Interregional Variation Research Articles

Demographic Descriptions and Socio-economic Status of Tribal People Subsisting in Rarh Region of West Bengal, India

There is much discussion on the issue of forest-dependent livelihoods of tribes and their unique culture. It is essential to know the demographic structure of the tribal household and to understand the socio-economic status of the tribal household. The present study has attempted to analyze the demographic structure of the tribal household and to investigate the socio-economic status of the tribal household. The study mainly depends on the primary household survey. Only a base map has been collected from the secondary source. Purposive stratified random sampling technique has been used to collect primary data. A total of 150 households were surveyed. The findings indicate that the socio-economic status of the tribal household declined from east to west of the study region due to natural and human resources showing a declining trend towards the same direction. Also, the study compares inter-regional variation of different socio-economic factors. For their socio-economic empowerment, the tribal people deserve a very intensive development policy implementation with a bottom-up approach. The earlier studies are fragmented, haphazard and maximum works are on the cultural level, that’s why this study is very unique and important.

P161 Implementation of Outcome Measurement – Case Finnish IBD register

Abstract Background Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are becoming increasingly common. In Finland, during 2020, in total of 54 000 patients were diagnosed with IBD, and over 2000 new diagnoses are made every year. The Finnish university hospitals in collaboration with BCB Medical Ltd have built disease-specific registers to support and monitor the quality and effectiveness of health care. The IBD register (IBDR) collects data on the effectiveness of IBD treatments and their follow-up, where e.g. disease severity, treatment and outcomes are profoundly monitored. As combination, IBDR, MyHealth service, and IBD Symptom Diary enables patients’ health, functional status, experience and QoL monitoring to reach the health care goals. The service supports patient treatment pathway and makes designing more personalized treatments for IBD possible. Methods The IBDR is a web-based system integrated with electronic health record (EHR) systems, through which patient data is captured. Nationally convergent register allows for peer review of treatment outcomes. To complement registers’ clinical data, PROMs are collected with online MyHealth service to enable automatic, recurring data collection directly from the patient. The first questionnaire is activated 14 days before the visit, whereas new questionnaire is sent to the patient two months after visit, and then at time points according to the disease activity index calculated from the questionnaire. The disease activity is reflecting the severity of the IBD symptoms[1]. Captured measures are immediately available for clinician review. Results MyHealth for IBD is actively used in four Finnish university hospitals and two central hospitals with some inter-regional variation. By November 2021, the questionnaires were answered 31 506 times since the beginning of the implementation in 2019. The response rate is yearly increasing (Figure 1). Distribution of disease activity index among IBD patients in Tampere University Hospital is shown in Figure 2. Conclusion IBDR enables the evaluation and comparison of patient care quality, which is not accessible through EHR systems alone. Our electronic data collection model brings out the patients’ voice and saves resources since cyclic questionnaires are automatically send to patients, and answers are immediately reached by clinician. In future, international comparison and monitoring of treatment outcomes will be emphasized. As MyHealth deployment proceeds across hospitals, the availability of the patient reported outcomes data will increase. International research and peer development will continue to be an essential part of our activities. Reference 1. Puolanne A-M et al. Dig Dis Sci (2017) 62:3123–3130.

Economic Growth of Municipalities in Russia: Assessment of Unevenness in Time and Space

The unevenness of economic development is revealed at all levels of administrative-territorial administration and is an integral feature of the economic space as a whole. The relevance of the study is determined by the unresolved issues of ensuring long-term sustainable growth, determining the optimal level of unevenness that contributes to the effective growth of the entire economic system of the country. The purpose of the work is to identify the conditions for variation in the economic growth of Russian municipalities in space and time. The hypothesis of the study is that the uneven economic growth of municipalities is determined simultaneously by the contextual characteristics of the regions in which they are included, and the characteristics of individual time periods. The emphasis is on intergroup and intragroup differences determined by the determinants of time and the hierarchical relationship of administrative territorial units of management within a hierarchical linear model with cross-classified random effects. The study was conducted on the data of 2,016 municipalities in the context of 75 constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the period 2015-2019. The results of the study show that 68.4% of the total variation of municipalities in terms of the volume of shipped goods, works, services for 2015-2019. due to differences in municipalities, 18.9% - the characteristics of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, 0.1% - the determinants of time. The new results of the study are the concretization of the influence of well-known growth factors in relation to individual levels of the territorial hierarchy, as well as the rationale for the inter-level interaction of factors. It is shown that the relationship between investment and production at the municipal level should be considered in conjunction with the share of the extractive industry, and the relationship between wages and production, taking into account the share of agriculture in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The results obtained indicate the presence of regional features, manifested in intermunicipal and interregional spatio-temporal variation, and emphasize the importance of both municipal and regional factors for ensuring the growth of the economy of municipalities. They can be used in the development of recommendations for improving state policy in the field of municipal and regional government.

