J. Dodd, Carlos G. Grijalva, Moses Chapa Kiti, Anand Krishnan, Rakesh Kumar, Supriya Kumar, Kin On Kwok, Claudio F. Lanata, Olivier Le Polain de Waroux, Kathy Leung, Wiriya Mahikul, Alessia Melegaro, Carl D. Morrow, Joel Mossong, Eleanor F. G. Neal, David J. Nokes, Wirichada Pan-ngum, Gail E. Potter, Fiona M. Russell, Siddhartha Saha, Jonathan D. Sugimoto, Wan In Wei, Robin R. Wood, Joseph T. Wu, Juanjuan Zhang, Patrick G. T. Walker, Charles Whittaker
Summary: Researchers found that the number of daily contacts people made decreased with age in high-income countries, while younger and older individuals made similar numbers of contacts in low-income countries. There are differences in social contact patterns across different income settings, which have important implications for predicting and controlling disease transmission.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Jason A. Galvis, Cesar A. Corzo, Gustavo Machado
Summary: Accounting for multiple modes of livestock disease dissemination remains a challenge in epidemiological models. This study developed a mathematical model to study the transmission pathways of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). The results showed that pig movements and farm proximity were the main transmission routes, while transportation vehicles also played an important role in PRRSV dissemination. This highlights the need for careful control strategies for transportation vehicles.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Tao Li, Marco Morselli, Trent Su, Mulugeta Million, Muriel Larauche, Matteo Pellegrini, Yvette Tache, Pu-Qing Yuan
Summary: The porcine gut, specifically the colon, is shown to be a relevant model for studying human colonic function and neuromodulation. Transcriptomic analyses reveal highly conserved programs between pig and human, supporting the potential of using pigs as predictors in translational studies.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Bo Li, David Saad
Summary: The study focuses on the variant model of infectious diseases with presymptomatic transmission, using the method of dynamic message passing to provide a good estimate of the probabilistic evolution of spread. This facilitates the derivation of epidemic thresholds and impacts different containment strategies.
Article
Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications
Fuzhong Nian, Jinshuo Liu
Summary: This paper focuses on the role of feedback mechanism on message propagation, and the simulation results show that the feedback mechanism leads to faster and more persistent message propagation while changing the structure of social networks.
CHAOS SOLITONS & FRACTALS
(2021)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Helen R. Fielding, Matthew J. Silk, Trevelyan J. McKinley, Richard J. Delahay, Jared K. Wilson-Aggarwal, Laetitia Gauvin, Laura Ozella, Ciro Cattuto, Robbie A. McDonald
Summary: The study suggests that cattle contact patterns can vary significantly under different management conditions, with some cows showing higher contact frequencies and number of contacts while others do not. Additionally, differences in contact behavior between cows in different environments (pasture vs. buildings) were observed.
PREVENTIVE VETERINARY MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Mechanical
S. Runge, P. A. Ignatyev, M. Wangenheim, C. Bederna, B. Wies, J. Wallaschek
Summary: Abrasive processes, specifically local slip, play a significant role in the friction and wear of vehicle tires. Understanding the dynamic contact between rubber blocks and abrasive surfaces is crucial for analyzing tire tread friction and wear mechanisms. Detailed consideration of realistic transient dynamics is essential for accurate characterization beyond typical abrasion testers.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Theresa S. Ryckman, David W. Dowdy, Emily A. Kendall
Summary: The importance of finding people with undiagnosed tuberculosis (TB) lies in their future disease trajectories. The study shows that individuals with smear-positive subclinical TB have longer undiagnosed disease durations and contribute more to future transmission than symptomatic or smear-negative TB.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Jian Wang, Jia-Tong Yan, Shu-Tang Zeng, Wen Shao, Gui-Xue Tang, Shuo-Bin Chen, Zhi-Shu Huang, Jia-Heng Tan, Xiu-Cai Chen
Summary: This study designed and synthesized a pH-sensitive fluorescent probe that can simultaneously label mitochondria and lysosomes to study their dynamic interactions. The study found that the pH of mitochondria and lysosomes changes in a specific disease model.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Dennis N. Makau, Igor A. D. Paploski, Kimberly VanderWaal
Summary: The study examined the temporal stability and loyalty patterns of pig movement networks in the U.S. swine industry, analyzing 282,807 animal movements among 2724 farms over a four-year period. Network stability was achieved when six months of data were aggregated, providing reliability for designing targeted surveillance programs.
PREVENTIVE VETERINARY MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
B. Bauzile, G. Sicard, C. Guinat, M. Andraud, N. Rose, P. Hammami, B. Durand, M. C. Paul, T. Vergne
Summary: Through analyzing French live duck movement data, it was found that transport vehicles generated more transmission opportunities than the exchange of live animals, with transit networks being more interconnected than animal introduction networks. During the flu epidemic, statistics for both networks significantly decreased, with a 33.3% probability of farm infection following exposure, though actual transmission events were limited.
