The evolution and future of influenza pandemic preparedness

The influenza virus is a global threat to human health causing unpredictable yet recurring pandemics, the last four emerging over the course of a hundred years. As our knowledge of influenza virus evolution, distribution, and transmission has increased, paths to pandemic preparedness have become apparent. In the 1950s, the World Health Organization (WHO) established a global influenza surveillance network that is now composed of institutions in 122 member states. This and other surveillance networks monitor circulating influenza strains in humans and animal reservoirs and are primed to detect influenza strains with pandemic potential. Both the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the WHO have also developed pandemic risk assessment tools that evaluate specific aspects of emerging influenza strains to develop a systematic process of determining research and funding priorities according to the risk of emergence and potential impact. Here, we review the history of influenza pandemic preparedness and the current state of preparedness, and we propose additional measures for improvement. We also comment on the intersection between the influenza pandemic preparedness network and the current SARS-CoV-2 crisis. We must continually evaluate and revise our risk assessment and pandemic preparedness plans and incorporate new information gathered from research and global crises.Subject terms: Influenza virus, Infectious diseases     

Formation of low-temperature deformation-induced segregations of nickel in Fe–Ni-based austenitic alloys

ABSTRACT

The authors present the results of an investigation in Fe–Ni-Cr austenitic alloys of the low-temperature deformation-induced segregations of nickel that form in the micro regions being (i) located close to grain- and subgrain boundaries and (ii) characteristic of the concentration and magnetic inhomogeneities indicated by the appearance of a dark diffraction contrast at the electron diffraction patterns taken from these regions typical (at the same time) of an enhanced value of Curie temperature. The observed effects were connected with the micro distortions caused by the local change of lattice parameter because of an increase in nickel concentration, as well as in the result of a magnetostriction dilatation. Using methods of the X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS) and atomic-probe body-section radiography (tomography – APT) has made it possible to determine the borders of those regions of austenite that were characteristic of an enhanced concentration of nickel in the fields of the localisation of a deformation-induced segregation of nickel in the vicinity of grain (subgrain) boundaries of austenitic alloys of the types Fe–13Cr–30Ni and Fe–37Ni–3Ti.     

PTML modeling for peptide discovery: in silico design of non-hemolytic peptides with antihypertensive activity

Molecular Diversity - Hypertension is a medical condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Despite the high efficacy of the current antihypertensive drugs, they are associated with...     

On the Order of Magnitude of the Double Fourier Transform

Mathematical Notes -