The bacterium Yersinia pestis causes bubonic plague. In Central Asia, where human plague is still reported regularly, the common in natural populations of great gerbils. By using field data from 1949-1995 and previously undescribed statistical techniques, we show that Y. prevalence gerbils increases with warmer springs wetter summers: A 1 degrees C increase spring predicted to lead a >50% prevalence. Climatic conditions favoring apparently existed this region at onset Black Death as well...

In Kazakhstan and elsewhere in central Asia, the bacterium Yersinia pestis circulates natural populations of gerbils, which are source human cases bubonic plague. Our analysis field data collected between 1955 1996 shows that plague invades, fades out, reinvades response to fluctuations abundance its main reservoir host, great gerbil ( Rhombomys opimus ). This is a rare empirical example two types thresholds for infectious disease—invasion persistence— operating single wildlife population....

Characterizing the basic reproduction number, R(0), for many wildlife disease systems can seem a complex problem because several species are involved, there different epidemiological reactions to infectious agent at life-history stages, or multiple transmission routes. Tick-borne diseases an important example where all these complexities brought together as result of peculiarities tick life cycle and routes that occur. We show here one overcome by separating host population into...

Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi, the respective causative agents of human babesiosis Lyme disease, are maintained in their enzootic cycles by blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) use white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) as primary reservoir host. The geographic range both pathogens has expanded United States, but spread lagged behind that disease. Several studies have estimated basic reproduction number (R0) for B. to be below threshold persistence (<1), a finding is...

Abstract Domestic fleas were collected in 12 villages the western Usambara Mountains Tanzania. Of these, 7 are considered with high plague frequency, where human was recorded during at least 6 of 17 seasons between 1986 and 2004. In remaining 5 low either rare or unrecorded. Pulex irritans, known as flea, predominant flea species (72.4%) houses. The density P. but not other domestic fleas, significantly higher a frequency incidence. Moreover, irritans index strongly positively correlated...

In central Asia, the great gerbil ( Rhombomys opimus ) is main host for bacterium Yersinia pestis , cause of bubonic plague. order to prevent plague outbreaks, monitoring has been carried out in Kazakhstan since late 1940s. We use resulting data demonstrate that climate forcing synchronizes dynamics gerbils over large geographical areas. As it known densities need exceed a threshold level persist, synchrony abundance across areas likely be condition outbreaks at similar scales. Here, we...

This paper presents an automatic retina verification framework based on the biometric graph matching (BGM) algorithm. The retinal vasculature is extracted using a family of matched filters in frequency domain and morphological operators. Then, templates are defined as formal spatial graphs derived from vasculature. BGM algorithm, noisy robust to translation, non-linear distortion, small rotations, used compare templates. algorithm uses topology define three distance measures between pair...

Datasets from which wildlife contact networks of epidemiological importance can be inferred are becoming increasingly common. A largely unexplored facet these data is finding evidence spatial constraints on who has with whom, despite theoretical epidemiologists having long realized play a critical role in infectious disease dynamics. graph dissimilarity measure proposed to quantify how close an observed network being purely whereby its edges completely determined by the arrangement nodes....

Brandt's voles ( Microtus brandti ) are small native mammals that inhabit the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, China. The species is considered a pest, particularly during population outbreaks, which have increased in frequency since 1970 from 1 every 7 years to 3 5 years. Using historical records taken between 1948 and 1998, we found there was significant correlation for monthly averages Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) were consistently high, outbreaks occurred. Also tendency not occur with...

House mice (Mus domesticus) in the Victorian mallee region of southeastern Australia show irregular outbreaks. Changes reproductive output that could potentially drive changes mouse numbers were assessed from 1982 to 2000. Litter size females is positively correlated with body size. When standardized an average female, litter seasonally highest spring lowest autumn and winter. depressed throughout breeding seasons begin when abundance high, but similar over which increases rapidly or remains...

Few data are available concerning efficacy and safety of surgery for catastrophic epilepsy in the first 6 months life.The authors retrospectively analyzed surgeries 15 infants ranging age from 1.5 to (median 4 months) weight 10 kg 7 kg) who underwent anatomical (4 patients) or functional (7 hemispherectomy, frontal (1 patient), frontoparietal (2 patients), parietooccipital patient) resection life-threatening due malformation cortical development.No patient died. Intraoperative complications...

Abstract: A statistical analysis and computational algorithm for comparing pairs of tool marks via profilometry data is described. Empirical validation the method established through experiments based on made at selected fixed angles from 50 sequentially manufactured screwdriver tips. Results obtained three different comparison scenarios are presented in agreement with experiential knowledge possessed by practicing examiners. Further comparisons between scores produced visual assessments...

This study proposes an automatic dorsal hand vein verification system using a novel algorithm called biometric graph matching (BGM). The image is segmented the K-means technique and region of interest extracted based on morphological analysis operators normalised adaptive histogram equalisation. Veins are maximum curvature algorithm. locations vascular connections between crossovers, bifurcations terminations in pattern define graph. performance BGM for graphs tested with two cost functions...

The role of stray dogs in the persistence domestic dog rabies, and whether removal such is beneficial, remain contentious issues for control programs seeking to eliminate rabies. While a community might reach WHO vaccination target 70% that can be handled, or neighborhood are too wary humans held more problematic population vaccinate. So what needs done? Here we present method estimate targets when made up stray, free-roaming confined dogs, where latter two types considered have an...

An inverse relationship between biodiversity and human health has been termed the 'dilution effect' paradigm. In case of tick-borne infections such as Lyme disease, key assumption is that Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato abundance increased by loss less competent (dilution) hosts declines. White-tailed deer play a dual role in pathogen cycle, reproductive for adult ticks incompetent pathogen. While well established, extent to which also feed immature reduce proportion infected unknown because...

The application of projection matrices in population biology to plant and animal populations has a parallel infectious disease ecology when next-generation (NGMs) are used characterize growth numbers infected hosts (R(0)). NGM is appropriate for multi-host pathogens, where each matrix element represents the number cases one type host arising from single individual another type. For matrices, calculations sensitivity elasticity rate changes elements generated insight into populations. These...

SUMMARY African sleeping sickness is a parasitic disease transmitted through the bites of tsetse flies genus Glossina . We constructed mechanistic models for basic reproduction number, R 0 , Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and rhodesiense respectively causative agents West East human sickness. present global sensitivity analyses these that rank importance biological parameters may explain variation in using parameter ranges based on literature, field data expertize out Uganda. For sickness, our...