Multi-site and multi-organizational teams are increasingly common in epidemiologic research; however, there is a lack of standards or best practices for achieving success in collaborative research networks in epidemiology. We summarize our experiences and lessons learned from the Diabetes Location, Environmental Attributes, and Disparities (LEAD) Network, a collaborative agreement between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and research teams at Drexel University, New York University, Johns Hopkins University and Geisinger, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. We present a roadmap for success in collaborative epidemiologic research, with recommendations focused on the following areas to maximize efficiency and success in collaborative research agreements: 1) operational and administrative considerations; 2) data access and sharing of sensitive data; 3) aligning network research aims; 4) harmonization of methods and measures; and 5) dissemination of findings. Future collaborations can be informed by our experiences and ultimately dedicate more resources to achieving scientific aims and efficiently disseminating scientific work products.

Without protective immunity, recurrent sexually transmitted infections (STI) could occur. In this study, we retrospectively collected STI diagnosis records from public STI clinics attended by an average of 6,000 male patients annually in Hong Kong in 2009–2019. We estimated the prevalence of three bacterial STI (syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea) coinfection from 2009 to 2019, and examined the factors associated with coinfection in 2014/15 and repeat infection in 2009–2019. We observed an increasing coinfection prevalence in male attendees with bacterial STI over the years, which reached the highest level of 15% in 2019. Among 3,698 male patients in 2014–2015, chlamydia/gonorrhoea coinfection was the commonest among all coinfections (77%). Factors such as young age (29 or below), HIV-positive status, and a history of concurrent genital warts/herpes were positively associated with coinfection in 2014/15 in multivariable logistic regression. Of all male patients with STI coinfection in 2014/15, those of age 30–49 and who self-reported as men who have sex with men (MSM) were more likely to have been repeatedly infected in 2009–2019. The results support the implementation of regular multi-STI testing as an STI control strategy for selected communities like MSM and people living with HIV.

Sporadic clusters of healthcare-associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred despite intense rostered routine surveillance and a highly vaccinated healthcare worker (HCW) population, during a community surge of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.617.2 δ (delta) variant. Genomic analysis facilitated timely cluster detection and uncovered additional linkages via HCWs moving between clinical areas and among HCWs sharing a common lunch area, enabling early intervention.

To achieve the elimination of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), sustained and sufficient levels of HCV testing is critical. The purpose of this study was to assess trends in testing and evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to diagnose people living with HCV. Data were from 12 primary care clinics in Victoria, Australia, that provide targeted services to people who inject drugs (PWID), alongside general health care. This ecological study spanned 2009–2019 and included analyses of trends in annual numbers of HCV antibody tests among individuals with no previous positive HCV antibody test recorded and annual test yield (positive HCV antibody tests/all HCV antibody tests). Generalised linear models estimated the association between count outcomes (HCV antibody tests and positive HCV antibody tests) and time, and χ2 test assessed the trend in test yield. A total of 44 889 HCV antibody tests were conducted 2009–2019; test numbers increased 6% annually on average [95% confidence interval (CI) 4–9]. Test yield declined from 2009 (21%) to 2019 (9%) (χ2P = <0.01). In more recent years (2013–2019) annual test yield remained relatively stable. Modest increases in HCV antibody testing and stable but high test yield within clinics delivering services to PWID highlights testing strategies are resulting in people are being diagnosed however further increases in the testing of people at risk of HCV or living with HCV may be needed to reach Australia's HCV elimination goals.

The 2015 changes in the catheter-associated urinary tract infection definition led to an increase in central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and catheter-related candidemia in some health systems due to the change in CLABSI attribution. However, our rates remained unchanged in 2015 and further declined in 2016 with the implementation of new vascular-access guidelines.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;878–880

We report an epidemiological investigation of a cluster of Brevundimonas diminuta isolates cultured from sterile sites. Inoculation of supplement medium yielded growth of B. diminuta. Molecular typing indicated likely contamination of the lot. No B. diminuta was further isolated after replacement of the supplement with a new lot number.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:598–601