Antifungal Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Candida glabrata in Ibero-America.

In different regions worldwide, there exists an intra-and inter-regional variability in the rates of resistance to antifungal agents in Candida glabrata, highlighting the importance of understanding the epidemiology and antifungal susceptibility profiles of C. glabrata in each region. However, in some regions, such as Ibero-America, limited data are available in this context. Therefore, in the present study, a systematic review was conducted to determine the antifungal resistance in C. glabrata in Ibero-America over the last five years. A literature search for articles published between January 2015 and December 2020 was conducted without language restrictions, using the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and LILACS databases. The search terms that were used were “Candida glabrata” AND “antifungal resistance” AND “Country”, and 22 publications were retrieved from different countries. The use of azoles (fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, isavuconazole, ketoconazole, and miconazole) varied between 4.0% and 100%, and that of echinocandins (micafungin, caspofungin, and anidulafungin) between 1.1% and 10.0%. The limited information on this subject in the region of Ibero-America emphasizes the need to identify the pathogens at the species level and perform antifungal susceptibility tests that may lead to the appropriate use of these drugs and the optimal doses in order to avoid the development of antifungal resistance or multi-resistance.

Hadamard-encoded dual-voxel SPECIAL: Short-TE MRS acquired in two brain regions simultaneously using Hadamard encoding.

The spin-echo, full-intensity acquired localized (SPECIAL) sequence is a method for single-voxel, localized MRS in vivo with short TEs. In this study we modified the SPECIAL sequence to simultaneously record spectra from two volumes of interest. This new technique is called Hadamard-encoded dual-voxel SPECIAL (HD-SPECIAL). The SPECIAL sequence consists of a spin echo localized to a column of tissue, preceded by a slice-selective inversion pulse in alternating scans to invert a section of the column. Full localization is achieved by subtraction of the inversion-on scans from the inversion-off scans. In HD-SPECIAL, the two-step inversion scheme is replaced by a four-step Hadamard-encoded scheme involving single-band and dual-band inversion pulses to select two regions of the spin-echo column. By appropriate Hadamard combination of the four acquired shots, spectra can be reconstructed from both desired regions. This approach does not rely on parallel imaging reconstruction. Using a 3T scanner, HD-SPECIAL localization is demonstrated both in phantoms and in the human brain in vivo, and the performance of HD-SPECIAL is assessed by comparing with the conventional SPECIAL sequence. Phantom and in vivo measurements show excellent agreement between measures from HD-SPECIAL and SPECIAL sequences. Relative to consecutive SPECIAL measurements from two regions, HD-SPECIAL reduces the total scan time 2-fold with minimal penalty in terms of spectral quality or SNR. The HD-SPECIAL sequence enables reliable acquisition of MR spectra simultaneously from two regions at 3 T, offering the potential to study interregional variations in metabolite concentrations.

