Reduced fractional anisotropy in projection, association, and commissural fiber networks in neonates with prenatal methamphetamine exposure.

Prenatal exposure to methamphetamine is associated with neurostructural changes, including alterations in white matter microstructure. This study investigated the effects of methamphetamine exposure on microstructure of global white matter networks in neonates. Pregnant women were interviewed beginning in mid-pregnancy regarding their methamphetamine use.

Nest-type associated microclimatic conditions as potential drivers of ectoparasite infestations in African penguin nests.

Nest design and characteristics can influence the microclimatic conditions in the nest. Nest-dwelling ectoparasites are sensitive to temperature and moisture and as such the conditions in the nest can influence parasite infestations. The endangered African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) breeds in different nest types and as yet little is known with regard to the microclimate and parasite infestation within these nests.

Geostatistical analysis and mapping: social and environmental determinants of under-five child mortality, evidence from the 2014 Ghana demographic and health survey.

Background: Under-five mortality (U5M) rates are among the health indicators of utmost importance globally. It is the goal 3 target 2.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals that is expected to be reduced to at least 25 per 1000 livebirths by 2030.

Overshooting of sovereign emerging eurobond yields in the context of COVID-19.

This paper illustrates the phenomenon of overshooting yields on eurobonds issued by emerging and developing countries in the context of COVID-19. Using panel data from 48 emerging and developing countries, the results show that daily reports of confirmed cases have led to increases in yields and announcements of international creditor assistance to developing and emerging countries, which have calmed investor concerns.

Global stability and cost-effectiveness analysis of COVID-19 considering the impact of the environment: using data from Ghana.

COVID-19 potentially threatens the lives and livelihood of people all over the world. The disease is presently a major health concern in Ghana and the rest of the world. Although, human to human transmission dynamics has been established, not much research is done on the dynamics of the virus in the environment and the role human play by releasing the virus into the environment.

How geographic productivity patterns affect food-web evolution.

It is well recognized that spatial heterogeneity and overall productivity have important consequences for the diversity and community structure of food webs. Yet, few, if any, studies have considered the effects of heterogeneous spatial distributions of primary production. Here, we theoretically investigate how the variance and autocorrelation length of primary production affect properties of evolved food webs consisting of one autotroph and several heterotrophs.

Identifying genetic variants and pathways associated with extreme levels of fetal hemoglobin in sickle cell disease in Tanzania.

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a blood disorder caused by a point mutation on the beta globin gene resulting in the synthesis of abnormal hemoglobin. Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) reduces disease severity, but the levels vary from one individual to another. Most research has focused on common genetic variants which differ across populations and hence do not fully account for HbF variation.

Describing the evolution of myeloid-derived leucocytes in treated B-lineage paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with a data-driven granulocyte-monocyte-blast model.

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is associated with a compromised myeloid system. Understanding the state of granulopoiesis in a patient during treatment, places the clinician in an advantageous position. Mathematical models are aids able to present the clinician with insight into the behaviour of myeloid-derived leucocytes.

Complex samples logistic regression analysis of predictors of the current use of modern contraceptive among married or in-union women in Sierra Leone: Insight from the 2013 demographic and health survey.

Background: Non-use of modern contraceptives among married or in-union women aged 15 to 49 years is a demographic and public health challenge. Studies on the predictors of contraceptive use among women in Sierra Leone are few, more than two decades old, and not nationally representative. This study aims to fill this gap by estimating the prevalence and the predictors of the current use of modern contraceptives among married or in-union women in Sierra Leone.

Meeting Report: WHO Workshop on modelling global mortality and aetiology estimates of enteric pathogens in children under five. Cape Town, 28-29th November 2018.

Investment in vaccine product development should be guided by up-to-date and transparent global burden of disease estimates, which are also fundamental to policy recommendation and vaccine introduction decisions. For low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), vaccine prioritization is primarily driven by the number of deaths caused by different pathogens. Enteric diseases are known to be a major cause of death in LMICs.

Genome-Wide Association Study of Brain Connectivity Changes for Alzheimer's Disease.

Variations in the human genome have been found to be an essential factor that affects susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic loci that significantly contribute to the risk of Alzheimers. The availability of genetic data, coupled with brain imaging technologies have opened the door for further discoveries, by using data integration methodologies and new study designs.

How intraguild predation affects the host diversity-disease relationship in a multihost community.

