Fundamental Bases Research Articles

A theoretical framework for conceptualizing seaports as institutional and operational clusters

Abstract This paper shows how and why a theoretical framework to (re)conceptualize seaports as institutional and operational clusters may be constructed. Using a thorough review and content analysis of the seaport literature, six interrelated contextual dimensions will be fixed to comprehensively examining seaports: space, time, social-economic, functional, institutional and organisational, shrinkable to 2 clearly separable institutional and operational contexts. A port (re)conceptualization via a graphical representation and definition is needed to rightfully consider the relevant seaport institutional and operational actors and activities related to the port principal function, laying down fundamental bases for devising and implementing a successful seaport development strategy.

The role of postoperative chemoradiation for oropharyngeal carcinoma: A critical appraisal revisited.

We read with interest the article by Cooper et al1 in response to our previous publication.2 In our critical appraisal,2 we expressed concern that in the era of a p16-positive/human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven epidemic, existing evidence3-7 for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) version 2.20137 recommendation for postoperative chemoradiation in patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPC) with extracapsular spread (ECS) and/or positive resection margins needed re-evaluation. The absence of HPV data and the heterogeneity of the study population in the original studies,3-6 as also acknowledged by the authors,1 were the fundamental bases of our critique. We stand by the quantitative aspects of our critical appraisal and appreciate the provision of previously unpublished information.1 We acknowledge the importance of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 95013 and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 229314 trials in the management of patients with advanced, non-HPV-specified head and neck cancer. As identified in several observational cohort studies8-10 and acknowledged by the NCCN,11 HPV-driven OPC demonstrates a uniquely improved response to treatment when compared with traditional, alcohol-related and tobacco-related OPC. At variance with traditional OPC, HPV-driven OPC also has a different modal pattern of distant metastatic disease recurrence; no significant benefit of chemotherapy among patients with distant metastasis was observed in the RTOG 95013 and EORTC 229314 trials. We continue to believe that the lack of significant benefit with regard to long-term survival or locoregional recurrence6 for the oropharynx subsite (overall or in the subgroup of patients with ECS/positive resection margins) from the use of chemotherapy warrants re-evaluation of the NCCN version 2.20137 adjuvant therapy recommendations. The magnitude of our concern regarding the addition of chemotherapy is amplified by the analyses of benefits versus harms we presented in our article.2 We are encouraged to note that in the updates for NCCN version 2.2016,11 a change from category 1 to category 2A has been made in the recommendation for postoperative chemoradiation for patients with OPC with ECS/positive resection margins, and the following statement was made: “The recommendations for patients at high risk with ECS/positive margins are based on randomized studies involving patients for whom the HPV status of their tumors was not specified.” Coincident with this update, there are changes in our current understanding of high-risk clinical and pathologic features in HPV-driven OPC, which are the basis of 2 newly proposed staging systems.12, 13 We agree with the authors that further clinical trial validation is needed to support or refute the benefit of adding chemotherapy to postoperative radiation. However, it is important that such trials risk-stratify patients according to the new HPV OPC-specific prognosticators.10, 14 In our opinion, the extrapolation of results from trials, which do not define HPV-specific prognosticators, cannot be justified during the current epidemic of p16-positive/HPV-driven OPC. No specific funding was disclosed. The authors made no disclosures. Parul Sinha, MBBS Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri Bruce H. Haughey, MBChB Head and Neck Surgery Florida Hospital Celebration Health Celebration, Florida; Department of Surgery University of Auckland Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Auckland, New Zealand Dorina Kallogjeri, MD Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; Clinical Outcomes Research Office Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri Edward L. Spitznagel, PhD Department of Mathematics Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri Jay F. Piccirillo, MD Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri

Peroxisome biogenesis disorders.

