#epidemiology — Public Fediverse posts

Comparison of the gut microbiota of people in France and Saudi Arabia https://www.diningandcooking.com/2799185/comparison-of-the-gut-microbiota-of-people-in-france-and-saudi-arabia/ #bacteria #ClinicalNutrition #Diabetes #Epidemiology #francais #france #French #FrenchDiet #general #InternalMedicine #Medicine/PublicHealth #MetabolicDiseases #PolicyAndPublicHealthInMicrobiology

Comparison of the gut microbiota of people in France and Saudi Arabia https://www.diningandcooking.com/2799185/comparison-of-the-gut-microbiota-of-people-in-france-and-saudi-arabia/ #bacteria #ClinicalNutrition #Diabetes #Epidemiology #francais #france #French #FrenchDiet #general #InternalMedicine #Medicine/PublicHealth #MetabolicDiseases #PolicyAndPublicHealthInMicrobiology

Comparison of the gut microbiota of people in France and Saudi Arabia https://www.diningandcooking.com/2799185/comparison-of-the-gut-microbiota-of-people-in-france-and-saudi-arabia/ #bacteria #ClinicalNutrition #Diabetes #Epidemiology #francais #france #French #FrenchDiet #general #InternalMedicine #Medicine/PublicHealth #MetabolicDiseases #PolicyAndPublicHealthInMicrobiology

Case-control study shows trauma may raise zoster risk:
🔥 Recent trauma increases zoster risk by 8x
📈 Adjusted 12x risk with trauma at rash site
🔍 Study conducted with 243 cases
https://tnyp.me/XXCzc1WL/m #HerpesZoster #Epidemiology #PublicHealth

Idyllic rural NSW is a hotspot for motor neurone disease

"Our recent mortality paper shows that if you live in rural and regional Australia, you are 40 per cent more likely to die from motor neurone disease. This cannot be genetic."
"Much attention will be focused on MND hotspots which include regional centres such as Griffith, Leeton, Wagga Wagga and Narrandera in the Riverina where rates of the degenerative illness are estimated to be five to seven times the national average. Other areas of concern include Tamworth, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-01/mnd-notifiable-disease-starts/107097432
#environment #diseases #MDN #NSW #CoffsHarbour #PortMacquarie #RuralNSW #MidNorthCoast #water #pollution #ExtremeHeat #runoff #HABs #pesticides #epidemiology

https://www.europesays.com/at/263010/ Diphtherie: Haustiere und Diabetes erhöhen Risiko deutlich #AT #Austria #Corynebacterium #data #Diabetes #Diabetics #Diphtheria #Epidemiology #Europe #FluVaccine #Gesundheit #Health #Immunity #Mortality #Österreich #Outbreak #PublicHealth #Risk #Ulcerans #Vaccination

https://www.europesays.com/ie/535815/ Australia’s diphtheria outbreak shows why boosters, antibiotics, and better housing all matter #Antibiotic #AntimicrobialResistance #Bacterial #children #Diphtheria #Éire #Epidemiology #Gene #Genes #Genetic #Genomic #Health #Healthcare #Heart #IE #Ireland #Laboratory #PublicHealth #Respiratory #RespiratoryIllness #skin #Throat #Toxin #Vaccine #Wound

Escherichia albertii is an emerging infectious bacterium responsible for severe diarrheal disease and food poisoning, which researchers have successfully traced from invasive raccoon populations to environmental river systems.
#Veterinary #Microbiology #Epidemiology #Environmental #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/06/vet06142601.html

Cochliomyia hominivorax (the New World screwworm) is an obligate parasitic blowfly whose larvae require living tissue from a warm-blooded host to complete their developmental cycle, resulting in a severe, rapidly destructive condition known as myiasis.
#WhatIs #Entomology #Epidemiology #EvolutionaryBiology #Veterinary #Screwworm #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/06/wi06102601.html

A massive 2021 outbreak of leptospirosis—a severe bacterial disease that can cause acute kidney injury—sickened over 200 dogs linked to daycare facilities in Los Angeles County.
#Veterinary #Epidemiology #InfectiousDiseases #PublicHealth #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/05/vet05272601.html

State-level #abortion bans have inadvertently degraded the quality of medical care for miscarriages, driving a reduction in evidence-based clinical interventions.
#Obstetrics #Gynecology #PublicHealth #ReproductiveMedicine #Epidemiology #Medical #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/05/med05182601.html