The endothelial glycocalyx layer (EGL) is a macromolecular layer that lines the inner surface of blood vessels. It is believed to serve a number of physiological functions in the microvasculature, including protection of the vessel walls from potentially harmful levels of fluid shear, as a molecular sieve that acts to regulate transendothelial mass transport, and as a transducer of mechanical stress from the vessel lumen. To best fulfil some of its roles, it has been suggested that the EGL redistributes, so that it is thickest at the cell–cell junctions. It has also been suggested that the majority of mechanotransduction occurs through the solid phase of the EGL, rather than via its fluid phase. The difficulties associated with measuring the distribution of the EGL in vivo make these hypotheses difficult to confirm experimentally. Consequently, to gauge the impact of EGL redistribution from a theoretical standpoint, we compute the flow through a porous-lined microvessel, the endothelial surface of which has been informed by confocal microscopy images of a postcapillary venule. Following earlier studies, we model the poroelastohydrodynamics of the EGL using biphasic mixture theory, taking advantage of a recently developed boundary integral representation of these equations to solve the coupled poroelastohydrodynamics using the boundary element method. However, the low permeabilities of the EGL mean that viscous effects are confined to thin layers, thereby also enabling an asymptotic treatment of the dynamics in this limit. In this asymptotic regime, we also consider a two-layer Stokes flow model for the lumen flow to approximate the effect of red blood cells within the lumen. We demonstrate that redistribution of the EGL can have a substantial impact upon microvessel haemodynamics. We also confirm that the bulk of the mechanical stress is indeed carried through the solid phase of the EGL.

Effects of annealing temperature on stress corrosion susceptibility of AA5083–H15 alloys were studied by annealing specimens at 150, 200, 250, 300, and 350 °C before sensitization. Nitric acid mass loss testing and slow strain rate testing were conducted to investigate intergranular corrosion (IGC) and stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Results indicate that H15 alloy was less susceptible to IGC, but this alloy had the highest susceptibility to IGC and SCC after sensitization. Due to the continuous precipitation of β phase, the sensitized 150 and 200 °C alloys were highly susceptible to IGC and SCC. The 250 °C alloy was less susceptible to IGC because of the absence of the precipitation of β phase. After sensitization, this alloy was also less susceptible to IGC and SCC on account of the discontinuous precipitation of β phase. The sensitized 300 and 350 °C alloys were susceptible to IGC but less susceptible to SCC because of their lower strength and higher elongation.

We present a conservative formulation and a numerical algorithm for the reduced-gravity shallow-water equations on a beta plane, subjected to a constant wind forcing that leads to the formation of double-gyre circulation in a closed ocean basin. The novelty of the paper is that we reformulate the governing equations into a nonlinear hyperbolic conservation law plus source terms. A second-order fractional-step algorithm is used to solve the reformulated equations. In the first step of the fractional-step algorithm, we solve the homogeneous hyperbolic shallow-water equations by the wave-propagation finite volume method. The resulting intermediate solution is then used as the initial condition for the initial-boundary value problem in the second step. As a result, the proposed method is not sensitive to the choice of viscosity and gives high-resolution results for coarse grids, as long as the Rossby deformation radius is resolved. We discuss the boundary conditions in each step, when no-slip boundary conditions are imposed to the problem. We validate the algorithm by a periodic flow on an f-plane with exact solutions. The order-of-accuracy for the proposed algorithm is tested numerically. We illustrate a quasi-steady-state solution of the double-gyre model via the height anomaly and the contour of stream function for the formation of double-gyre circulation in a closed basin. Our calculations are highly consistent with the results reported in the literature. Finally, we present an application, in which the double-gyre model is coupled with the advection equation for modeling transport of a pollutant in a closed ocean basin.

This paper investigate the degree to which environment uncertainty affects inter-organisational alliance partner selection in small to medium-sized enterprises and blends the resource-based view in a multiple-mediator model in which different dimensions of alliance motivation (cost and strategy) act as mediating mechanisms that transmit the positive effects of environment uncertainty to partner selection criteria. Four hypotheses are developed and then tested on a survey data sample of 108 firms in the Taiwanese steel industry. Our research findings show the mediating effects of alliance motivation cost and strategy and understanding how environment uncertainty impacts alliance motivation (cost and strategy) within small to medium-sized enterprises.