Broad evidence has shown that host diversity can impede disease invasion and reduce the eventual prevalence, but little is known on how species interactions play in shaping this host diversity-disease relationship. Previous work has illustrated that intraguild predation (IGP), combined with parasite-mediated indirect effects, can have strong influences on parasitic infection. Following this line of thinking, we here examine the role of predatory interactions in the disease transmission within a multihost community.

A broad survey of DNA sequence data simulation tools.

In silico DNA sequence generation is a powerful technology to evaluate and validate bioinformatics tools, and accordingly more than 35 DNA sequence simulation tools have been developed. With such a diverse array of tools to choose from, an important question is: Which tool should be used for a desired outcome? This question is largely unanswered as documentation for many of these DNA simulation tools is sparse. To address this, we performed a review of DNA sequence simulation tools developed to date and evaluated 20 state-of-art DNA sequence simulation tools on their ability to produce accurate reads based on their implemented sequence error model.

The Hearing Impairment Ontology: A Tool for Unifying Hearing Impairment Knowledge to Enhance Collaborative Research.

Hearing impairment (HI) is a common sensory disorder that is defined as the partial or complete inability to detect sound in one or both ears. This diverse pathology is associated with a myriad of phenotypic expressions and can be non-syndromic or syndromic. HI can be caused by various genetic, environmental, and/or unknown factors.

Computational/in silico methods in drug target and lead prediction.

Drug-like compounds are most of the time denied approval and use owing to the unexpected clinical side effects and cross-reactivity observed during clinical trials. These unexpected outcomes resulting in significant increase in attrition rate centralizes on the selected drug targets. These targets may be disease candidate proteins or genes, biological pathways, disease-associated microRNAs, disease-related biomarkers, abnormal molecular phenotypes, crucial nodes of biological network or molecular functions.

Inflation of 430-parsec bipolar radio bubbles in the Galactic Centre by an energetic event.

The Galactic Centre contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of four million Suns within an environment that differs markedly from that of the Galactic disk. Although the black hole is essentially quiescent in the broader context of active galactic nuclei, X-ray observations have provided evidence for energetic outbursts from its surroundings. Also, although the levels of star formation in the Galactic Centre have been approximately constant over the past few hundred million years, there is evidence of increased short-duration bursts, strongly influenced by the interaction of the black hole with the enhanced gas density present within the ring-like central molecular zone at Galactic longitude |l| < 0.

Prejudice, privilege, and power: Conflicts and cooperation between recognizable groups.

The problem of cooperation remains one of the fundamental questions in the fields of biology, sociology, and economics. The emergence and maintenance of cooperation are naturally affected by group dynamics, since individuals are likely to behave differently based on shared group membership. We here formulate a model of socio-economic power between two prejudiced groups, and explore the conditions for their cooperative coexistence under two social scenarios in a well-mixed environment.

Multi-stage Association Analysis of Glioblastoma Gene Expressions with Texture and Spatial Patterns.

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor with a poor prognosis. Glioblastoma heterogeneous neuroimaging, pathologic, and molecular features provide opportunities for subclassification, prognostication, and the development of targeted therapies. Magnetic resonance imaging has the capability of quantifying specific phenotypic imaging features of these tumors.

The failure of success: cyclic recurrences of a globally invasive pest.

In the six decades since 1960, the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), has been announced successfully eradicated in California by the U.S. Department of Agriculture a total of 564 times.

Modelling cholera transmission dynamics in the presence of limited resources.

Objectives: We study the transmission dynamics of cholera in the presence of limited resources, a common feature of the developing world. The model is used to gain insight into the impact of available resources of the health care system on the spread and control of the disease. A deterministic model that includes a nonlinear recovery rate is formulated and rigorously analyzed.

Measuring continuous compositional change using decline and decay in zeta diversity.

Incidence, or compositional, matrices are generated for a broad range of research applications in biology. Zeta diversity provides a common currency and conceptual framework that links incidence-based metrics with multiple patterns of interest in biology, ecology, and biodiversity science. It quantifies the variation in species (or OTU) composition of multiple assemblages (or cases) in space or time, to capture the contribution of the full suite of narrow, intermediate, and wide-ranging species to biotic heterogeneity.

Phenotypic Evidence of T Cell Exhaustion and Senescence During Symptomatic Malaria.

T cells play significant roles during infections. Their regulation of the immune response in symptomatic children with malaria has been deemed necessary to prevent immune associated pathology. In this study, we phenotypically characterized the expression of T cell inhibitory(PD-1, CTLA-4) and senescent markers (CD28(-), CD57) from children with symptomatic malaria, asymptomatic malaria and healthy controls using flow cytometry.