A grid approach to pandemic disease control
2009 H1N1 pandemic as model for healthy computer power
2011-06-16
(Press-News.org) An evaluation of the Public Health Grid (PHGrid) technology during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic could enhance the capabilities of epidemiologists and disease-control agencies when the next emergent disease appears, according to a study published in the International Journal of Grid and Utility Computing.
Terry Boyd and colleagues at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta, Georgia, working with informatics specialists at Deloitte Consulting LLP, explain how historically, public health surveillance systems in the USA were designed to register information about specific public health issues among certain population groups and to answer particular questions about the spread of disease and the risks to those groups. Unfortunately, this approach to data collection and handling can limit the ability of public health professionals to use existing systems to investigate the emergence of novel threats from pathogens such as new influenza viruses.
During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, however, the Public Health Informatics and Technology Program Office at the CDC together with various partners used simulated data to explore how a decentralized information architecture run on the Public Health Grid (PHGrid) might be used to acquire relevant data quickly, securely and to effectively model the spread of disease. The main advantage of building the system on the PHGrid is that it allows for disparate, distributed data and services to be used by the public health community and so avoids the obstacles seen with repurposing specialized surveillance systems.
"The speed with which public health officials can identify, respond, and deploy interventions in response to public health events has the potential to change the course or impact of a disease," the team explains. The PHGrid framework could be used to address specific surveillance needs such as those related to novel pandemic influenza in 2009. By using advances made by the "grid" community in health and other fields, PHGrid was able to focus on specific issues without having to re-invent and re-evaluate the information technology needed by using established data tools and formats. Such an approach also avoided the need to find ways to circumvent bugs and problems that would have arisen had new technology been developed at the time for the specific purpose.
The team points out that further research and development is needed to improve the use of grid computing. Nevertheless, it provides the ability to use standard services to share and analyze data that resides in multiple locations and avoids the security and data ownership issues that can arise in the medical and public health fields. The CDC team and its partners are now working on evaluating the same grid technology for other public health program areas.
INFORMATION:
"An example of the use of Public Health Grid (PHGrid) technology during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic" in Int. J. Grid and Utility Computing, 2011, 2, 148-155
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-06-16
Mice inhabiting an area known for its high concentration of asbestos-contaminated dust, have a higher level of genetic somatic mutations, compared with other regions where asbestos pollution levels are lower. This has been shown in a new study carried out by Dr. Rachel Ben-Shlomo and Dr. Uri Shanas of the University of Haifa's Department of Biology in Oranim. "This study clearly indicates that there is a link between the higher levels of asbestos in the environment and the frequency of genetic somatic mutations in the mammals," the scientists said.
Earlier studies of ...
2011-06-16
Competing in races is the life of a runner. But, for sportspeople with sensory impairments, any race is one of obstacles. Tecnalia is working intensely on eliminating these obstacles.
The system involves a series of wireless-interconnected devices in order to facilitate the starts in time trials for persons with sensory disabilities and thus enable the athlete to have a reaction time equal to his or her competitors.
This is a pioneering system, developed by Tecnalia with the help of the Basque companies Enkoa and Leabai and of the Gipuzkoan Federation for Adapted Sports. ...
2011-06-16
It is assumed that many bird species are monogamous, yet infidelity is a widespread phenomenon. The advantage for the male seems obvious as in this way he can increase the number of his offspring. A female, however, mostly faces costs. The cuckolded partners often reduce their parental care. In addition, the extra lovers also may transmit diseases. Nevertheless, some females actively seek such contacts. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen investigated a large number of zebra finches and found a possible explanation for this behaviour. In ...
2011-06-16
42U, a leading national data center engineering consulting company, is pleased to announce that the company is hosting a free web cast seminar entitled, Key Data Center Metrics, June 28, 2011 at 11 am MDT. 42U's featured panel of experts include Mark Monroe, Executive Director of The Green Grid; Scot Heath, CTO at 42U; and John Pflueger, Principal Environmental Strategist at Dell.
"This discussion will provide our audience with an understanding of data center efficiency and sustainability metrics" says Trica Ang, Marketing Director for 42U. "In addition ...
2011-06-16
A new report launched today by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) in collaboration with the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations (EFPIA) reveals that the burden of fractures in Europe has been vastly underestimated. The report concludes that in Europe's five largest countries and Sweden alone, an estimated 2.5 million new fragility fractures occurred in 2010 – the equivalent of 280 fractures per hour. It also showed an astounding eighty deaths per day attributable to fragility fractures.
'Osteoporosis: Burden, health care provision ...
2011-06-16
Researchers from North Carolina State University have designed a sensor that can measure strain in structural materials and is capable of healing itself – an important advance for collecting data to help us make informed decisions about structural safety in the wake of earthquakes, explosions or other unexpected events.
Engineers use sensors to measure the strain, or forces, exerted on materials used to build everything from airplanes to civil infrastructure. For example, these sensors can tell us how an airplane wing is performing in flight, and give maintenance authorities ...
2011-06-16
Scientists are reporting development of the first self-powered nano-device that can transmit data wirelessly over long distances. In a study in ACS's journal Nano Letters, they say it proves the feasibility of a futuristic genre of tiny implantable medical sensors, airborne and stationary surveillance cameras and sensors, wearable personal electronics, and other devices that operate independently without batteries on energy collected from the environment.
Zhong Lin Wang and colleagues explain that advances in electronics have opened the door to developing tiny devices ...
2011-06-16
There may be a natural solution to the mystery of how small amounts of a banned drug that disrupts thyroid function and plumps up livestock gets into their bodies — and the bodies of humans, scientists are reporting. Their study, which appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, reports the first evidence that the substance can form naturally in feed and food.
Julie Vanden Bussche and colleagues explain that thiouracil is a drug that increases the weight of livestock by making them retain water. Some regulatory agencies have banned its use because the ...
2011-06-16
The quest for better ways of encapsulating medicine so that it can reach diseased parts of the body has led scientists to harness — for the first time — living human cells to produce natural capsules with channels for releasing drugs and diagnostic agents. The report appears in ACS' journal Nano Letters.
In the report, Dayang Wang and colleagues explain that the human body is very efficient at getting rid of foreign substances. Some foreign substances, such as viruses, are harmful and should be removed. But the body also considers drugs and nanoparticles — meant to treat ...
2011-06-16
The small science of nanotechnology — which deals with objects so tiny that thousands would fit inside the period at the end of this sentence — is having a big impact in the construction industry, according to the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the American Chemical Society's weekly newsmagazine. Indeed, some experts believe that nanotechnology will revolutionize the industry, which builds, renovates, and repairs society's infrastructure.
In the article C&EN senior editor Bethany Halford describes nanotechnology's surprising ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] A grid approach to pandemic disease control
2009 H1N1 pandemic as model for healthy computer power