Unpacking the WEF Nexus Index: A Regional and Sub-Regional Analysis of Northern Canada

The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus has emerged as a leading tool for assessing integrated resource management strategies and for monitoring progress towards the WEF-related Sustainable Development Goals. A notable outcome of WEF nexus research has been the calculation of the global WEF Nexus Index, which provides a quantitative ranking of country-level WEF security for 170 nations. As valuable as this ranking is, the aggregation of country-level WEF data obscures regional differences, particularly in remote regions that are sparsely populated and differ in geography, economy, and climate. This has proven to be the case for northern Canada, which despite representing 40% of Canada’s total land area, accounts for less than 1% of the Canadian population, most of whom are Indigenous. Whereas Canada ranks 5th globally in their WEF security, northern Canada, if treated independently, would rank 67th on the global WEF Nexus Index rankings. Evaluating each WEF sector independently, northern Canada would rank 22nd in water security, 90th in energy security, and 113th in food security. Our results further reveal that considerable inter-regional variability exists between northern territories and provinces, where Nunavik would rank 54th, Northwest Territories 67th, Yukon 69th, Labrador 80th, and Nunavut 107th on the global index. By highlighting these differences, we hope that this research can aid decision-makers in developing informed, regionally specific, and integrative resource policy responses that remedy rather than amplify existing WEF-related inequalities.

P.G12C KRAS mutation prevalence in non-small cell lung cancer: Contribution from interregional variability and population substructures among Hispanics

BackgroundThe KRAS exon 2 p. G12C mutation in patients with lung adenocarcinoma has been increasing in relevance due to the development and effectiveness of new treatment medications. Studies around different populations indicate that regional variability between ethnic groups and ancestries could play an essential role in developing this molecular alteration within lung cancer. MethodsIn a prospective and retrospective cohort study on samples from lung adenocarcinoma from 1000 patients from different administrative regions in Colombia were tested for the KRAS p.G12C mutation. An analysis of STR populations markers was conducted to identify substructure contributions to mutation prevalence. ResultsIncluded were 979 patients with a national mean frequency for the KRAS exon 2 p.G12C mutation of 7.97% (95%CI 6.27–9.66%). Variation between regions was also identified with Antioquia reaching a positivity value of 12.7% (95%CI 9.1–16.3%) in contrast to other regions such as Bogota DC (Capital region) with 5.4% (2.7–8.2%) and Bolivar with 2.4% (95%CI 0–7.2%) (p-value = 0.00262). Furthermore, Short tandem repeat population substructures were found for eight markers that strongly yielded association with KRAS exon 2 p.G12C frequency reaching an adjusted R2 of 0.945 and a p-value of < 0.0001. ConclusionsWidespread identification of KRAS exon 2 p.G12C mutations, especially in cases where NGS is not easily achieved is feasible at a population based level that can characterize regional and national patterns of mutation status. Furthermore, this type of mutation prevalence follows a population substructure pattern that can be easily determined by population and ancestral markers such as STR.

Abstract 10737: The Impact of Diabetes on Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Outcomes in STEMI Patients: The Asia-Pacific Evaluation of Cardiovascular Therapies (ASPECT) Collaboration

Introduction: Diabetes is associated with poorer outcomes and increased complication rates in STEMI patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Regional variations have been described but data are notably lacking in the Asia-Pacific region. Aims: We report the associations of diabetes with clinical characteristics and outcomes in STEMI patients undergoing PCI across the Asia-Pacific. Methods: The Asia Pacific Evaluation of Cardiovascular Therapies (ASPECT) collaboration consists of data from the registries of contributing PCI centres across Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Clinical characteristics, lesion characteristics, and outcomes were provided for STEMI patients. Key outcomes included overall mortality at 30 days, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; defined as peri-procedural myocardial infarctions, emergency CABG, stent thrombosis, target vessel revascularisation, cerebrovascular events, or death) at 30 days. Results: A total of 12,144 STEMI patients (mean(SD) age 59.3(12.3)) were included, of which 3912 (32.2%) had diabetes. Patients with diabetes were likely to be older, have a history of cardiovascular disease and previous acute coronary events (all p&lt;0.05). They were also more likely to present with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, require mechanical ventricular support and have lower estimated ejection fractions (all p&lt;0.05). With regards to lesion characteristics, diabetic patients had a higher rate of multi-vessel disease, type C ACC-AHA lesions and diffuse lesions &gt;20mm (all p&lt;0.05). After adjustment for demographics, clinical presentation, lesion characteristics and procedural factors, diabetes was significantly associated with increased 30 day mortality (9.6%vs 5.5%, OR 1.70 (95% CI 1.33-2.18)) and 30-day MACE rates (13.3% vs 8.6%, OR 1.68 (95% CI 1.4-2.02)). Further analyses investigated inter-regional variations in this association. Conclusions: Diabetes portends poorer clinical outcomes in STEMI patients undergoing PCI in the Asia-Pacific. The development of effective preventative measures and interventional strategies targeted at this high-risk group is crucial.