PREVENTIVE VETERINARY MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Lea Briard, Vanessa O. Ezenwa
Summary: This study synthesized insights from empirical studies on the relationship between social networks and parasites, finding a positive effect of social behavior on parasite infection at the individual level, with the effect size nearly twice as large as that observed for group size in previous meta-analyses. Significant heterogeneity in effect sizes across studies was observed, but this pattern could not be explained.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ian E. Jacobs, Gabriele D'Avino, Vincent Lemaur, Yue Lin, Yuxuan Huang, Chen Chen, Thomas F. Harrelson, William Wood, Leszek J. Spalek, Tarig Mustafa, Christopher A. O'Keefe, Xinglong Ren, Dimitrios Simatos, Dion Tjhe, Martin Statz, Joseph W. Strzalka, Jin-Kyun Lee, Iain McCulloch, Simone Fratini, David Beljonne, Henning Sirringhaus
Summary: Doped organic semiconductors are critical to emerging device applications. This study presents experimental and theoretical evidence disputing the belief that low conductivities in these materials primarily result from charge trapping by the Coulomb potentials of the dopant counterions. The research suggests that electrical conductivity in highly doped polymers is strongly correlated with paracrystalline disorder, rather than ionic size.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Joao S. Rebelo, Celia P. F. Domingues, Francisco Dionisio, Manuel C. Gomes, Ana Botelho, Teresa Nogueira
Summary: Research shows that reducing human contacts leads to a decrease in the diversity of antibiotic resistance genes in human microbiomes. Confinement and hygienic measures not only suppress the spread of pathogenic bacteria in a human network, but also reduce resistance and the need for antibiotic use.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Vlad Demartsev, Michal Haddas-Sasson, Amiyaal Ilany, Lee Koren, Eli Geffen
Summary: Rhythmic stability is important for neural and physiological functions, and the study found that male rock hyraxes with more frequent singing events tend to have more surviving offspring. The rhythmic profile of hyrax songs is predominantly isochronous, and the ratio of isochronous vocal element transitions to off-integer transitions is positively correlated with male reproductive success.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Irith Aloni, Amiyaal Ilany
Summary: The unique social system of spotted hyenas may inhibit the establishment of beneficial mutations, but this negative effect can potentially be counteracted by females' random choice of mates.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Ashlan Jolley, William Love, Erin Frey, Cristina Lanzas
Summary: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacterial pathogens reduces the effectiveness of antimicrobial drugs in human and veterinary medicine, emphasizing the importance of judicious antimicrobial use (AMU) in controlling AMR. This study aims to quantify the changes in antimicrobial prescribing practices for companion animals in an academic veterinary hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. By analyzing prescribing data, it was found that the pandemic significantly impacted the use of antimicrobials, with decreased prescription rates per week and per patient visit for certain drugs, while others showed increased rates.
ZOONOSES AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Kristen J. Smith, Brad J. White, David E. Amrine, Robert L. Larson, Miles E. Theurer, Josh I. Szasz, Tony C. Bryant, Justin W. Waggoner
Summary: This research describes the temporal patterns of bovine respiratory disease, including the timing of disease onset, days to death following treatment, and timing of fatal disease onset. The results show that the time of arrival to the feed yard affects the timing of disease onset, and cattle arriving in different quarters have different outcomes. Understanding typical disease temporal patterns helps allocate resources for disease control.
VETERINARY SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Paige H. H. Schmidt, Brad J. J. White, Abigail Finley, Eduarda M. M. Bortoluzzi, Brandon E. E. Depenbusch, Maddie Mancke, Rachel E. E. Brown, Makenna Jensen, Phillip A. A. Lancaster, Robert L. L. Larson
Summary: Respiratory disease is a major cause of death in feedlot cattle, with bronchopneumonia, acute interstitial pneumonia, and bronchopneumonia with an interstitial pneumonia being the most common diseases. Necropsy is a useful tool to gather information and make decisions about the health and management of feedlot cattle. A more accurate estimation of respiratory disease frequency can be obtained by diagnosing and evaluating pulmonary lesions in all cattle. Both gross necropsy and histopathology reported similar frequencies of the three most common respiratory diseases. Understanding pulmonary pathology can help improve therapeutic interventions.
VETERINARY SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Eduarda M. Bortoluzzi, Paige H. Schmidt, Rachel E. Brown, Makenna Jensen, Madeline R. Mancke, Robert L. Larson, Phillip A. Lancaster, Brad J. White
Summary: Respiratory syndromes are a major issue in the feedlot industry, and accurate diagnosis of lung lesions is crucial. Necropsy image analysis using machine learning can help overcome time and location constraints. Image classification models have been developed to accurately diagnose respiratory syndromes in feedlot cattle, with better performance for certain diseases. These models still need refinement but have the potential to assist veterinarians in diagnosing lung diseases during field necropsies.