Peroxisome biogenesis disorders (PBD) are a group of conditions caused by a partial or generalized defect in peroxisome biogenesis. They encompass two phenotypic groups: 1. the Zellweger spectrum disorders (ZSD) including severe, intermediate and milder forms [previously known respectively as Zellweger syndrome (ZS), Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy (NALD) and Infantile Refsum Disease (IRD)] and 2. Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata type 1 (RCDP1), as well as the variant phenotypes now being described for both groups. PBD represent the paradigm for metabolic malformation syndromes. In a little over 50 years, an intense, concerted multidisciplinary effort has led to elucidating the fundamental biochemical, pathophysiological and molecular bases for these disorders effectively paving the way for therapeutic interventions and trials. Peroxisomes are membrane bound organelles derived from the endoplasmic reticulum, numbering up to several hundred per mammalian cell, mostly spherical in shape, up to 1μm in diameter. They are indispensable for normal life and highly conserved throughout evolution amongst most eukaryotes. Peroxisomes were first identified by biochemist Christian DeDuve in the 1960 s, as cytoplasmic particles containing hydrogen peroxide-generating oxidases [1]. Later, the neurologist Hans Zellweger reported a group of children with similar craniofacial dysmorphism and malformations in the brain, eye, liver, and kidney [2]. These cases, initially described under the eponym of “cerebro-hepato-renal-syndrome”, were subsequently termed Zellweger syndrome (ZS) [3]. ZS is considered today the prototype for ZSD. The reported absence of morphologically identifiable peroxisomes in hepatocytes and renal tubular cells of affected individuals using the peroxisomal matrix enzyme marker, catalase, [4] demonstrated a connection between ZS and peroxisome dysfunction. However, the etiological connection was not recognized until the identification of multiple peroxisomal enzymes and their deficiencies in affected patients. Similar findings were later demonstrated in the intermediate and milder ZSD phenotypes and RCDP1, which were also being reported at that time [5–7].

TRIBE TRITICEAE L. AND THE BIOCENOTIC MECHANISMS OF ADAPTABILITY

<p>The cultural species in the process ontogenesis and phylogenesis to favorable and unfavorable environmental conditions produce a number of biological mechanisms (molecular genetic, physiological, biochemical, morphological, biocenotic), plants identification behind them reflects the degree of their ecological of adaptability, plasticity and stability. Studying the and comparison of morphological parameters and relations with consort-species and representatives of tribe <em>Triticeae</em> allowed to find out what plants differently realize their life potential. Which are based on structural and functional features biocenotic mechanisms that manifested in adaptive properties. On example cultural cereal species shows that the basic mechanisms of adaptability are: mechanisms of functional sustainability, morphological tolerance and ontogenetic avoidance. The first group is associated with functional parameters forming and manifestation life potential of plants (accumulation protein, accumulation gluten, duration assimilatory ability flag leaf; erection leaves the upper tier; depth of node tillering; strength of the stem, ie the, low penchant to lodging; total tillering plants; synchronicity growth of main stem; the intensity fading ear after full ripeness.</p><p>The second group includes mechanisms of morphological tolerance (hairiness of leaves, stems; wax-colored bloom; plaza of leaf; type of bush; density head; beardedness; glossy coating of leaf, culm; glaucous color of leaf, culm; placing spicate of scales near granule; plant height). To mechanisms of ontogenetic avoidance relating such as mismatch of pathogen, phytophage and plant; photoperiodic sensitivity; duration interphase periods in particular florification, ripening; duration of vegetation period; duration of primary dormancy (latent period); multivariation of synontоgenesis; photoperiodic sensitivity.</p><p>Knowing the biocenotic mechanisms formation of adaptability cultural species discloses up new opportunities in clarifying the fundamental bases of adaptation and is of practical importance in the management of vitality and seed productivity.</p>

Evaluation of polarization rotation in the scattering responses from individual semiconducting oxide nanorods.

We investigate the interaction of visible light with the solid matters of semiconducting oxide nanorods (NRs) of zinc oxide (ZnO), indium tin oxide (ITO), and zinc tin oxide (ZTO) at the single nanomaterial level. We subsequently identify an intriguing, material-dependent phenomenon of optical rotation in the electric field oscillation direction of the scattered light by systematically controlling the wavelength and polarization direction of the incident light, the NR tilt angle, and the analyzer angle. This polarization rotation effect in the scattered light is repeatedly observed from the chemically pure and highly crystalline ZnO NRs, but absent on the chemically doped NR variants of ITO and ZTO under all measurement circumstances. We further elucidate that the phenomenon of polarization rotation detected from single ZnO NRs is affected by the NR tilt angle, while the phenomenon itself occurs irrespective of the wavelength and incident polarization direction of the visible light. Combined with the widespread optical and optoelectronic use of the semiconducting oxide nanomaterials, these efforts may provide much warranted fundamental bases to tailor material-specific, single nanomaterial-driven, optically modulating functionalities which, in turn, can be beneficial for the realization of high-performance integrated photonic circuits and miniaturized bio-optical sensing devices.