Rising global temperatures and shifting climate patterns are projected to drive rodent-borne arenaviruses into previously unaffected regions of South America over the next two to four decades, significantly increasing the risk of zoonotic spillover to new human populations.
#Veterinary #Epidemiology #Virology #AtmosphericScience #ClimateChange #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/05/epi05042601.html

Astroturfing Is Pretty Pointless When Social Subgraphs Are Fragmented (e.g., the Fediverse)

I am seeing astroturfing in the fediverse again, by AT Protocol developers implicitly trying to shill their products. I think it is stochastic behavior by developers with too much time on their hands. Honestly, I do not care. I like the people on ActivityPub more, but I like the AT Protocol better, and I have developed for both. Astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is fascinating to me because it is so pointless.

I am actually a Computational Biologist and Computer Scientist whose specialty is combinatorics, social graphs, graph theory, etc. Specifically, I use this to create epidemiological models for the memetic layer of human behaviors that act as vectors for diseases, using the SIRS model. I do not just study germs; I study human behaviors.

The models I construct extend into a “memetic layer,” in which beliefs, norms, and behaviors (such as risk-taking, compliance with public health measures, or susceptibility to misinformation) spread contagiously through social networks. These behaviors function as vectors that modulate biological transmission rates. As a result, the spread of ideas can accelerate, dampen, or reshape the spread of disease. By running computational simulations and agent-based models on these graphs, I study how network structure, influential nodes, clustering, and platform-specific dynamics affect behavioral contagion. I also examine how these factors influence epidemiological outcomes.

To say it very concisely, I study how the spread of bat-shit insane beliefs, shit posts, and memes influences whether or not there is a measles outbreak in Texas. Ironically, this is an evolution of my studying semiotics, memetics, and chaos magick in high school. I got a job where I can use occult, anarchist techniques professionally.

I think a large reason why I do not care about astroturfing in the fediverse is that it’s so pointless, lol. Astroturfing to manipulate the narrative would actually work better on Bluesky to keep people there than trying to recruit from the fediverse. Furthermore, big instances are relatively small. Some people on Bluesky have follower lists larger than an entire large instance in the fediverse.

Within ActivityPub networks, astroturfing rarely propagates far, because whether information spreads depends on properties of the social graph itself. Dense connectivity, short paths between communities, and a sufficient number of cross-cutting ties support diffusion. ActivityPub’s architecture tends to produce graphs that are fragmented and highly modular. This limits the reach of coordinated activity.

ActivityPub is a system where each instance maintains its own local user graph and exchanges activities through inboxes and outboxes. This makes it autonomous and decentralized. The network consists of loosely connected subgraphs. Cross-instance edges appear only through explicit follow relationships. The ActivityPub protocol does not provide a shared or complete view of the network. Measurements of the fediverse consistently show uneven connectivity between instances, clustering at the instance level, and relatively long effective path lengths across the network. Under these conditions, large cascades are uncommon.

Instance-level clustering means that in ActivityPub networks, users interact much more with others on the same server than with users on different servers. Because each instance has its own local timeline, culture, and moderation, connections form densely within instances and only sparsely across them through explicit follow relationships. This creates a network made up of tightly connected local communities linked by relatively few cross-instance ties, which slows the spread of information beyond its point of origin.

However, with the AT Protocol, global indexing and aggregation are explicitly supported. Relays and indexers can assemble near-complete views of the social graph. Applications built on top of this infrastructure operate over a graph that is denser and easier to traverse. There are fewer structural barriers between communities. The diffusion dynamics change substantially when content can move across the graph without relying on narrow federated paths.

Astroturfing depends on coordinated amplification, typically through tightly synchronized clusters of accounts intended to manufacture visibility. Work on coordinated inauthentic behavior shows that these tactics gain traction when they intersect highly connected regions of the graph or bridge otherwise separate communities. In networks with strong modularity, coordination remains local. ActivityPub’s federation model produces this kind of modularity by default. Coordinated clusters stand out clearly within instances. Their effects remain confined to those local neighborhoods.