The Microbiota of Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus Ticks Collected from a Highly Populated City of Eastern Europe.

Recent investigations have examined, through sequencing the V6 region of 16S rRNA gene, the microbiota of questing Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks collected from rural areas of Central (Dnipropetrovs'k (region D) and Poltava (region P)) and Northeastern (Kharkiv (region K)) Ukraine. In addition to defining the bacterial microbiota of both tick species, the previous investigations also revealed a high degree of inter-sex and inter-regional variations in the tick microbiota. As a continuation of the two studies, the present investigation has analyzed individual microbiota of questing I. ricinus (n = 50) and D. reticulatus (n = 50) ticks originating from Kyiv, the largest city of Ukraine. The Kyiv tick microbiota were compared between males and females for each tick species. Additionally, a cross-regional analysis was performed to compare the microbiota of Kyiv ticks to those from regions D, K, and P. Numerous statistically significant inter-sex and inter-regional variations were detected when alpha diversity, beta diversity, the bacterial relative and differential abundances were assessed. The overall results demonstrated that the microbiota of Kyiv ticks were statistically different compared to the ticks of the other three regions. Besides existing climatic and geographical differences between the four regions, the authors hypothesize that various anthropogenic factors of the megapolis (e.g., animal species translocation, land management, ecology) could have contributed to the distinct microbiota of Kyiv ticks observed in this study.

P70.01 KRAS G12C Mutations Among NSCLC Patients Present With a High Intrerregional Variation, Indicating a Population Substructure

Molecular profiles of Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients differ regarding sex, ethnic background, age, and exposure to tobacco smoke, among others. By extensively characterizing specific NSCLC populations, resource allocation and new molecular target exploration become more feasible. KRAS G12C mutations have become treatable in the last months, warranting a large-scale estimation of mutation prevalence and identifying possible interregional variability in its positivity, as observed in other molecular targets To determine geographical discrepancy with regards to KRAS G12C mutation status, patients with advanced/metastatic NSCLC, previously identified as EGFR (-) and ALK (-), were evaluated. Samples were collected from across the national territory of Colombia, warranting representation of several administrative regions. Mutational status was determined by ddPCR on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. A total of 1,002 KRAS G12C evaluations were conducted across 26 of the 32 administrative regions, identifying 80 positive samples, yielding a national prevalence of 8%. (95%CI 6.3-9.7%) By excluding regions without a representative number of individuals, 979 samples across 18 administrative regions were included in the analyses. National positivity reached 7.97% (95%CI 6.27-9.66%). Three administrative regions presented with prevalence’s that differed from the national average. Bolivar (41 samples) had a 4.19% of positivity (95%CI 0-7.2%), similar to Bogota DC (Capital Region) with 259 samples and 5.4% of mutation prevalence (95%CI 2.7-8.2%). On the other hand, Antioquia (338 samples) debuted with 12.7% of KRAS G12C mutated samples (95%CI 9.1-16.3%) with a statistically significant difference among the first two and the last (p-value = 0.00262). Among NSCLC patients, interregional variability regarding KRAS G12C mutation frequencies indicates a distribution substructure, indicating that population composition and ethnicity could lead to varying prevalence in the same nation.

Vulnerability and resilience of the European health care systems in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic: a framework for the comparative analysis of problematic sentinel cases

The main results in terms of inter-regional and intra-regional variations of the application of the concept of "health macro-region" are presented in the first part of the article in order to show how the European health care systems have differently coped with the COVID-19 outbreak. Given the high levels of intra-regional variation found, it seemed appropriate to also add an analysis by country in order to identify those "sentinel cases", given their alert value, which recorded the worst ratio between the infection rates (cases/population) and the lethality rates (deaths/cases). In order to explore the possible reasons behind the problematic coping with the pandemic of these "sentinel cases", a conceptual framework for the analysis of vulnerability, resilience and their governance in terms of sustainability of health care systems is developed in the second part, hoping its application could represent a useful contribution for best-practice solutions that could guide the management of future pandemics.