DIDACTICS: DEVELOPMENT OR STAGNATION?

ARTICLE RETRACTED The aim of the paper – the detailed analysis of the monograph «Contents and Structure of Regularities of Process of Training (Theory and Experiment)» which is written by the corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Education (RAE), Doctor of pedagogical sciences, Professor I. I. Logvinov. The book was included into a series «Basic researches of institute of the theory and history of pedagogics of the Russian Academy of Education. Proceedings 2008–2012». The review of the monograph of I. I. Logvinov has become a reason for reflections of the author of the present publication about actual, most burning issues of a modern Russian educational system: on the status of pedagogics in modern domestic science; evolutions of didactic knowledge and its typology; quality of dissertation researches and emasculation in scientific pedagogical concepts of the fundamental bases; ideologization of didactics and a role of the state in this process. Sorting basic thesis of I. I. Logvinov’s work, in something agreeing, and in something arguing with the scientist, the author of article claims that it is a serious and necessary work where the extremely important questions concerning the most painful points of the Russian pedagogical science and a condition of our education in general are brought up.

Thermal equation of state BWR for water and water steam

The fundamental bases for the calculation of the thermodynamic properties of substances are the thermal equation of state and the dependence of some of the basic specific heat capacities on temperature. Any other thermodynamic properties of a substance can already be deduced from these relations. The aim of this paper is to design the simple thermal equation of state for water steam based on original BWR thermal equation of state, which describes the behavior of H2 O in the gaseous phase in region of usual pressures and temperatures with sufficient accuracy.

GENERAL SCIENTIFIC PRECONDITIONS AND PROSPECTS OF PREDICTION OF GEOSPACE PROCESSES FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF TERRITORIES

This work substantiates the need to ontologically couple methods of prediction of geospace processes and fundamental bases of the modern epistemological picture of the world. The method of a structural mask of power geographical fields is offered. On its basis a way of a solution of the problem of indeterminacy and overcoming influence of nonlinearity of geospace processes, as well as the methods of their dot prediction are developed.

Систематика растений как искусство

It is reported about the place of systematics in botany, the stages of the formation of a specialist- systematist. The author’s personal experiences, the role of Linnaeus in the development of systematics as a science are presented in the report.Good systematist finds its place in science, is determined to belong to a particular “school”. You can associate it with the fact that he reads some scientific works and chooses his role models, including contemporary reputable botanists, belonging to this or that school. Some systematists believe that races (species) are not natural objects, but creations of scientists, needed solely for the convenience of the knowledge of living and memorization. Naturally, in their works imaginative thinking dominates. But other systematists believe that taxa of any rank are the real natural objects.Systematics is an art, of course, not scholastic science. But it’s a serious question! If this science rests in the actual work on the skills of the scientists, on the art, are the objects objective or subjective? In fact, this dilemma is one of the fundamental bases of separating different “schools”. Author of the report belongs to the school, for which the object of systematics of plants are races (species and subspecies). Races are natural formations, existing as a whole, objectively, independently of us. Because they are composed of many individuals, their reflection could be through generalized images (although any image – it is a subjective idea). But the hierarchy of relationship we are building on the image that reflects the relationship, but not natural formations – taxa.

Minimum strictly fundamental cycle bases of planar graphs are hard to find

In this paper, we consider the problem of finding a spanning tree in a graph that minimizes the sum over the lengths of the cycles induced by the chords of the tree. We show the NP-completeness of this problem for planar graphs. The proof will be by reduction of a planar version of the Exact Cover By 3-Sets Problem. Finding such a minimum strictly fundamental cycle basis has various practical applications, e.g. in designing optimal periodic timetables in public transport.

Harmonic Language in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

This paper examines the work of Koji Kondo in the 1998 video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Using a variety of techniques of harmonic analysis, the paper examines the commonalities between teleportation pieces and presents a model to describe their organization. Concepts are drawn from the work of three authors for the harmonic analysis. William Caplin’s substitutions; Daniel Harrison’s fundamental bases; and, Dmitri Tymoczko’s parsimonious voice leading form the basis of the model for categorizing the teleportation pieces. In general, these pieces begin with some form of prolongation (often tonic); proceed to a subdominant function; employ a chromatically altered chord in a quasi-dominant function; and, end with a weakened cadence in the major tonic key. By examining the elements of this model in each piece, this paper explains how the teleportation pieces use unusual harmonic language and progressions while maintaining a coherent identity in the context of the game’s score.

