Digital Commons Network^™

The Federal Circuit’S Experimental Prism, Jeremy W. Bock

Fordham Law Review

Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is succeeding in its role as the steward of decisional patent law has been the subject of considerable debate and many empirical studies for the past forty years. Based on these studies, some observers have expressed skepticism of the utility of that court’s exclusive, nationwide jurisdiction over patent appeals. But the substantial body of empirical literature on the Federal Circuit has been viewed largely from a single vantage point, one that attributes any negative or undesirable outcomes to the court’s specialization. This Article argues that there is another way to …

Understanding The Contribution Of Recommendation Algorithms On Misinformation Recommendation And Misinformation Dissemination On Social Networks, Royal Pathak, Francesca Spezzano, Maria Soledad Pera

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Social networks are a platform for individuals and organizations to connect with each other and inform, advertise, spread ideas, and ultimately influence opinions. These platforms have been known to propel misinformation. We argue that this could be compounded by the recommender algorithms that these platforms use to suggest items potentially of interest to their users, given the known biases and filter bubbles issues affecting recommender systems. While much has been studied about misinformation on social networks, the potential exacerbation that could result from recommender algorithms in this environment is in its infancy. In this manuscript, we present the result of …

Dean's Research Newsletter, November 2023, Neil W. Schluger

SOM Dean's Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Appropriateness Of Antibiotic Prescribing Varies By Clinical Services At United States Children's Hospitals., Devin T. Diggs, Alison C. Tribble, Rebecca G. Same, Jason G. Newland, Brian R. Lee, Sharing Antimicrobial Reports For Pediatric Stewardship (Sharps) Collaborative

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: To describe patterns of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing at US children's hospitals and how these patterns vary by clinical service.

DESIGN: Serial, cross-sectional study using quarterly surveys.

SETTING: Surveys were completed in quarter 1 2019-quarter 3 2020 across 28 children's hospitals in the United States.

PARTICIPANTS: Patients at children's hospitals with ≥1 antibiotic order at 8:00 a.m. on institution-selected quarterly survey days.

METHODS: Antimicrobial stewardship physicians and pharmacists collected data on antibiotic orders and evaluated appropriateness of prescribing. The primary outcome was percentage of inappropriate antibiotics, stratified by clinical service and antibiotic class. Secondary outcomes included reasons for inappropriate use …

Public Health Impacts Of Climate Change: U.S. Fifth National Climate Assessment, Adrienne Katner

Journal of the Louisiana Public Health Association

The United States’ Fifth National Climate Assessment was released by the U.S. Global Climate Change Research Program on November, 14, 2023.1 The National Climate Assessment is a peer-reviewed report resulting from the collaboration of nearly 500 authors and scientists from 14 federal agencies, universities and research institutions. The authors of this report are tasked with evaluating and predicting the effects of climate change on the nation’s environment, natural resources, infrastructure, and human health every five years; and providing a report summarizing their findings to Congress. Some of the findings of this report are summarized here, with emphasis on public health …

Vol 3 November '23 Full Issue, Donna L. Williams

Journal of the Louisiana Public Health Association

No abstract provided.

Gene Variants In Bola-Dmb, Decr1, Fasn And Srebf1 Associated With Conceptus Death On Day 16 Of Pregnancy In Holstein Cows [Abstract], Carolina L. Gonzalez-Berrios, Courtney Bowden, Pablo J. Pinedo, Jeanette V. Bishop, Hana Van Campen, Thomas R. R. Hansen, Milton G. Thomas

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Investigating the influences of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) associated with conceptus death (CD) on day 16 of pregnancy could distinguish cows who have inferior value for fertility traits. We hypothesized that CD is associated with SNP genotypes that disrupt maternal recognition and lead to early pregnancy loss. RNA sequences from Holstein cow pregnancies (n = 15) with normal conceptuses (Norm) or CD were subjected to SNP discovery via Qiagen CLC Genomics Workbench. Selected SNP were based on previous fertility studies, differentially expressed genes within pregnancy development analyses and proximity to SNP associated with fertility traits in the Cattle QTL …

