Estimating the Lineage Dynamics of Human Influenza B Viruses.

The prediction of the lineage dynamics of influenza B viruses for the next season is one of the largest obstacles for constructing an appropriate influenza trivalent vaccine. Seasonal fluctuation of transmissibility and epidemiological interference between the two major influenza B lineages make the lineage dynamics complicated. Here we construct a parsimonious model describing the lineage dynamics while taking into account seasonal fluctuation of transmissibility and epidemiological interference.

Incidence and severity of acute adverse reactions to four different gadolinium-based MR contrast agents.

Purpose: Differences in acute adverse reactions to different gadolinium (Gd)-based contrast agents have not been thoroughly evaluated. We investigated the relationships among the incidence and severity of acute adverse reactions, backgrounds of patients, and 4 types of different Gd-based contrast agents (gadopentetate dimeglumine, gadoteridol, gadoterate meglumine, and gadoxetate disodium).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the radiological records of 10,595 consecutive patients (4,343 female; 6,252 male; mean age, 63.