El marco institucional del nuevo modelo de regulación finaciera de la Unión Europea

The economic crisis, which has been with us since 2008, has called into question the supervision and financial regulation model in the European Union (EU). The economic governing system, which was born after the creation of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EEMU), has been shown to be clearly insufficient in order to deal with the impact of the recession which has hit the twenty seven Member States of the EU. This situation has illustrated the need for a wider cooperation between the States, some supervisory institutions with a more systematic vision and a better designed and more specific financial system. The objective of this article is to analyze the modifications which have been made to the supervision model of the European financial system, the problems which have resulted and the lines of improvement which must be studied if the intention is that the supervision model of the European financial system is going to be a trustworthy, efficient and effective model in the future. To do this, the changes in the renovation of the financial supervision model in the EU, which have been made since 2011, will be studied. In the first place, the macro-prudential and micro-prudential supervision through the restructuring of the three fundamental bases of the financial system will be analyzed: banking system, market values and insurance. Secondly, a critique of the model will be carried out and the most problematic points of the system will be outlined in order to highlight areas which need improving and finally, the conclusions will be presented.

Туристский сервис в Крыму советского периода: проблемы и решения

In the article the author analyzed the basic problems of Crimean tourist service in 1960s-1980s. For this period the maximal numbers of visiting Crimea by domestic and foreign tourists were achieved, a lot of them negatively estimated the quality of local service. On the basis of wide complex of the archived and published historical sources the author proves that the permanent problems of the tourist service were conditioned above all by the institutional model of organization of the soviet industry of hospitality, which was characterized by excessive centralization, monopolization, administrative-command methods of decision-making, low staff motivation. Thus all this complex of problems showed up both during servicing of soviet tourists (Crimean Regional Council for Tourism and Excursions) and unorganized holidaymakers (so-called «wild tourists»), as well as serving foreign tourists (the enterprise system «Intourist» in the Crimea). The considerable negative influence was related to the fact that development of sphere of services (including tourism) was not a priority direction for authorities of the USSR. The centralized allocation of funds and material resources for the hospitality industry often carried out as a residual. However, since the second half of the 1970s the particular activities directed at «conservative modernization» of the Soviet tourist service were carried out. These activities were directed at increasing economic independence of enterprises of industry of hospitality, activation of supplying of additional services to the tourists, growing of material motivation of service workers. But until the late 1980s these transformations were implemented very slowly and conservatively, without affecting the fundamental bases of the soviet planned economy and administrative-command management. Despite the fact that at the present stage market and competitive model of organization of the service is established, the Soviet past continues to indirectly affect the quality of the Crimean tourist product, but the significance of this influence is waning.

Derivation of stretched exponential tap density equations of granular powders.

The tap density of granular powders was found to be better fitted with the stretched exponential law. In our previous work, the stretched exponential tap density equations were derived with the rate process theory and free volume concept, under the assumption that the particle packing rate during the tapping process obeys the stretched Arrhenius equation, which, however, has an empirical origin. In this article, the above assumption is eliminated and attempts are made to obtain the stretched exponential tap density equations from very fundamental bases. In a vertical tapping process, the probability of particles attaining certain energy states is assumed to obey the Boltzmann distribution and particles traveling from one site to another are assumed to follow a very common memoryless random exponential law. The stretched exponential tap density equations are thus derived and all parameters acquire clear physical meanings. The most important parameter, the stretched exponential, is demonstrated to correlate with the interparticle forces: a small value may indicate a strong adhesive or cohesive interaction. Therefore, the stretched exponential could be a better indicator for powder flowability correlated with particle interactions as well.