Dynamical downscaling projections of extreme temperature for the major river basins in China under shared socioeconomic pathway scenarios

AbstractThis study presents an analysis of the changes in extreme temperatures over major river basins in China under different shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios based on a set of dynamical downscaling over CORDEX East Asia, performed with the regional climate model RegCM4 at a resolution of 25 km, driven by the global climate model FGOALS‐g3. The results indicated that the dynamical downscaling tended to reduce the warm (cold) biases of the present‐day daily maximum (TXx) and minimum temperatures (TNn) simulated by FGOALS‐g3. Under the SSP scenarios, substantial increases in TXx and TNn and the number of warm days and warm nights throughout China were projected by both models. The average increase in TXx in most of the river basins ranged from 1 to 2°C under the SSP1‐2.6 scenario, from 2 to 3°C under the SSP2‐4.5 scenario, and from 3 to 5°C under the SSP5‐8.5 scenario. Reductions in the number of cold days and cold nights were projected across China, but these reductions were smaller than the increases in the number of warm days and warm nights. The interregional variability in the increases in TXx and TNn was more pronounced in the SSP5‐8.5 scenario and the RegCM4 model than in the other SSP scenarios and the FGOALS‐g3 model, respectively. Larger percentages of the land area and population of China would be affected by greater increases in extreme high temperatures and TNn. Under the SSP2‐4.5 (SSP1‐2.6) scenario, 20–65% (50–95%) of the impacts of extreme temperatures under the SSP5‐8.5 scenario could be avoided across most regions in China. The avoided impacts of warm days and warm nights were greater than those of the other extreme temperature indices. More of the impacts of extreme temperatures could be avoided in the Huai River basin, Yellow River basin, Hai River basin, and Northwest Interior River basin than in the other river basins in China.

Roles of meteorological factors in inter-regional variations of fine and coarse PM concentrations over the Republic of Korea

This study examined meteorological effects on airborne concentrations of particulate matter (PM) of <2.5 μm (PM2.5) and 2.5–10 μm (PM2.5–10) diameter in 16 regions of Korea, including seven metropolitan cities and nine provinces. Regional distributions of mean PM concentrations indicate that PM2.5 concentrations were higher in provinces than in metropolitan cities, while PM2.5–10 concentrations were higher in the western than eastern regions, in the season with the highest concentrations during 2015–2019. Concentrations of PM of diameter <10 μm (PM10), the sum of fine and coarse PMs, decreased over all regions during 2001–2019, particularly in Seoul, the capital of Korea. Mechanisms by which meteorological factors such as air temperature, wind, humidity, and air pressure control PM concentrations in Korea vary with region, season, and PM size. Regardless of emissions, >25% of PM2.5 variability can be explained by Random Forest regression with only atmospheric variables, compared to little accountability for PM2.5–10. The two most important variables that affect PM2.5 variability are surface air temperature and wind. Transboundary transport controlled by atmospheric factors causes fine PM from northeast and east China to affect PM2.5 variations a day after emissions in the northern-central and southern regions of Korea, respectively; and coarse PM from east China affects PM2.5–10 variations in Korea on the same day. The present results suggest that local governments of regions with high PM concentrations should strengthen regulation policies with a long-term perspective, considering future changes in atmospheric conditions that may cause increases in PM levels.

Raw Animal Meats as Potential Sources of Clostridium difficile in Al-Jouf, Saudi Arabia.