VETERINARY SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Trevor S. Farthing, Ashlan Jolley, Katelin B. Nickel, Cherie Hill, Dustin Stwalley, Kimberly A. Reske, Jennie H. Kwon, Margaret A. Olsen, Jason P. Burnham, Erik R. Dubberke, Cristina Lanzas
Summary: This study compared the individual-level risk of hospital-onset infections with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in hospitalized patients prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed that the risk of acquiring MDRO infections increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for certain pathogens such as Acinetobacter spp., P. aeruginosa, Enterobacteriaceae spp., and MDRO S. aureus.
INFECTION CONTROL AND HOSPITAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Eduarda M. Bortoluzzi, Brad J. White, Paige H. Schmidt, Maddie R. Mancke, Rachel E. Brown, Makenna Jensen, Phillip A. Lancaster, Robert L. Larson
Summary: This study aimed to describe the agreement between clinical and necropsy diagnoses of pulmonary pathologies in feedyard cattle, as well as the epidemiological characteristics of these pathologies. It was found that respiratory disease, particularly bronchopneumonia and acute interstitial pneumonia, remained the leading cause of mortality in feedyard cattle. Furthermore, a combination of these two pathologies, known as bronchopneumonia with interstitial pneumonia, was observed in necropsied cattle. The findings highlight the importance of necropsy for accurate diagnosis and the development of effective treatment protocols for pulmonary diseases.
VETERINARY SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Liton Chandra Deb, Manuel Jara, Cristina Lanzas
Summary: The US government has implemented guidance frameworks and recommendations to reduce antimicrobial use, but it has not yet led to substantial reductions in antimicrobial drug resistance.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Blaine Johnson, Brad White, Phillip Lancaster, Robert Larson
Summary: This study performed cluster analyses on the cohort temporal distributions of bovine respiratory disease (BRD), and identified different temporal patterns that could influence disease prevention and control techniques. Descriptive and statistical associations of risk factors for each cluster better described the cattle represented within each cluster. More research is needed to understand the potential economic impact each cluster has on feedlot production, and improved understanding of cohort timing and magnitude of BRD could potentially identify interventions to mitigate disease burden and economic impacts.
VETERINARY SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Alexanderia Lacy, Morganne Igoe, Praachi Das, Trevor Farthing, Alun L. Lloyd, Cristina Lanzas, Agricola Odoi, Suzanne Lenhart
Summary: This study investigates the heterogeneity of COVID-19 cases, hospitalization, and vaccination coverage in the St. Louis region of Missouri. The impact of human mobility, vaccination, and time-varying transmission rates on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in five counties is examined. A COVID-19 model with ordinary differential equations is developed, and parameter estimation is performed using weekly data from 2021. The study predicts changes in disease spread under scenarios with increased vaccination coverage and utilizes local movement data to connect infection forces across different counties.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DYNAMICS
(2023)
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Kale Davies, Suzanne Lenhart, Judy Day, Alun L. Lloyd, Cristina Lanzas
Summary: In this study, a network model for environmentally-transmitted pathogens was constructed and the effects of different assumptions on the model were investigated. The results showed that relaxing restrictive assumptions can improve the accuracy of ordinary differential equation models and highlight errors caused by different assumptions.
MATHEMATICAL BIOSCIENCES AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Kristen J. Smith, David E. Amrine, Robert L. Larson, Miles E. Theurer, Josh I. Szaz, Tony Bryant, Brad J. White
Summary: This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with bovine respiratory disease (BRD) incidence and mortality timing. The findings showed that heifers, heavier animals at arrival, and cattle that arrived in the first and second quarter were more likely to be initially diagnosed with BRD in the mid or late stage of the feeding phase.
APPLIED ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Kristen J. Smith, David E. Amrine, Robert L. Larson, Miles E. Theurer, Brad J. White
Summary: This study aimed to determine characteristics and risk factors associated with cohort-level BRD morbidity in the middle and late portions of the feeding phase. The results indicated that quarter of arrival was significantly associated with BRD morbidity timing at cohort level.
APPLIED ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
William J. Love, C. Annie Wang, Cristina Lanzas
Summary: This study aimed to identify patient-level characteristics associated with resistance phenotype variations in MRSA infections. Chain graphs were used to learn the resistance phenotypes from surveillance data, and correlations among resistance traits were considered. The results showed that certain phenotypic resistances had low connectivity to other outcomes or predictors, and levofloxacin susceptibility was associated with healthcare-associated infections. Blood culture was the most common predictor of MIC. Differences in resistance phenotypes were observed between patients with previous healthcare use or positive blood cultures, as well as between patients from different states.
JAC-ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE
(2022)