Fundamental bases for the use of silk fibroin-based bioresorbable microvehicles as an example of skin regeneration in therapeutic practice

To assess whether silk fibroin-based microvehicles (MVs) may be used to grow fibroblasts (FBs) and keratinocytes (KCs), key cellular components in skin regeneration after injury. Cryogrinding was applied to derive MVs from fibroin-based and fibroin- and 30% gelatin-containing composite matrices. To examine the structure of the matrices and MVs, confocal microscopy was used to conjugate the polymer with the dye tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate. Microparticle size distribution was estimated by granulometric analysis. 3T3 mouse FBs and cultured primary mouse KCs expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) were used to study whether fibroin-based MVs might be suitable for growing the cells involved in skin regeneration. KC growth was analyzed by confocal laser scanning microscopy from cellular GFP expression. The proliferation rate of FBs and KCs was estimated by a MTT assay. There were two derived MV types: fibroin-based and fibroin and 30% gelatin-containing composite ones. On day 1, 3T3 mouse FBs on the fibroin-based gelatin-free MVs actively proliferated and the presence of gelatin in MVs diminished the proliferation of these cells. Fibroin-based MVs were shown to be suitable for the effective in vitro growth of KCs expressing cytokeratins 5 and 14, the major markers of KCs in the basal layer. Gelatin did not give rise to accelerated KC growth. The investigation has demonstrated that is possible to regulate FB proliferation on MVs, which is of great importance in delivering the cells into the site of injury since intensive proliferation of FBs may lead to the development of fibrosis and the formation of scar tissue. Balanced FB growth is essential to the creation of optimal conditions for KC growth in composite tissue-engineering constructions. The use of fibroin-based MVs is promising for the design of novel therapeutic materials and injectable cell therapy for different diseases.

Can society be commodities all the way down? Post-Polanyian reflections on capitalist crisis

In his classic 1944 book, The great transformation, Karl Polanyi traced the roots of capitalist crisis to efforts to create ‘self-regulating markets’ in land, labour and money. The effect was to turn those three fundamental bases of social life into ‘fictitious commodities’. The inevitable result, Polanyi claimed, was to despoil nature, rupture communities and destroy livelihoods. This diagnosis has strong echoes in the twenty-first century: witness the burgeoning markets in carbon emissions and biotechnology; in child-care, schooling and the care of the old; and in financial derivatives. In this situation, Polanyi's idea of fictitious commodification affords a promising basis for an integrated structural analysis that connects three dimensions of the present crisis: the ecological, the social and the financial. This paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of Polanyi's idea.

ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕ ФИЗИОЛОГО-БИОХИМИЧЕСКИХ МЕТОДОВ ДЛЯ ВЫЯВЛЕНИЯ МЕХАНИЗМОВ АДАПТАЦИИ СУБТРОПИЧЕСКИХ, ЮЖНЫХ ПЛОДОВЫХ И ДЕКОРАТИВНЫХ КУЛЬТУР В УСЛОВИЯХ СУБТРОПИКОВ РОССИИ

A problem of assessing the sustainability in crops, for which the humid subtropical zone of Russia is quite favorable, has a great value since there are a lot of stress factors (for example droughts, high or low temperatures, fogs etc.) due to climatic features of the region. For the first time we have carried out a 20-year comprehensive study of physiological and biochemical responses of plants, their organs, tissues and systems to the effect of abiotic stressors with the aim to identify some specific adaptation mechanisms of subtropical, southern fruit and ornamental crops as well as tea to the environment. This paper reports the peculiarities in water regime and photosynthetic apparatus (basic physiological functions), activity of catalase enzyme and carotenoid content (protective components in plants' oxidant-antioxidant system). As a result, there were selected some physiological and biochemical parameters (quantity of water scarcity, concentration of cell sap, catalase activity, carotenoids content, etc.), which allowed to estimate the crop state and resistance to abiotic stressors in Corylus pontica C. Koch, Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, Actinidia deliciosa Chevalier, Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, beautifully-blossoming shrubs Hydrangea macrophylla Ser., Weigela ½ wagneri L.H. Bailey, etc. The regularities in changing physiological parameters as a response to the impact of adverse conditions are identified; the criteria, scales and methodology are proposed for assessing adaptive capacity of the studied cultures. Specific features of the dynamics of photosynthetic pigments accumulation for all the cultures are studied; the dependence of this process on the main regional factors was revealed; the parameters of water regime and drought resistance coefficients are determined; the influence of hydrothermal factors on enzyme activity is identified, as well as correlation between enzyme activity and abiotic environmental factors; the effect of microelements on increase of plants adaptive properties (for example, tea) was determined. As a result, there were developed some recommendations on micronutrients foliar feeding for young tea plantations and mature tea plants, as well as on the diagnostics of plants micronutrient requirements, on the application of sustainability indicators of tea plants to stress factors, and on evaluation of H. macrophylla Ser. drought resistance. The most adaptive cultivars of subtropical, southern fruit, ornamental crops and tea are identified and recommended for growing. They are characterized by increased resistance to stress factors in humid subtropics of Russia (for kiwi Monty cultivar, for filbert President cultivar originated by All-Russian Research Institute of Floriculture and Subtropical Crops; for peach Donetskii zheltii, Medin Red, Earley Red, Earley Blow, Larisa, Slavutich and Redhaven; for H. macrophylla Mariesii Perfecta, Draps Wonder и Madame Maurice Hamard. The data obtained relate to the fundamental physiological bases of adaptation to stress conditions, and in particular to plant adaptive features in specific conditions of Russian subtropics.

