Recent advances in ecology have improved our understanding of the role of parasites in the dynamics of wildlife populations. However, conditions that prevail in many wildlife systems, such as host movement, contact with livestock, and heterogeneity in the environment of the parasite outside of the host, have largely been ignored in existing models of macroparasite transmission. We need to refin...

BACKGROUND Long-standing randomised controlled trial (RCT) evidence indicates that asthma action plans can improve patient outcomes. Internationally, however, these plans are seldom issued by professionals or used by patients/carers. To understand how the benefits of such plans might be realised clinically, we previously investigated barriers and facilitators to their implementation in a system...

of content: of content: The taught element includes health policy and economics, critical analysis of research methods, leadership, project management and evidence-based practice. The research element involves an in-depth research project.

Transmission electron microscopy can yield useful information in a range of scientific fields; it is capable of imaging at a significantly higher resolution than light microscopes and has been a very useful tool in the identification of morphological changes of the dermis as well as assessment of changes in the extracellular matrix. Our aim is to characterize by electron microscopy the cellular...

On the basis of a review of the literature, Bashore (1981) concluded that only simple reaction time experiments with manual responses yielded consistent behavioral estimates of interhemispheric transmission time. A closer look at the data, however, revealed that these experiments were the only ones in which large numbers of observations were invariably obtained from many subjects. To investigat...

Epidemiologic data suggest that schools and daycare facilities likely play a major role in the dissemination of influenza. Pathogen transmission within such small, inhomogenously mixed populations is difficult to model using traditional approaches. We developed simulation based mathematical tool to investigate the effects of social contact networks on pathogen dissemination in a setting analogo...

Handshaking is a known vector for bacterial transmission between individuals. Handwashing has become a major initiative throughout healthcare systems to reduce transmission rates, but as many as 80% of individuals retain some disease-causing bacteria after washing. The fist bump is an alternative to the handshake that has become popular. We have determined that implementing the fist bump in the...

Globally, the rates of decline in tuberculosis (TB) incidence are disappointing, but in line with model predictions regarding the likely impact of the DOTS strategy. Here, we review evidence from basic epidemiology, molecular epidemiology and modelling, all of which suggest that, in high-burden settings, the majority of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission may occur in indoor congregate sett...

Hot-wire anemometric measurements of non-isothermal flows require the use of thermal compensation or correction circuitry. One possible solution is a two-state hot-wire anemometer that uses the cyclically changing heating level of a single sensor. The area in which flow velocity and fluid temperature can be measured is limited by the dimensions of the sensor's active element. The system is desi...