Development And Psychometric Validation Of The Pandemic-Related Traumatic Stress Scale For Children And Adults, Courtney K. Blackwell, Phillip Sherlock, Kathryn L. Jackson, Julie A. Hofheimer, David Cella, Molly A. Algermissen, Akram N. Alshawabkeh, Lyndsay A. Avalos, Tracy Bastain, Clancy Blair, Michelle Bosquet Enlow, Patricia A. Brennan, Carrie Breton, Nicole R. Bush, Aruna Chandran, Shaina Collazo, Elisabeth Conradt, Sheila E. Crowell, Sean Deoni, Amy J. Elliott, Jean A. Frazier, Jody M. Ganiban, Diane R. Gold, Julie B. Herbstman, Christine Joseph, Margaret R. Karagas, Barry Lester, Jessica A. Lasky-Su, Leslie D. Leve, Kaja Z. Lewinn, W. Alex Mason, Elisabeth C. Mcgowan, Kimberly S. Mckee, Rachel L. Miller, Jenae M. Neiderhiser, Thomas G. O’Connor, Emily Oken, T. Michael O’Shea, David Pagliaccio, Rebecca J. Schmidt, Anne Marie Singh, Joseph B. Stanford, Leonardo Trasande, Rosalind J. Wright, Cristiane S. Duarte, Amy E. Margolis

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

To assess the public health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, investigators from the National Institutes of Health Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) research program developed the Pandemic-Related Traumatic Stress Scale (PTSS). Based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) acute stress disorder symptom criteria, the PTSS is designed for adolescent (13–21 years) and adult self-report and caregiver-report on 3–12-year-olds. To evaluate psychometric properties, we used PTSS data collected between April 2020 and August 2021 from non-pregnant adult caregivers (n = 11,483), pregnant/postpartum individuals (n = 1,656), …

Human Schwann Cells In Vitro I. Nerve Tissue Processing, Pre-Degeneration, Isolation, And Culturing Of Primary Cells, Gabriela I. Aparicio, Paula V. Monje

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

This paper presents versatile protocols to prepare primary human Schwann cell (hSC) cultures from mature peripheral nervous system tissues, including fascicles from long spinal nerves, nerve roots, and ganglia. This protocol starts with a description of nerve tissue procurement, handling, and dissection to obtain tissue sections suitable for hSC isolation and culturing. A description follows on how to disintegrate the nerve tissue by delayed enzymatic dissociation, plate the initial cell suspensions on a two-dimensional substrate, and culture the primary hSCs. Each section contains detailed procedures, technical notes, and background information to aid investigators in understanding and managing all steps. Some …

Anticoagulation Therapies And Vte Risk Assessment, Children's Mercy Kansas City

Clinical Pathways

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History And Perceptions Regarding Their Child’S Healthcare And Utilization Of Healthcare Services, Krishna Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

TITLE: The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History and Perceptions Regarding Their Child’s Healthcare and Utilization of Healthcare Services

Adverse child events (ACEs) have been associated with a number of physical and mental health problems and have also been linked to increased health care utilization. While parents who have an ACE history may tend to seek healthcare services for themselves, limited studies have examined the impact of their trauma history on seeking healthcare services for their child. Healthcare utilization may also depend on the parents’ level of health anxiety, as well as their anxiety about their child’s health status. This …

The Pattern Of Admission, Clinical Characteristics, And Outcomes Among Patients Admitted To The Intensive Care Unit Of A Tertiary Hospital In Tanzania: A 5-Year Retrospective Review, Nadeem Kassam, Philip Adebayo, Iris Martin Matei, Eric Aghan, Samina Somji, Samwel Paul Kadelya, Yasson Abha, Frank Elton Swai, Mangaro Mabusi, Kamran Hamid

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Introduction: Despite the implementation of complex interventions, ICU mortality remains high and more so in developing countries. The demand for critical care in Sub-Saharan Africa is more than ever before as the region experiences a double burden of rising rates of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in the background battle of combating infectious diseases. Limited studies in Tanzania have reported varying factors associated with markedly high rates of ICU mortality. Investigating the burden of ICU care remains crucial in providing insights into the effectiveness and challenges of critical care delivery.

