Real-Time Forecast of Influenza Outbreak Using Dynamic Network Marker Based on Minimum Spanning Tree
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Yang K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7547339 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:One of the challenges of brain network analysis is to directly compare network organization between subjects, irrespective of the number or strength of connections. In this study, we used minimum spanning tree (MST; a unique, acyclic subnetwork with a fixed number of connections) analysis to characterize the human brain network to create an empirical reference network. Such a reference network could be used as a null model of connections that form the backbone structure of the human brain. We analyzed the MST in three diffusion-weighted imaging datasets of healthy adults. The MST of the group mean connectivity matrix was used as the empirical null-model. The MST of individual subjects matched this reference MST for a mean 58%-88% of connections, depending on the analysis pipeline. Hub nodes in the MST matched with previously reported locations of hub regions, including the so-called rich club nodes (a subset of high-degree, highly interconnected nodes). Although most brain network studies have focused primarily on cortical connections, cortical-subcortical connections were consistently present in the MST across subjects. Brain network efficiency was higher when these connections were included in the analysis, suggesting that these tracts may be utilized as the major neural communication routes. Finally, we confirmed that MST characteristics index the effects of brain aging. We conclude that the MST provides an elegant and straightforward approach to analyze structural brain networks, and to test network topological features of individual subjects in comparison to empirical null models.
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Project description:BackgroundItaly surpassed 1.5 million confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections on November 26, as its death toll rose rapidly in the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak which is a heavy burden on hospitals. Therefore, it is necessary to forecast and early warn the potential outbreak of COVID-19 in the future, which facilitates the timely implementation of appropriate control measures. However, real-time prediction of COVID-19 transmission and outbreaks is usually challenging because of its complexity intertwining both biological systems and social systems.MethodsBy mining the dynamical information from region networks and the short-term time series data, we developed a data-driven model, the minimum-spanning-tree-based dynamical network marker (MST-DNM), to quantitatively analyze and monitor the dynamical process of COVID-19 spreading. Specifically, we collected the historical information of daily cases caused by COVID-19 infection in Italy from February 24, 2020 to November 28, 2020. When applied to the region network of Italy, the MST-DNM model has the ability to monitor the whole process of COVID-19 transmission and successfully identify the early-warning signals. The interpretability and practical significance of our model are explained in detail in this study.ResultsThe study on the dynamical changes of Italian region networks reveals the dynamic of COVID-19 transmission at the network level. It is noteworthy that the driving force of MST-DNM only relies on small samples rather than years of time series data. Therefore, it is of great potential in public surveillance for emerging infectious diseases.
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Project description:This article proposes a benchmark instance generator for the Hop-Constrained Minimum Spanning Tree problem, the Delay-Constrained Minimum Spanning Tree problem, and their bi-objective variants. The generator is developed in C++ and does not uses external libraries, being understandable, easy-to-read, and easy-to-use. Furthermore, the generator employs five parameters that makes possible to generate personalized benchmark instances for these problems. We also describe 640 benchmark instances that were previously used in computational experiments in the literature. Lastly, we include raw results obtained from computational experiments with the described benchmark instances. We hope that the data introduced in this article can foster the development and the evaluation of new algorithms for solving constrained minimum spanning tree problems.
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Project description:PurposeTo develop a rapid and accurate MRI phase-unwrapping technique for challenging phase topographies encountered at high magnetic fields, around metal implants, or postoperative cavities, which is sufficiently fast to be applied to large-group studies including Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping and functional MRI (with phase-based distortion correction).MethodsThe proposed path-following phase-unwrapping algorithm, ROMEO, estimates the coherence of the signal both in space-using MRI magnitude and phase information-and over time, assuming approximately linear temporal phase evolution. This information is combined to form a quality map that guides the unwrapping along a 3D path through the object using a computationally efficient minimum spanning tree algorithm. ROMEO was tested against the two most commonly used exact phase-unwrapping methods, PRELUDE and BEST PATH, in simulated topographies and at several field strengths: in 3T and 7T in vivo human head images and 9.4T ex vivo rat head images.ResultsROMEO was more reliable than PRELUDE and BEST PATH, yielding unwrapping results with excellent temporal stability for multi-echo or multi-time-point data. It does not require image masking and delivers results within seconds, even in large, highly wrapped multi-echo data sets (eg, 9 seconds for a 7T head data set with 31 echoes and a 208 × 208 × 96 matrix size).ConclusionOverall, ROMEO was both faster and more accurate than PRELUDE and BEST PATH, delivering exact results within seconds, which is well below typical image acquisition times, enabling potential on-console application.
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Project description:Identifying early and non-invasive biomarkers to detect individuals in the earliest stages of the Alzheimer's disease continuum is crucial. As a result, electrophysiology and plasma biomarkers are emerging as great candidates in this pursuit due to their low invasiveness. This is the first magnetoencephalography study to assess the relationship between minimum spanning tree parameters, an alternative to overcome the comparability and thresholding problem issues characteristic of conventional brain network analyses, and plasma phosphorylated tau231 levels in unimpaired individuals, with different risk levels of Alzheimer's disease. Seventy-six individuals with available magnetoencephalography recordings and phosphorylated tau231 plasma determination were included. The minimum spanning tree for the theta, alpha and beta bands for each subject was obtained, and the leaf fraction, tree hierarchy and diameter were calculated. To study the relationship between these topological parameters and phosphorylated tau231, we performed correlation analyses, for the whole sample and considering the two risk sub-groups separately. Increasing concentrations of phosphorylated tau231 were associated with greater leaf fraction and tree hierarchy values, along with lower diameter values, for the alpha and theta frequency bands. These results emerged for the whole sample and the higher risk group, but not for the lower risk group. Our results indicate that the network topology of cognitively unimpaired individuals with elevated plasma phosphorylated tau231 levels, a marker of Alzheimer's disease pathology and amyloid-β accumulation, is already altered, shifting towards a more integrated network increasing its vulnerability and hub-dependency, mostly in the alpha band. This is indicated by increases in leaf fraction and tree hierarchy, along with reductions in diameter. These results match the initial trajectory proposed by theoretical models of disease progression and network disruption and suggest that changes in brain function and organization begin early on.
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