Clostridium difficile present in feces of food animals may contaminate their meats and act as a potential source of C. difficile infection (CDI) to humans. C. difficile resistance to antibiotics, its production of toxins and spores play major roles in the pathogenesis of CDI. This is the first study to evaluate C. difficile prevalence in retail raw animal meats, its antibiotics susceptibilities and toxigenic activities in Al-Jouf, Saudi Arabia. Totally, 240 meat samples were tested. C. difficile was identified by standard microbiological and biochemical methods. Vitek-2 compact system confirmed C. difficile isolates were 15/240 (6.3%). Toxins A/B were not detected by Xpect C. difficile toxin A/B tests. Although all isolates were susceptible to vancomycin and metronidazole, variable degrees of reduced susceptibilities to moxifloxacin, clindamycin or tetracycline antibiotics were detected by Epsilon tests. C. difficile strains with reduced susceptibility to antibiotics should be investigated. Variability between the worldwide reported C. difficile contamination levels could be due to absence of a gold standard procedure for its isolation. Establishment of a unified testing algorithm for C. difficile detection in food products is definitely essential to evaluate the inter-regional variation in its prevalence on national and international levels. Proper use of antimicrobials during animal husbandry is crucial to control the selective drug pressure on C. difficile strains associated with food animals. Investigating the protective or pathogenic potential of non-toxigenic C. difficile strains and the possibility of gene transfer from certain toxigenic/ antibiotics-resistant to non-toxigenic/antibiotics-sensitive strains, respectively, should be worthy of attention.

The European Health Systems Facing the Covid-19 Outbreak: A Macro-Regional Approach

The article proposes the concept of ‘health macro-region’ as a comprehensive contextual framework for comparative analysis of European health systems beyond the conventional ‘methodological nationalism’ in comparative research based on national analyses. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in five European health macro-regions is then examined by an analysis of the epidemiological data to assess whether there have been significant differences in the incidence of the pandemic, assuming some structural connections with the responses given by the different health care systems. The significant inter-regional variations detected confirm the heuristic validity of the concept of ‘health macro-region’ but, at the same time, reveal equally significant intra-regional variations highlighted by the coefficients of variation.

Projected changes of regional lake hydrologic characteristics in response to 21st century climate change

ABSTRACT Inland lakes are socially and ecologically important components of many regional landscapes. Exploring lake responses to plausible future climate scenarios can provide important information needed to inform stakeholders of likely effects of hydrologic changes on these waterbodies in coming decades. To assess potential climate effects on lake hydrology, we combined a previously published spatially explicit, processed-based hydrologic modeling framework implemented over the lake-rich landscape of the Northern Highlands Lake District within the United States with an ensemble of climate change scenarios for the 2050s (2041–2070) and 2080s (2071–2100). Model results quantify the effects of climate change on water budgets and lake stage elevations for 3692 lakes and highlight the importance of landscape and hydrologic setting for the response of specific lake types to climate change. All future climate projections resulted in loss of ice cover and snowpack as well as increased evaporation, but variability in climate projections (warmer conditions, wet winters combined with wet or dry summers) interacted with lake characteristics and landscape position to produce variable lake hydrologic changes. Water levels for drainage lakes (lakes with substantial surface water inflows and outflows) showed nearly no change, whereas minimum water levels for seepage lakes (minimal surface water fluxes) decreased by an average of up to 2.64 m by the end of the 21st century. Our physically based modeling approach is parsimonious and computationally efficient and can be applied to other lake-rich regions to investigate interregional variability in lake hydrologic response to future climate scenarios.

Structural Connectivity Gradients of the Temporal Lobe Serve as Multiscale Axes of Brain Organization and Cortical Evolution.

The temporal lobe is implicated in higher cognitive processes and is one of the regions that underwent substantial reorganization during primate evolution. Its functions are instantiated, in part, by the complex layout of its structural connections. Here, we identified low-dimensional representations of structural connectivity variations in human temporal cortex and explored their microstructural underpinnings and associations to macroscale function. We identified three eigenmodes which described gradients in structural connectivity. These gradients reflected inter-regional variations in cortical microstructure derived from quantitative magnetic resonance imaging and postmortem histology. Gradient-informed models accurately predicted macroscale measures of temporal lobe function. Furthermore, the identified gradients aligned closely with established measures of functional reconfiguration and areal expansion between macaques and humans, highlighting their potential role in shaping temporal lobe function throughout primate evolution. Findings were replicated in several datasets. Our results provide robust evidence for three axes of structural connectivity in human temporal cortex with consistent microstructural underpinnings and contributions to large-scale brain network function.