Astroturfing on ActivityPub therefore tends to stall on its own because of the underlying graph topology. Without dense inter-instance connectivity or any form of global indexing, coordinated campaigns have a hard time moving beyond the immediate regions where they originate. Systems built on globally indexable social graphs, including those enabled by the AT Protocol, expose a much larger surface for viral spread. Network structure and connectivity account for the divergence where that is independent of moderation, cultural norms, ideology, or intent.

It’s just really funny to me how these stochastic techbro groups waste so many resources. I personally don’t want to go viral, which is why I avoid platforms where I can. The fact that it’s harder to achieve high virality on ActivityPub is exactly why I prefer the fediverse over the Atmosphere. One way to think about it is that you can change the ‘genetics’ of a system with a retrovirus, where memetic entities act as cultural retroviruses to reprogram the cultural loci of a space. That is their end goal. They are trying to hijack cultures memetically. You see this a lot with culture jamming.

Basically, the astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is designed to jam and subvert the culture. But, as I have already said, the topological structure makes memetic virality stall. They cannot achieve that kind of viral spread in the fediverse, which is why I cannot understand why they do this every year.

Astroturfing Is Pretty Pointless When Social Subgraphs Are Fragmented (e.g., the Fediverse)

I am seeing astroturfing in the fediverse again, by AT Protocol developers implicitly trying to shill their products. I think it is stochastic behavior by developers with too much time on their hands. Honestly, I do not care. I like the people on ActivityPub more, but I like the AT Protocol better, and I have developed for both. Astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is fascinating to me because it is so pointless.

I am actually a Computational Biologist and Computer Scientist whose specialty is combinatorics, social graphs, graph theory, etc. Specifically, I use this to create epidemiological models for the memetic layer of human behaviors that act as vectors for diseases, using the SIRS model. I do not just study germs; I study human behaviors.

The models I construct extend into a “memetic layer,” in which beliefs, norms, and behaviors (such as risk-taking, compliance with public health measures, or susceptibility to misinformation) spread contagiously through social networks. These behaviors function as vectors that modulate biological transmission rates. As a result, the spread of ideas can accelerate, dampen, or reshape the spread of disease. By running computational simulations and agent-based models on these graphs, I study how network structure, influential nodes, clustering, and platform-specific dynamics affect behavioral contagion. I also examine how these factors influence epidemiological outcomes.

To say it very concisely, I study how the spread of bat-shit insane beliefs, shit posts, and memes influences whether or not there is a measles outbreak in Texas. Ironically, this is an evolution of my studying semiotics, memetics, and chaos magick in high school. I got a job where I can use occult, anarchist techniques professionally.

I think a large reason why I do not care about astroturfing in the fediverse is that it’s so pointless, lol. Astroturfing to manipulate the narrative would actually work better on Bluesky to keep people there than trying to recruit from the fediverse. Furthermore, big instances are relatively small. Some people on Bluesky have follower lists larger than an entire large instance in the fediverse.

Within ActivityPub networks, astroturfing rarely propagates far, because whether information spreads depends on properties of the social graph itself. Dense connectivity, short paths between communities, and a sufficient number of cross-cutting ties support diffusion. ActivityPub’s architecture tends to produce graphs that are fragmented and highly modular. This limits the reach of coordinated activity.

ActivityPub is a system where each instance maintains its own local user graph and exchanges activities through inboxes and outboxes. This makes it autonomous and decentralized. The network consists of loosely connected subgraphs. Cross-instance edges appear only through explicit follow relationships. The ActivityPub protocol does not provide a shared or complete view of the network. Measurements of the fediverse consistently show uneven connectivity between instances, clustering at the instance level, and relatively long effective path lengths across the network. Under these conditions, large cascades are uncommon.

Instance-level clustering means that in ActivityPub networks, users interact much more with others on the same server than with users on different servers. Because each instance has its own local timeline, culture, and moderation, connections form densely within instances and only sparsely across them through explicit follow relationships. This creates a network made up of tightly connected local communities linked by relatively few cross-instance ties, which slows the spread of information beyond its point of origin.

However, with the AT Protocol, global indexing and aggregation are explicitly supported. Relays and indexers can assemble near-complete views of the social graph. Applications built on top of this infrastructure operate over a graph that is denser and easier to traverse. There are fewer structural barriers between communities. The diffusion dynamics change substantially when content can move across the graph without relying on narrow federated paths.

