Dataset Information

A few bad apples: a model of disease influenced agent behaviour in a heterogeneous contact environment.

ABSTRACT: For diseases that infect humans or livestock, transmission dynamics are at least partially dependent on human activity and therefore human behaviour. However, the impact of human behaviour on disease transmission is relatively understudied, especially in the context of heterogeneous contact structures such as described by a social network. Here, we use a strategic game, coupled with a simple disease model, to investigate how strategic agent choices impact the spread of disease over a contact network. Using beliefs that are based on disease status and that build up over time, agents choose actions that stochastically determine disease spread on the network. An agent's disease status is therefore a function of both his own and his neighbours actions. The effect of disease on agents is modelled by a heterogeneous payoff structure. We find that the combination of network shape and distribution of payoffs has a non-trivial impact on disease prevalence, even if the mean payoff remains the same. An important scenario occurs when a small percentage (called noncooperators) have little incentive to avoid disease. For diseases that are easily acquired when taking a risk, then even when good behavior can lead to disease eradication, a small increase in the percentage of noncooperators (less than 5%) can yield a large (up to 25%) increase in prevalence.

SUBMITTER: Enright J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4348343 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A few bad apples: a model of disease influenced agent behaviour in a heterogeneous contact environment.

Enright Jessica J Kao Rowland R RR

PloS one 20150303 3

For diseases that infect humans or livestock, transmission dynamics are at least partially dependent on human activity and therefore human behaviour. However, the impact of human behaviour on disease transmission is relatively understudied, especially in the context of heterogeneous contact structures such as described by a social network. Here, we use a strategic game, coupled with a simple disease model, to investigate how strategic agent choices impact the spread of disease over a contact net ...[more]

PMID: 25734661

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Project description:Abstract Objectives Assess the perceived influence and value of a participatory video intervention among beneficiaries. Methods A 2019 cluster randomized control trial (clinicaltrials.gov NCT03704649) randomly selected 20 schools in one Ghanaian rural district and enrolled adolescent girls, 13–16 y old. All schools received a curriculum about adolescent nutrition. The 181 girls in the 10 intervention schools also received participatory video workshops to increase nutrition literacy. The Most Significant Change (MSC) method was used to involve adolescents in the intervention arm and local stakeholders to identify and evaluate the value of the participatory video experience. Project staff collected 116 stories of change from adolescents. The stories described shifts in 4 domains: participant, peer, and family behavior and structural changes in the school/community. The lead researcher and project staff developed and used a selection rubric to identify stories that reflected heightened nutrition literacy; 14 stories were chosen. Project staff then conducted in-depth interviews with the 14 adolescents to elaborate on story details and perceived resonance. Finally, a panel of local stakeholders reviewed and assessed the 14 stories and chose four MSC stories, one for each domain. A separate thematic analysis by the lead researcher identified emerging patterns of motivation and action across the 14 interviews. Results The 4 MSC stories revealed how an adolescent: 1) raised and saved money to buy herself iron-rich foods when parents would not comply, 2) encouraged neighbours to eat iron-rich foods 3) taught a father to weed around iron-rich foods on the farm, and 4) encouraged a sister to sell diverse foods at her school. Local stakeholders valued stories that addressed common community nutrition issues in a creative and sustainable way, whereas adolescents prioritized stories that showed a change in health outcomes. Conclusions Participatory evaluation highlights valuation of local stakeholders and beneficiaries, perceptions that are vital to better understand the influence and reach of interventions. The MSC technique can reveal unexpected benefits of an intervention. Funding Sources The Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship, funded by IDRC and SSHRC

Project description:Cell migration is essential in animal development, homeostasis, and disease progression, but many questions remain unanswered about how this process is controlled. While many kinds of individual cell movements have been characterized, less effort has been directed towards understanding how clusters of cells migrate collectively through heterogeneous, cellular environments. To explore this, we have focused on the migration of the border cells during Drosophila egg development. In this case, a cluster of different cell types coalesce and traverse as a group between large cells, called nurse cells, in the center of the egg chamber. We have developed a new model for this collective cell migration based on the forces of adhesion, repulsion, migration and stochastic fluctuation to generate the movement of discrete cells. We implement the model using Identical Math Cells, or IMCs. IMCs can each represent one biological cell of the system, or can be aggregated using increased adhesion forces to model the dynamics of larger biological cells. The domain of interest is filled with IMCs, each assigned specific biophysical properties to mimic a diversity of cell types. Using this system, we have successfully simulated the migration of the border cell cluster through an environment filled with larger cells, which represent nurse cells. Interestingly, our simulations suggest that the forces utilized in this model are sufficient to produce behaviors of the cluster that are observed in vivo, such as rotation. Our framework was developed to capture a heterogeneous cell population, and our implementation strategy allows for diverse, but precise, initial position specification over a three- dimensional domain. Therefore, we believe that this model will be useful for not only examining aspects of Drosophila oogenesis, but also for modeling other two or three-dimensional systems that have multiple cell types and where investigating the forces between cells is of interest.

Dataset Information

A few bad apples: a model of disease influenced agent behaviour in a heterogeneous contact environment.

Publications

A few bad apples: a model of disease influenced agent behaviour in a heterogeneous contact environment.

Similar Datasets

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