Metagenomic analysis of individually analyzed ticks from Eastern Europe demonstrates regional and sex-dependent differences in the microbiota of Ixodes ricinus

Understanding the microbial ecology of disease vectors may be useful for development of novel strategies aimed at preventing transmission of vector-borne pathogens. Although Ixodes ricinus is one of the most important tick vectors, the microbiota of this tick has been examined for only limited parts of the globe. To date, the microbiota of I. ricinus ticks collected from Eastern Europe has not been defined. The objective of this study was to compare microbiota of I. ricinus ticks within (males vs. females) and between collection sites that represented three administrative regions of Ukraine, Dnipropetrovs'k (D), Kharkiv (K), and Poltava (P). A total of 89 questing I. ricinus adults were collected from region D (number of ticks, n = 29; 14 males and 15 females), region K (n = 30; 15 males and 15 females) and region P (n = 30; 15 males and 15 females). Each tick was subjected to metagenomic analysis by targeting the V6 region of 16S rRNA gene through the Illumina 4000 Hiseq sequencing. The alpha diversity analysis demonstrated that, regardless of tick sex, patterns of bacterial diversity in ticks from regions K and P were similar, whereas the microbiota of region D ticks was quite distinct. A number of inter-regional differences were detected by most beta diversity metrics for both males and females. The inter-regional variations were also supported by the principal coordinate analysis based on the unweighted UniFrac metrics with three region-specific clusters of female ticks and one distinct cluster of region D males. Lastly, numerous region- and sex-specific differences were also identified in the relative abundance of various bacterial taxa. Collectively, the present findings demonstrate that the microbiota of the I. ricinus tick can exhibit a high degree of variation between tick sexes and geographical regions.

Inter-regional BOLD signal variability is an organizational feature of functional brain networks

Neuronal variability patterns promote the formation and organization of neural circuits. Macroscale similarities in regional variability patterns may therefore be linked to the strength and topography of inter-regional functional connections. To assess this relationship, we used multi-echo resting-state fMRI and investigated macroscale connectivity-variability associations in 154 adult humans (86 women; mean age = 22yrs). We computed inter-regional measures of moment-to-moment BOLD signal variability and related them to inter-regional functional connectivity. Region pairs that showed stronger functional connectivity also showed similar BOLD signal variability patterns, independent of inter-regional distance and structural similarity. Connectivity-variability associations were predominant within all networks and followed a hierarchical spatial organization that separated sensory, motor and attention systems from limbic, default and frontoparietal control association networks. Results were replicated in a second held-out fMRI run. These findings suggest that macroscale BOLD signal variability is an organizational feature of large-scale functional networks, and shared inter-regional BOLD signal variability may underlie macroscale brain network dynamics.

The effect of medical social and social economic factors on development of disability in children

The trends in economic situation requires periodic repetition of studies concerning qualitative evaluation of impact of medical, social and economic factors on population health at the regional level. The purpose of the study is to establish the relationship between the disability of children and the main medical, social and socioeconomic indices in the Russian Federation. The materials and methods. The official data on prevalence of disability in children of 0-17 years and the level of basic medical, social and socioeconomic indices were analyzed in the context of 83 subjects of the Russian Federation in 2017-2019. The demographic and epidemiological data and data on medical care support of children population were used as medical and social indices. The socioeconomic indices (unemployment rate, cash income, housing conditions and consumption of basic food products were used as the socioeconomic indices. The Spearman rank correlation method was used to determine the particular relationships. The results. It was established that the significant inter-regional variability of disability of children both in the Federal Okrugs and the subjects of The Russian Federation persists. The relationship of various degrees of intensity between the prevalence of disability of children in the subjects of the Russian Federation and many medical, social and socioeconomic factors such as demographic indices (fertility, mortality); level of primary and total morbidity of children of all age groups; medical care support (medical personnel, pediatric beds); unemployment level; average per capita cash income; percentage of population with cash incomes below cost of living; total area of residential premises that is on average per inhabitant; share of young families registered as needing housing from total number of families with children aged under 18 years; consumption of cheaper food. The conclusion. The obtained results are to be taken into account in the development of programs of preventing disability of children avoiding to place full responsibility on the health care system only.