Astroturfing depends on coordinated amplification, typically through tightly synchronized clusters of accounts intended to manufacture visibility. Work on coordinated inauthentic behavior shows that these tactics gain traction when they intersect highly connected regions of the graph or bridge otherwise separate communities. In networks with strong modularity, coordination remains local. ActivityPub’s federation model produces this kind of modularity by default. Coordinated clusters stand out clearly within instances. Their effects remain confined to those local neighborhoods.

Astroturfing on ActivityPub therefore tends to stall on its own because of the underlying graph topology. Without dense inter-instance connectivity or any form of global indexing, coordinated campaigns have a hard time moving beyond the immediate regions where they originate. Systems built on globally indexable social graphs, including those enabled by the AT Protocol, expose a much larger surface for viral spread. Network structure and connectivity account for the divergence where that is independent of moderation, cultural norms, ideology, or intent.

It’s just really funny to me how these stochastic techbro groups waste so many resources. I personally don’t want to go viral, which is why I avoid platforms where I can. The fact that it’s harder to achieve high virality on ActivityPub is exactly why I prefer the fediverse over the Atmosphere. One way to think about it is that you can change the ‘genetics’ of a system with a retrovirus, where memetic entities act as cultural retroviruses to reprogram the cultural loci of a space. That is their end goal. They are trying to hijack cultures memetically. You see this a lot with culture jamming.

Basically, the astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is designed to jam and subvert the culture. But, as I have already said, the topological structure makes memetic virality stall. They cannot achieve that kind of viral spread in the fediverse, which is why I cannot understand why they do this every year.

Astroturfing Is Pretty Pointless When Social Subgraphs Are Fragmented (e.g., the Fediverse)

I am seeing astroturfing in the fediverse again, by AT Protocol developers implicitly trying to shill their products. I think it is stochastic behavior by developers with too much time on their hands. Honestly, I do not care. I like the people on ActivityPub more, but I like the AT Protocol better, and I have developed for both. Astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is fascinating to me because it is so pointless.

I am actually a Computational Biologist and Computer Scientist whose specialty is combinatorics, social graphs, graph theory, etc. Specifically, I use this to create epidemiological models for the memetic layer of human behaviors that act as vectors for diseases, using the SIRS model. I do not just study germs; I study human behaviors.

The models I construct extend into a “memetic layer,” in which beliefs, norms, and behaviors (such as risk-taking, compliance with public health measures, or susceptibility to misinformation) spread contagiously through social networks. These behaviors function as vectors that modulate biological transmission rates. As a result, the spread of ideas can accelerate, dampen, or reshape the spread of disease. By running computational simulations and agent-based models on these graphs, I study how network structure, influential nodes, clustering, and platform-specific dynamics affect behavioral contagion. I also examine how these factors influence epidemiological outcomes.

To say it very concisely, I study how the spread of bat-shit insane beliefs, shit posts, and memes influences whether or not there is a measles outbreak in Texas. Ironically, this is an evolution of my studying semiotics, memetics, and chaos magick in high school. I got a job where I can use occult, anarchist techniques professionally.

I think a large reason why I do not care about astroturfing in the fediverse is that it’s so pointless, lol. Astroturfing to manipulate the narrative would actually work better on Bluesky to keep people there than trying to recruit from the fediverse. Furthermore, big instances are relatively small. Some people on Bluesky have follower lists larger than an entire large instance in the fediverse.

Within ActivityPub networks, astroturfing rarely propagates far, because whether information spreads depends on properties of the social graph itself. Dense connectivity, short paths between communities, and a sufficient number of cross-cutting ties support diffusion. ActivityPub’s architecture tends to produce graphs that are fragmented and highly modular. This limits the reach of coordinated activity.

ActivityPub is a system where each instance maintains its own local user graph and exchanges activities through inboxes and outboxes. This makes it autonomous and decentralized. The network consists of loosely connected subgraphs. Cross-instance edges appear only through explicit follow relationships. The ActivityPub protocol does not provide a shared or complete view of the network. Measurements of the fediverse consistently show uneven connectivity between instances, clustering at the instance level, and relatively long effective path lengths across the network. Under these conditions, large cascades are uncommon.

