The interactions of people using public transportation in large metropolitan areas may help spread an influenza epidemic. An agent-based model computer simulation of New York City's (NYC's) five boroughs was developed that incorporated subway ridership into a Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered disease model framework. The model contains a total of 7,847,465 virtual people. Each person resides in one of the five boroughs of NYC and has a set of socio-demographic characteristics and daily behaviors that include age, sex, employment status, income, occupation, and household location and membership. The model simulates the interactions of subway riders with their workplaces, schools, households, and community activities. It was calibrated using historical data from the 1957-1958 influenza pandemics and from NYC travel surveys. The surveys were necessary to enable inclusion of subway riders into the model. The model results estimate that if influenza did occur in NYC with the characteristics of the 1957-1958 pandemic, 4% of transmissions would occur on the subway. This suggests that interventions targeted at subway riders would be relatively ineffective in containing the epidemic. A number of hypothetical examples demonstrate this feature. This information could prove useful to public health officials planning responses to epidemics.

BackgroundDiet and feeding patterns during the infant, toddler, and preschool years affect nutrient adequacy or excess during critical developmental periods. Understanding food consumption, feeding practices, and nutrient adequacy or excess during these periods is essential to establishing appropriate recommendations aimed at instilling healthy eating behaviors in children.ObjectiveThe objective of the 2016 Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS 2016) was to update our knowledge on the diets and feeding patterns of young children and to provide new data in related areas such as feeding behaviors, sleep, physical activity, and screen use. This article describes the study design, data collection methods, 24-h dietary recall (24-h recall) protocol, and sample characteristics of FITS 2016.MethodsFITS 2016 is a cross-sectional study of caregivers of children aged <4 y living in the 50 states and Washington, DC. Data collection occurred between June 2015 and May 2016. A recruitment interview (respondent and child characteristics, feeding practices, physical activity, screen use, and sleep habits) was completed by telephone or online. This was followed by a feeding practices questionnaire and the 24-h recall conducted by telephone. A second 24-h recall was collected for a random subsample of 25% of the total sampled population.ResultsAmong the 4830 recruited households with an age-eligible child, 3248 (67%) completed the 24-h recall. The respondents were more likely to be white, less likely to be Hispanic, and more highly educated than the US population of adults in households with a child <4 y of age. The sample was subsequently calibrated and weighted, and the distribution of respondents was compared with known population distributions.ConclusionsFITS 2016 provides data based on sound methods that can inform researchers, policymakers, and practitioners about the food and nutrient intakes of young children. New findings may also be compared with previous FITS studies.

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT:Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a major cause of morbidity in premature infants. Outcomes of most neonatal disorders, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia, vary in incidence across neonatal centers even after adjustment for demographic and antenatal characteristics. The factors responsible for such variation have not been systematically evaluated. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:Bronchopulmonary dysplasia/death rates were found to demonstrate a moderate clustering effect according to center, as did clinical variables associated with the outcome. Persistent center differences after clustered variables were corrected indicated the presence of as-yet unmeasured center variables. abstract OBJECTIVES: To determine (1) the magnitude of clustering of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (36 weeks) or death (the outcome) across centers of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child and Human Development National Research Network, (2) the infant-level variables associated with the outcome and estimate their clustering, and (3) the center-specific practices associated with the differences and build predictive models. METHODS: Data on neonates with a birth weight of Ͻ1250 g from the clusterrandomized benchmarking trial were used to determine the magnitude of clustering of the outcome according to alternating logistic regression by using pairwise odds ratio and predictive modeling. Clinical variables associated with the outcome were identified by using multivariate analysis. The magnitude of clustering was then evaluated after correction for infant-level variables. Predictive models were developed by using center-specific and infant-level variables for data from 2001 2004 and projected to 2006. RESULTS: In 2001-2004, clustering of bronchopulmonary dysplasia/ death was significant (pairwise odds ratio: 1.3; P Ͻ .001) and increased in 2006 (pairwise odds ratio: 1.6; overall incidence: 52%; range across centers: 32%-74%); center rates were relatively stable over time. Variables that varied according to center and were associated with increased risk of outcome included lower body temperature at NICU admission, use of prophylactic indomethacin, specific drug therapy on day 1, and lack of endotracheal intubation. Center differences remained significant even after correction for clustered variables. CONCLUSION: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia/death rates demonstrated moderate clustering according to center. Clinical variables associated with the outcome were also clustered. Center differences after correction of clustered variables indicate presence of as-yet unmeasured center variables. Pediatrics 2011;127:e106-e116

Recent information has provided new insights on how intestinal, bone and renal mechanisms are regulated to maintain calcium homeostasis.

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