Material and Methods: A single-center retrospective study that reviewed records of all …

Report To The U. S. Congress On Financing Mechanisms For Open Access Publishing Of Federally Funded Research, White House Office Of Science And Technology Policy

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Executive Summary The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) submits this report to the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the House in fulfillment of the requirement in the Committee Report accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328) for financing mechanisms for open access publishing of federally funded research.1 According to that Report, “The Committee recognizes the considerable progress made by OSTP” and “encourages OSTP to continue its efforts to coordinate the implementation of public access policies across Federal departments and agencies and to identify additional opportunities to enhance access to the results of Federally funded …

Technology Specificity And Equitable Access To Pharmaceuticals, Ana Santos Rutschman

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

Current models of production of pharmaceuticals, particularly those dependent on intellectual property (and adjacent) protections, often contribute to the highly asymmetrical and inequitable distribution of resulting outputs. These problems are especially acute when emerging pathogens cause transnational public health crises in which there is concurrent demand for the same medicines in both lower- and higher-income countries, with populations in the Global South getting very limited timely access, if any, to preventatives and life-saving medicines—even when an outbreak disproportionately affects populations in these very countries.

This essay examines an under-theorized and under-explored way to help correct this historical and persisting deficit …

Diverse Clinical Manifestations And Challenges Of Mucormycosis: Insights From Serial Cases, Marisa C Nielsen, Filipe M Cerqueira, Sri Bharathi Kavuri, Caitlin M Raymond, Aeman Muneeb, Andrzej S Kudlicki, Shafaq Tariq, Mingru Liu, Andrew L Routh, Suimin Qiu, Ping Ren

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mucormycosis is a severe and potentially life-threatening infection caused by a group of fungi classified as mucormycetes within the scientific order Mucorales. These infections are characterized by rapid and invasive fungal growth, presenting significant treatment challenges. Here we present 5 cases encountered from 2018 to 2022 at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, including a novel Apophysomyces species. These cases illustrate the diverse clinical manifestations of mucormycosis, including pulmonary, rhino-cerebral, gastrointestinal, and soft tissue involvement. Our investigation incorporates information provided by a multidisciplinary team of clinical collaborators, emphasizing the findings from radiology, histopathology, and microbiology. Given the …

Identification Of Novel Genetic Loci For Risk Of Multiple Myeloma By Functional Annotation, Angelica Macauda, Klara Briem, Alyssa Clay-Gilmour, Wendy Cozen, Asta Försti, Matteo Giaccherini, Chiara Corradi, Juan Sainz, Yasmeen Niazi, Rob Ter Horst, Yang Li, Mihai G Netea, Ulla Vogel, Kari Hemminki, Susan L Slager, Judit Varkonyi, Vibeke Andersen, Elzbieta Iskierka-Jazdzewska, Joaquin Mártinez-Lopez, Jan Zaucha, Nicola J Camp, S Vincent Rajkumar, Agnieszka Druzd-Sitek, Parveen Bhatti, Stephen J Chanock, Shaji K Kumar, Edyta Subocz, Grzegorz Mazur, Stefano Landi, Mitchell J Machiela, Andrés Jerez, Aaron D Norman, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Katalin Kadar, Sonja I Berndt, Elad Ziv, Gabriele Buda, Arnon Nagler, Charles Dumontet, Malgorzata Raźny, Marzena Watek, Aleksandra Butrym, Norbert Grzasko, Marek Dudzinski, Malwina Rybicka-Ramos, Eva-Laure Matera, Ramón García-Sanz, Hartmut Goldschmidt, Krzysztof Jamroziak, Artur Jurczyszyn, Esther Clavero, Graham G Giles, Matteo Pelosini, Daria Zawirska, Marcin Kruszewski, Herlander Marques, Eva Haastrup, José Manuel Sánchez-Maldonado, Uta Bertsch, Marcin Rymko, Marc-Steffen Raab, Elizabeth E Brown, Jonathan N Hofmann, Celine Vachon, Daniele Campa, Federico Canzian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Oritavancin Vs Standard Of Care For Treatment Of Nonendovascular Gram-Positive Bloodstream Infections, Ryan P Moenster, Ashleigh Wallace-Lacey, Hannah Western, Seth Tiefenaur, Anosha Abdulbasir, Justin Alberts, Jonathan Doty, Hartley Abner, Danielle Skouby, Michael Lorenz, Rebecca Fong, Jyoti Arora, Travis W Linneman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Data is limited comparing oritavancin (ORT) to the standard-of-care (SOC) for the treatment gram-positive blood stream infections (BSI).

