7 results
Burden of infectious disease studies in Europe and the United Kingdom: a review of methodological design choices
- Periklis Charalampous, Juanita A. Haagsma, Lea S. Jakobsen, Vanessa Gorasso, Isabel Noguer, Alicia Padron-Monedero, Rodrigo Sarmiento, João Vasco Santos, Scott A. McDonald, Dietrich Plass, Grant M. A. Wyper, Ricardo Assunção, Elena von der Lippe, Balázs Ádám, Ala'a AlKerwi, Jalal Arabloo, Ana Lúcia Baltazar, Boris Bikbov, Maria Borrell-Pages, Iris Brus, Genc Burazeri, Serafeim C. Chaintoutis, José Chen-Xu, Nino Chkhaberidze, Seila Cilovic-Lagarija, Barbara Corso, Sarah Cuschieri, Carlotta Di Bari, Keren Dopelt, Mary Economou, Theophilus I. Emeto, Peter Fantke, Florian Fischer, Alberto Freitas, Juan Manuel García-González, Federica Gazzelloni, Mika Gissler, Artemis Gkitakou, Hakan Gulmez, Sezgin Gunes, Sebastian Haller, Romana Haneef, Cesar A. Hincapié, Paul Hynds, Jane Idavain, Milena Ilic, Irena Ilic, Gaetano Isola, Zubair Kabir, Maria Kamusheva, Pavel Kolkhir, Naime Meriç Konar, Polychronis Kostoulas, Mukhtar Kulimbet, Carlo La Vecchia, Paolo Lauriola, Miriam Levi, Marjeta Majer, Enkeleint A. Mechili, Lorenzo Monasta, Stefania Mondello, Javier Muñoz Laguna, Evangelia Nena, Edmond S. W. Ng, Paul Nguewa, Vikram Niranjan, Iskra Alexandra Nola, Rónán O'Caoimh, Marija Obradović, Elena Pallari, Mariana Peyroteo, Vera Pinheiro, Nurka Pranjic, Miguel Reina Ortiz, Silvia Riva, Cornelia Melinda Adi Santoso, Milena Santric Milicevic, Tugce Schmitt, Niko Speybroeck, Maximilian Sprügel, Paschalis Steiropoulos, Aleksandar Stevanovic, Lau Caspar Thygesen, Fimka Tozija, Brigid Unim, Hilal Bektaş Uysal, Orsolya Varga, Milena Vasic, Rafael José Vieira, Vahit Yigit, Brecht Devleesschauwer, Sara M. Pires
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- Journal:
- Epidemiology & Infection / Volume 151 / 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 09 January 2023, e19
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This systematic literature review aimed to provide an overview of the characteristics and methods used in studies applying the disability-adjusted life years (DALY) concept for infectious diseases within European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA)/European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and the United Kingdom. Electronic databases and grey literature were searched for articles reporting the assessment of DALY and its components. We considered studies in which researchers performed DALY calculations using primary epidemiological data input sources. We screened 3053 studies of which 2948 were excluded and 105 studies met our inclusion criteria. Of these studies, 22 were multi-country and 83 were single-country studies, of which 46 were from the Netherlands. Food- and water-borne diseases were the most frequently studied infectious diseases. Between 2015 and 2022, the number of burden of infectious disease studies was 1.6 times higher compared to that published between 2000 and 2014. Almost all studies (97%) estimated DALYs based on the incidence- and pathogen-based approach and without social weighting functions; however, there was less methodological consensus with regards to the disability weights and life tables that were applied. The number of burden of infectious disease studies undertaken across Europe has increased over time. Development and use of guidelines will promote performing burden of infectious disease studies and facilitate comparability of the results.
The ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) Pilot Survey
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- Tara Murphy, David L. Kaplan, Adam J. Stewart, Andrew O’Brien, Emil Lenc, Sergio Pintaldi, Joshua Pritchard, Dougal Dobie, Archibald Fox, James K. Leung, Tao An, Martin E. Bell, Jess W. Broderick, Shami Chatterjee, Shi Dai, Daniele d’Antonio, Gerry Doyle, B. M. Gaensler, George Heald, Assaf Horesh, Megan L. Jones, David McConnell, Vanessa A. Moss, Wasim Raja, Gavin Ramsay, Stuart Ryder, Elaine M. Sadler, Gregory R. Sivakoff, Yuanming Wang, Ziteng Wang, Michael S. Wheatland, Matthew Whiting, James R. Allison, C. S. Anderson, Lewis Ball, K. Bannister, D. C.-J. Bock, R. Bolton, J. D. Bunton, R. Chekkala, A. P Chippendale, F. R. Cooray, N. Gupta, D. B. Hayman, K. Jeganathan, B. Koribalski, K. Lee-Waddell, Elizabeth K. Mahony, J. Marvil, N. M. McClure-Griffiths, P. Mirtschin, A. Ng, S. Pearce, C. Phillips, M. A. Voronkov
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- Journal:
- Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia / Volume 38 / 2021
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 12 October 2021, e054
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The Variables and Slow Transients Survey (VAST) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is designed to detect highly variable and transient radio sources on timescales from 5 s to $\sim\!5$ yr. In this paper, we present the survey description, observation strategy and initial results from the VAST Phase I Pilot Survey. This pilot survey consists of $\sim\!162$ h of observations conducted at a central frequency of 888 MHz between 2019 August and 2020 August, with a typical rms sensitivity of $0.24\ \mathrm{mJy\ beam}^{-1}$ and angular resolution of $12-20$ arcseconds. There are 113 fields, each of which was observed for 12 min integration time, with between 5 and 13 repeats, with cadences between 1 day and 8 months. The total area of the pilot survey footprint is 5 131 square degrees, covering six distinct regions of the sky. An initial search of two of these regions, totalling 1 646 square degrees, revealed 28 highly variable and/or transient sources. Seven of these are known pulsars, including the millisecond pulsar J2039–5617. Another seven are stars, four of which have no previously reported radio detection (SCR J0533–4257, LEHPM 2-783, UCAC3 89–412162 and 2MASS J22414436–6119311). Of the remaining 14 sources, two are active galactic nuclei, six are associated with galaxies and the other six have no multi-wavelength counterparts and are yet to be identified.
