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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Contrasting Tick Species Behaviors: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (Cure), Sara Benham, Shovan Dutta, Rohan Maddamsetti, Clayton Wright, Alena Anderson, David T. Gauthier, Holly D. Gaff
Contrasting Tick Species Behaviors: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (Cure), Sara Benham, Shovan Dutta, Rohan Maddamsetti, Clayton Wright, Alena Anderson, David T. Gauthier, Holly D. Gaff
Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics
Tick-borne diseases are on the rise throughout the world, and there is a need to better understand tick behavior in order to identify potential new interventions. Ticks have a complex life history and can survive months off-host. There is a lack of large-scale data on off-host tick behavior, which leaves a gap in understanding of tick biology outside of tick-host interactions. Introducing undergraduate students to authentic research early in their studies can help prepare them for independent inquiry in upper-level classes. To address the student needs and fill gaps in tick research, students in introductory biology courses recorded observations of …
On Efficacy And Effectiveness Of Vaccines: A Mathematical Approach Based On Conditional Probability With Applications To The Covid-19 Context, Flavius Guias
Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics
This paper presents a mathematically formalized approach which points out the relation between efficacy and effectiveness of vaccines. The first term denotes the relative degree of protection in clinical trials or under ideal conditions, while the latter is based on observed real-life data. We define the efficacy by a similar formula to the effectiveness, but the probabilities involved in the relative risk are conditional with respect to the exposure to the virus. If exposure and vaccination status are independent, the two quantities are equal. Otherwise, the observed value of the effectiveness is a biased one, as it could be seen …
Mathematical Modeling, Analysis, And Simulation Of The Covid-19 Pandemic With Behavioral Patterns And Group Mixing, Comfort Ohajunwa, Padmanabhan Seshaiyer
Mathematical Modeling, Analysis, And Simulation Of The Covid-19 Pandemic With Behavioral Patterns And Group Mixing, Comfort Ohajunwa, Padmanabhan Seshaiyer
Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics
Due to the rise of COVID-19 cases, many mathematical models have been developed to study the disease dynamics of the virus. However, despite its role in the spread of COVID-19, many SEIR models neglect to account for human behavior. In this project, we develop a novel mathematical modeling framework for studying the impact of mixing patterns and social behavior on the spread of COVID-19. Specifically, we consider two groups, one exhibiting normal behavior who do not reduce their contacts and another exhibiting altered behavior who reduce their contacts by practicing non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing and self-isolation. The dynamics …
Long-Term Dynamics Of The Kidney Disease Epidemic Among Hiv-Infected Individuals, Heather Gudaz, Henry A. Ogu, Elissa J. Schwartz
Long-Term Dynamics Of The Kidney Disease Epidemic Among Hiv-Infected Individuals, Heather Gudaz, Henry A. Ogu, Elissa J. Schwartz
Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics
One of many risks facing HIV+ individuals is the development of kidney dysfunction and end stage kidney disease (ESKD). A differential equation-based mathematical model was developed to assess the impact of antiretroviral therapy on the progression to kidney disease and on reducing mortality due to kidney failure. Analytical and numerical predictions of long-term HIV+ ESKD prevalence show that therapy can lead to either extremely low levels of disease prevalence or increased prevalence, depending on drug efficacy levels and mechanisms of action. Maintenance of HIV+ ESKD prevalence below one individual is possible with sufficient efficacy (e.g., 99%) against the progression from …