METHODS: This was a retrospective study of all patients in the Veteran's Affairs Health Care System treated with at least 1 dose of oritavancin or at least 5 days of vancomycin, daptomycin, ceftaroline, ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, nafcillin, oxacillin, or cefazolin for a documented gram-positive BSI from 1 January 2015 to 30 June 2021. Patients with polymicrobial blood cultures or positive cultures from other sites were included if the organisms were sensitive to the incident antimicrobial; no concomitant antimicrobials could be used once …

Ramipril For The Treatment Of Covid-19: Ramic, A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial, Daniel Q Huang, Veeral Ajmera, Christian Tomaszewski, Andrew Lafree, Ricki Bettencourt, Wesley K Thompson, Davey M Smith, Atul Malhotra, Ravindra L Mehta, Vaishal Tolia, Jeffrey Yin, Paul A Insel, Stone Leachman, Jinho Jung, Summer Collier, Lisa Richards, Kristin Woods, Maral Amangurbanova, Archana Bhatt, Xinlian Zhang, Oana M Penciu, Stuart Zarich, Tamrat Retta, Michelle S Harkins, J Pedro Teixeira, Brian Chinnock, Netanya S Utay, Jordan E Lake, Rohit Loomba

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Retrospective studies report that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) may reduce the severity of COVID-19, but prospective data on de novo treatment with ACEIs are limited. The RAMIC trial was a randomized, multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind, allocation-concealed clinical trial to examine the efficacy of de novo ramipril versus placebo for the treatment of COVID-19.

Methods: Eligible participants were aged 18 years and older with a confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, recruited from urgent care clinics, emergency departments, and hospital inpatient wards at eight sites in the USA. Participants were randomly assigned to daily ramipril 2.5 mg or placebo orally in a …

Under Disguise: A Concealed Case Of Acute Hepatitis A Infection, Jordan C Malone, Ernesto Zamora, Joseph M Gosnell, Heather L Stevenson, Akshata Moghe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Acute hepatitis A virus infection is routinely identified through a thorough patient history in conjunction with liver chemistries and viral serologies. The diagnosis has the potential to be delayed when the clinical picture is obscured with another, seemingly more urgent presenting pathology with overlapping features. Here, we describe the case of a young female who presented with acute calculous cholecystitis with concurrent acute hepatitis A virus infection.

Building Up A Genomic Surveillance Platform For Sars-Cov-2 In The Middle Of A Pandemic: A True North-South Collaboration, Waqasuddin Khan, Furqan Kabir, Samiah Kanwar, Fatima Aziz, Sahrish Muneer, Adil Kalam, Mehdia Ali, Nadia Ansari, Fyezah Jehan, Muhammad Imran Nisar

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Next-generation sequencing technology has revolutionised pathogen surveillance over the last two decades. However, the benefits are not equitably distributed, with developing countries lagging far behind in acquiring the required technology and analytical capacity. Recent declines in the cost associated with sequencing-equipment and running consumables have created an opportunity for broader adoption. During the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid diagnostics development and DNA sequencing revolutionised the ability to diagnose and sequence SARS-CoV-2 rapidly. Socioeconomic inequalities substantially impact the ability to sequence SARS-CoV-2 strains and undermine a developing country's pandemic preparedness. Low- and middle-income countries face additional challenges in establishing, maintaining and expanding genomic …