The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey I: Design and first results
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- D. McConnell, C. L. Hale, E. Lenc, J. K. Banfield, George Heald, A. W. Hotan, James K. Leung, Vanessa A. Moss, Tara Murphy, Andrew O’Brien, Joshua Pritchard, Wasim Raja, Elaine M. Sadler, Adam Stewart, Alec J. M. Thomson, M. Whiting, James R. Allison, S. W. Amy, C. Anderson, Lewis Ball, Keith W. Bannister, Martin Bell, Douglas C.-J. Bock, Russ Bolton, J. D. Bunton, A. P. Chippendale, J. D. Collier, F. R. Cooray, T. J. Cornwell, P. J. Diamond, P. G. Edwards, N. Gupta, Douglas B. Hayman, Ian Heywood, C. A. Jackson, Bärbel S. Koribalski, Karen Lee-Waddell, N. M. McClure-Griffiths, Alan Ng, Ray P. Norris, Chris Phillips, John E. Reynolds, Daniel N. Roxby, Antony E. T. Schinckel, Matt Shields, Chenoa Tremblay, A. Tzioumis, M. A. Voronkov, Tobias Westmeier
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- Journal:
- Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia / Volume 37 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 30 November 2020, e048
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The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS) is the first large-area survey to be conducted with the full 36-antenna Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. RACS will provide a shallow model of the ASKAP sky that will aid the calibration of future deep ASKAP surveys. RACS will cover the whole sky visible from the ASKAP site in Western Australia and will cover the full ASKAP band of 700–1800 MHz. The RACS images are generally deeper than the existing NRAO VLA Sky Survey and Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey radio surveys and have better spatial resolution. All RACS survey products will be public, including radio images (with $\sim$ 15 arcsec resolution) and catalogues of about three million source components with spectral index and polarisation information. In this paper, we present a description of the RACS survey and the first data release of 903 images covering the sky south of declination $+41^\circ$ made over a 288-MHz band centred at 887.5 MHz.
Estimating the benefit of well-managed protected areas for threatened species conservation
- Stephen G. Kearney, Vanessa M. Adams, Richard A. Fuller, Hugh P. Possingham, James E. M. Watson
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Protected areas are central to global efforts to prevent species extinctions, with many countries investing heavily in their establishment. Yet the designation of protected areas alone can only abate certain threats to biodiversity. Targeted management within protected areas is often required to achieve fully effective conservation within their boundaries. It remains unclear what combination of protected area designation and management is needed to remove the suite of processes that imperil species. Here, using Australia as a case study, we use a dataset on the pressures facing threatened species to determine the role of protected areas and management in conserving imperilled species. We found that protected areas that are not resourced for threat management could remove one or more threats to 1,185 (76%) species and all threats to very few (n = 51, 3%) species. In contrast, a protected area network that is adequately resourced to manage threatening processes within their boundary could remove one or more threats to almost all species (n = 1,551; c. 100%) and all threats to almost half (n = 740, 48%). However, 815 (52%) species face one or more threats that require coordinated conservation actions that protected areas alone could not remove. This research shows that investing in the continued expansion of Australia's protected area network without providing adequate funding for threat management within and beyond the existing protected area network will benefit few threatened species. These findings highlight that as the international community expands the global protected area network in accordance with the 2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, a greater emphasis on the effectiveness of threat management is needed.