The twins K+ and Na+ in plants

In the earth's crust and in seawater, K+ and Na+ are by far the most available monovalent inorganic cations. Physico-chemically, K+ and Na+ are very similar, but K+ is widely used by plants whereas Na+ can easily reach toxic levels. Indeed, salinity is one of the major and growing threats to agricultural production. In this article, we outline the fundamental bases for the differences between Na+ and K+. We present the foundation of transporter selectivity and summarize findings on transporters of the HKT type, which are reported to transport Na+ and/or Na+ and K+, and may play a central role in Na+ utilization and detoxification in plants. Based on the structural differences in the hydration shells of K+ and Na+, and by comparison with sodium channels, we present an ad hoc mechanistic model that can account for ion permeation through HKTs.

Nature and consequences of non-covalent interactions between flavonoids and macronutrients in foods

Many of the potential health benefits of flavonoids have been associated with their specific chemical and biological properties including their ability to interact and bind non-covalently to macronutrients in foods. While flavonoid-protein interactions and binding have been the subject of intensive study, significantly less is understood about non-covalent interactions with carbohydrates and lipids. These interactions with macronutrients are likely to impact both the flavonoid properties in foods, such as their radical scavenging activity, and the food or beverage matrix itself, including their taste, texture and other sensorial properties. Overall, non-covalent binding of flavonoids with macronutrients is primarily driven by van der Waals interactions. From the flavonoid perspective, these interactions are modulated by characteristics such as degree of polymerization, molecular flexibility, number of external hydroxyl groups, or number of terminal galloyl groups. From the macronutrient standpoint, electrostatic and ionic interactions are generally predominant with carbohydrates, while hydrophobic interactions are generally predominant with lipids and mainly limited to interactions with flavonols. All of these interactions are involved in flavonoid-protein interactions. While primarily associated with undesirable characteristics in foods and beverages, such as astringency, negative impact on macronutrient digestibility and hazing, more recent efforts have attempted to leverage these interactions to develop controlled delivery systems or strategies to enhance flavonoids bioavailability. This paper aims at reviewing the fundamental bases for non-covalent interactions, their occurrence in food and beverage systems and their impact on the physico-chemical, organoleptic and some nutritional properties of food.

Chapter 3 - Neuroepidemiology and the epidemiology of viral infections of the nervous system

Viral infections result in a tremendous burden of neurologic illness worldwide. Although many viral etiologies of neurologic infectious disease have been recently controlled through vaccination and other public health measures, the emergence of new pathogens and the re-emergence of previously controlled pathogens remain significant global public health challenges. One of the fundamental bases for understanding the dynamics of viral nervous system infections is through epidemiology – the science of assessing patterns of disease in populations and the factors that influence these patterns. Neuroepidemiology is a discipline that applies epidemiologic principles and practices to neurologic disease. There are several characteristics of neurologic illness that necessitate the subdiscipline of neuroepidemiology. This chapter reviews some of the basic terms and concepts of neuroepidemiology, including epidemiologic analysis and studies. It then applies these concepts to infections of the nervous system, including encephalitis, aseptic meningitis, acute myelitis, prion diseases, and slow virus infections. The chapter then addresses the epidemiology of emerging and re-emerging viral neurologic diseases as well as the factors driving these emergences. The epidemiology of viral nervous system diseases will undoubtedly continue to change and expand, and as we gain a better understanding of this epidemiology and the pathophysiology of viral infections, this will hopefully lead to improved surveillance, diagnostic, treatment, and prevention strategies for these illnesses.