Technology Specificity And Equitable Access To Pharmaceuticals, Ana Santos Rutschman

Faculty Publications

Current models of production of pharmaceuticals, particularly those dependent on intellectual property (and adjacent) protections, often contribute to the highly asymmetrical and inequitable distribution of resulting outputs. These problems are especially acute when emerging pathogens cause transnational public health crises in which there is concurrent demand for the same medicines in both lower- and higher-income countries, with populations in the Global South getting very limited timely access, if any, to preventatives and life-saving medicines—even when an outbreak disproportionately affects populations in these very countries.

This essay examines an under-theorized and under-explored way to help correct this historical and persisting deficit …

Contaminated Bone Grafts And Tuberculosis In Three Spine Surgery Patients: A Case Series, Mustafa Naveed, Tiffany Ruan, Vishakha Sharma, Hon Vien

Student Publications

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health issue affecting millions of people every year. Previous articles displayed cases of TB resulting from contaminated bone grafts used in spinal surgeries. However, deeper understanding about the serious health consequences for patients affected by TB-infected bone grafts is lacking. Here, we discuss three unique patients who contracted TB after undergoing lumbar spinal surgery. We describe three patient cases in which individuals initially presented with back pain, underwent required lumbar spinal fusion surgery with bone graft implants, and, afterwards, contracted TB. All patients were given RIPE therapy, had additional surgery to remove the faulty hardware, …

The Ethical Data Practices Framework And Its Implications For Data Privacy Relations Between The United States And The European Union, Vasiliki Rahimzadeh

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Duvelisib For Critically Ill Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019: An Investigator-Initiated, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Pilot Trial, Scott R Goldsmith, Fahrettin Covut, Mark Fiala, Zhifu Xiang, Zahid Iqbal, Elizabeth Bradtke, Brandon Christen, Michael P Rettig, Stephanie Christ, Leah Gehrs, Emily Street, Nicholas Wallace, Julie Ritchey, Feng Gao, Bijal Parikh, Erik R Dubberke, John F Dipersio, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Despite improvements in prevention and treatment, severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with high mortality. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways contribute to cytokine and cell-mediated lung inflammation. We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind pilot trial to determine the feasibility, safety, and preliminary activity of duvelisib, a PI3Kδγ inhibitor, for the treatment of COVID-19 critical illness.

METHODS: We enrolled adults aged ≥18 years with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 with hypoxic respiratory failure, shock, and/or new cardiac disease, without improvement after at least 48 hours of corticosteroid. Participants received duvelisib (25 mg) or placebo for up to 10 days. Participants …

Flow-Sizing Critical Care Resources, Joseph L Nates, John M Oropello, Neeraj Badjatia, Gregory Beilman, Craig M Coopersmith, Neil A Halpern, Daniel L Herr, Judith Jacobi, Roozehra Kahn, Sharon Leung, Nitin Puri, Ayan Sen, Stephen M Pastores

Staff and Researcher Publications

Objectives: To describe the factors affecting critical care capacity and how critical care organizations (CCOs) within academic centers in the U.S. flow-size critical care resources under normal operations, strain, and surge conditions.

Data sources: PubMed, federal agency and American Hospital Association reports, and previous CCO survey results were reviewed.

Study selection: Studies and reports of critical care bed capacity and utilization within CCOs and in the United States were selected.

Data extraction: The Academic Leaders in the Critical Care Medicine Task Force established regular conference calls to reach a consensus on the approach of CCOs to "flow-sizing" critical care services. …

Controversies Regarding Management Of Helicobacter Pylori Infections, Alyssa Price, David Y Graham, Mimi C Tan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The recognition that Helicobacter pylori should be considered and treated as an infectious disease has yet to fundamentally change diagnostic and treatment practices and has resulted in many controversies.