Extinct flagships: linking extinct and threatened species
- Peter M. Kyne, Vanessa M. Adams
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Despite much effort to promote the conservation and recovery of threatened species, the extent of the current list of threatened vertebrates (> 7,600 species) underscores the need to develop novel communication and marketing tools to raise awareness and funding for their conservation. Although flagship species have been widely used in conservation marketing, the flagship role of extinct species has been largely overlooked and the status of lost species is rarely associated with the status of extant species facing a high risk of extinction. Some extinct species (e.g. the dodo Raphus cucullatus and the thylacine Thylacinus cynocephalus) are cultural and commercial icons and therefore familiar, and may appeal to the public as conservation flagships. We propose a wider use of extinct flagships to raise awareness for the conservation of threatened species by making a direct link between already extinct species and extant species at risk of extinction. We present examples of publicly recognized and iconic extinct species that could be used in marketing for the conservation of threatened species. These extinct species are familiar and may be readily linked to threatened species or species groups. We outline a roadmap for testing their appeal under the extinct flagship concept, through market research. If research identifies that a cognitive link is made between the fate of an extinct species (i.e. they went extinct from human causes) and what may happen to threatened species (i.e. they are at risk of extinction from human causes), extinct species may well have a wider role to play as conservation flagships.
Chapter 26 - Terrestrial protected areas of Australia
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- By Ian D. Craigie, James Cook University, Alana Grech, Macquarie University, Robert L. Pressey, James Cook University, Vanessa M. Adams, Charles Darwin University, Marc Hockings, University of Queensland, Martin Taylor, Protected Areas and Conservation Science, Megan Barnes, University of Queensland
- Edited by Adam Stow, Macquarie University, Sydney, Norman Maclean, University of Southampton, Gregory I. Holwell, University of Auckland
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- Austral Ark
- Published online:
- 05 November 2014
- Print publication:
- 22 December 2014, pp 560-581
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Summary
Summary
Australia has a long history of establishing protected areas and they are now the cornerstones of its national and regional conservation strategies, covering over 13% of the country. There are large regional variations in levels of coverage, with most large protected areas placed far from dense human populations and away from productive agricultural land. Most of the recent growth in coverage has been driven by Indigenous Protected Areas and private protected areas, a trend that is likely to increase in the future. It is difficult to say how effective protected areas are in conserving biodiversity due to shortcomings in monitoring and evaluation, but the data that exist show that biodiversity outcomes are variable and that management effectiveness could be substantially improved. Threats to the protected area system are currently increasing with strong government pressure to allow extractive industries, such as mining, logging and grazing, and damaging recreational uses such as hunting to occur on land that is currently protected. If this trend continues, the future holds a great deal of uncertainty for Australia’s protected areas.
Introduction
For centuries people all over the world have set aside places to which they ascribe special values. The reasons for this have been many and various but they are linked by a central purpose – to protect something that humankind perceives as valuable. Over the past century, as human populations have grown and their use of natural resources has increased, so the need to protect the remaining natural areas has also grown. Formally protected areas have become the centrepiece of the global strategy for nature conservation. These are areas where human activities are restricted and that are managed with the primary purpose of nature conservation (Dudley 2008). Australia is no exception in using protected areas as the cornerstones of its national and regional conservation strategies and is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CBD is an international legally binding treaty that commits Australia to achieving a number of conservation targets.
Respiratory Virus Shedding in a Cohort of On-Duty Healthcare Workers Undergoing Prospective Surveillance
- Jennifer C. Esbenshade, Kathryn M. Edwards, Adam J. Esbenshade, Vanessa E. Rodriguez, H. Keipp Talbot, Marlon F. Joseph, Samuel K. Nwosu, James D. Chappell, James E. Gern, John V. Williams, Thomas R. Talbot
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- Journal:
- Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology / Volume 34 / Issue 4 / April 2013
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 January 2015, pp. 373-378
- Print publication:
- April 2013
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Background.
Healthcare-associated transmission of respiratory viruses is a concerning patient safety issue.
Design.Surveillance for influenza virus among a cohort of healthcare workers (HCWs) was conducted in a tertiary care children's hospital from November 2009 through April 2010 using biweekly nasal swab specimen collection. If a subject reported respiratory symptoms, an additional specimen was collected. Specimens from ill HCWs and a randomly selected sample from asymptomatic subjects were tested for additional respiratory viruses by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Results.A total of 1,404 nasal swab specimens were collected from 170 enrolled subjects. Influenza circulated at very low levels during the surveillance period, and 74.2% of subjects received influenza vaccination. Influenza virus was not detected in any specimen. Multiplex respiratory virus PCR analysis of all 119 specimens from symptomatic subjects and 200 specimens from asymptomatic subjects yielded a total of 42 positive specimens, including 7 (16.7%) in asymptomatic subjects. Viral shedding was associated with report of any symptom (odds ratio [OR], 13.06 [95% confidence interval, 5.45–31.28]; P< .0001) and younger age (OR, 0.96 [95% confidence interval, 0.92–0.99]; P = .023) when controlled for sex and occupation of physician or nurse. After the surveillance period, 46% of subjects reported working while ill with an influenza-like illness during the previous influenza season.
Conclusions.In this cohort, HCWs working while ill was common, as was viral shedding among those with symptoms. Asymptomatic viral shedding was infrequent but did occur. HCWs should refrain from patient care duties while ill, and staffing contingencies should accommodate them.