RECENT FINDINGS: We discuss the following controversies: whether the current 'per-patient' approach to H. pylori testing based on symptoms should be expanded to include achieving population-level H. pylori eradication, whether H. pylori should be approached as an infectious gastrointestinal disease similar to that of other infectious diseases of similar severity and outcome, whether treatment of H. pylori should be primarily empiric or based on antibiotic susceptibility and locally …

Epidemiology Of Giardiasis And Assemblages A And B And Effects On Diarrhea And Growth Trajectories During The First 8 Years Of Life: Analysis Of A Birth Cohort In A Rural District In Tropical Ecuador, Tannya Sandoval-Ramírez, Victor Seco-Hidalgo, Evelyn Calderon-Espinosa, Diana Garcia-Ramon, Andrea Lopez, Manuel Calvopiña, Irene Guadalupe, Martha Chico, Rojelio Mejia, Irina Chis Ster, Philip J Cooper

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: There are limited longitudinal data on the acquisition of Giardia lamblia infections in childhood using molecular assays to detect and type assemblages, and measure effects of infections on diarrhea risk and childhood growth.

METHODS: We analysed stool samples from a surveillance sample within a birth cohort in a rural district in tropical Ecuador. The cohort was followed to 8 years of age for the presence of G. lamblia in stools by quantitative PCR and A and B assemblages by Taqman assay or Sanger sequencing. We explored risk factors associated with infection using generalized estimating equations applied to longitudinal binary …

Delays In Hepatitis B Immunization Series Completion In People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Daanish Sheikh, Kristen A Staggers, Jennifer Carey, Wendy A Keitel, Robert L Atmar, Hana M El Sahly, Jennifer A Whitaker

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Studies have demonstrated low hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine series completion among persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective record review of persons entering HIV care at 2 clinics in Houston, Texas, between 2010 and 2018. Kaplan-Meier curves summarized time to receipt of HBV vaccines for those eligible for vaccination. We estimated the proportions of patients who had received 1, 2, or 3 HBV vaccine doses at 12 and 24 months after entry to care. A Prentice Williams and Peterson total time model was used to evaluate associations between patient characteristics and time to vaccination. …

Invasive Community-Onset Gram-Positive Infections From July 2018 Through December 2022 At 2 Children's Hospitals, Eric E Engstrom, Alexander S Plattner, J Chase Mcneil, Kristina G Hulten, Patrick J Reich, Mary G Boyle, James J Dunn, Stephanie A Fritz, Sheldon L Kaplan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Invasive infections caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (invasive group A streptococcus [iGAS]) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (invasive pneumococcal disease [IPD]) decreased substantially at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study sought to evaluate the extent of this decrease and the trends of these infections since reversion of societal adjustments incident to the pandemic. We also wanted to compare the frequency of these infections with invasive community-onset Staphylococcus aureus (I-CO-SA) infections and common respiratory viral infections in this period.

METHODS: Cases of iGAS, IPD, and I-CO-SA infections were identified prospectively and retrospectively at 2 large US children's hospitals by positive cultures …

Spatial Transferability Of An Agent‑Based Model To Simulate Taenia Solium Control Interventions, Francesco Pizzitutti, Gabrielle Bonnet, Eloy Gonzales-Gustavson, William K. Pan, Hector H. Garcia, Armando E. Gonzalez, Seth E. O’Neal, Sarah Gabriël, Cysticercosis Working Group Peru

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Models can be used to study and predict the impact of interventions aimed at controlling the spread of infectious agents, such as Taenia solium, a zoonotic parasite whose larval stage causes epilepsy and economic loss in many rural areas of the developing nations. To enhance the credibility of model estimates, calibration against observed data is necessary. However, this process may lead to a paradoxical dependence of model parameters on location-specific data, thus limiting the model’s geographic transferability.

Methods

In this study, we adopted a non-local model calibration approach to assess whether it can improve the spatial transferability of …