Instance-level clustering means that in ActivityPub networks, users interact much more with others on the same server than with users on different servers. Because each instance has its own local timeline, culture, and moderation, connections form densely within instances and only sparsely across them through explicit follow relationships. This creates a network made up of tightly connected local communities linked by relatively few cross-instance ties, which slows the spread of information beyond its point of origin.

However, with the AT Protocol, global indexing and aggregation are explicitly supported. Relays and indexers can assemble near-complete views of the social graph. Applications built on top of this infrastructure operate over a graph that is denser and easier to traverse. There are fewer structural barriers between communities. The diffusion dynamics change substantially when content can move across the graph without relying on narrow federated paths.

Astroturfing depends on coordinated amplification, typically through tightly synchronized clusters of accounts intended to manufacture visibility. Work on coordinated inauthentic behavior shows that these tactics gain traction when they intersect highly connected regions of the graph or bridge otherwise separate communities. In networks with strong modularity, coordination remains local. ActivityPub’s federation model produces this kind of modularity by default. Coordinated clusters stand out clearly within instances. Their effects remain confined to those local neighborhoods.

Astroturfing on ActivityPub therefore tends to stall on its own because of the underlying graph topology. Without dense inter-instance connectivity or any form of global indexing, coordinated campaigns have a hard time moving beyond the immediate regions where they originate. Systems built on globally indexable social graphs, including those enabled by the AT Protocol, expose a much larger surface for viral spread. Network structure and connectivity account for the divergence where that is independent of moderation, cultural norms, ideology, or intent.

It’s just really funny to me how these stochastic techbro groups waste so many resources. I personally don’t want to go viral, which is why I avoid platforms where I can. The fact that it’s harder to achieve high virality on ActivityPub is exactly why I prefer the fediverse over the Atmosphere. One way to think about it is that you can change the ‘genetics’ of a system with a retrovirus, where memetic entities act as cultural retroviruses to reprogram the cultural loci of a space. That is their end goal. They are trying to hijack cultures memetically. You see this a lot with culture jamming.

Basically, the astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is designed to jam and subvert the culture. But, as I have already said, the topological structure makes memetic virality stall. They cannot achieve that kind of viral spread in the fediverse, which is why I cannot understand why they do this every year.

Astroturfing Is Pretty Pointless When Social Subgraphs Are Fragmented (e.g., the Fediverse)

I am seeing astroturfing in the fediverse again, by AT Protocol developers implicitly trying to shill their products. I think it is stochastic behavior by developers with too much time on their hands. Honestly, I do not care. I like the people on ActivityPub more, but I like the AT Protocol better, and I have developed for both. Astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is fascinating to me because it is so pointless.

I am actually a Computational Biologist and Computer Scientist whose specialty is combinatorics, social graphs, graph theory, etc. Specifically, I use this to create epidemiological models for the memetic layer of human behaviors that act as vectors for diseases, using the SIRS model. I do not just study germs; I study human behaviors.

The models I construct extend into a “memetic layer,” in which beliefs, norms, and behaviors (such as risk-taking, compliance with public health measures, or susceptibility to misinformation) spread contagiously through social networks. These behaviors function as vectors that modulate biological transmission rates. As a result, the spread of ideas can accelerate, dampen, or reshape the spread of disease. By running computational simulations and agent-based models on these graphs, I study how network structure, influential nodes, clustering, and platform-specific dynamics affect behavioral contagion. I also examine how these factors influence epidemiological outcomes.

To say it very concisely, I study how the spread of bat-shit insane beliefs, shit posts, and memes influences whether or not there is a measles outbreak in Texas. Ironically, this is an evolution of my studying semiotics, memetics, and chaos magick in high school. I got a job where I can use occult, anarchist techniques professionally.

I think a large reason why I do not care about astroturfing in the fediverse is that it’s so pointless, lol. Astroturfing to manipulate the narrative would actually work better on Bluesky to keep people there than trying to recruit from the fediverse. Furthermore, big instances are relatively small. Some people on Bluesky have follower lists larger than an entire large instance in the fediverse.

Within ActivityPub networks, astroturfing rarely propagates far, because whether information spreads depends on properties of the social graph itself. Dense connectivity, short paths between communities, and a sufficient number of cross-cutting ties support diffusion. ActivityPub’s architecture tends to produce graphs that are fragmented and highly modular. This limits the reach of coordinated activity.

ActivityPub is a system where each instance maintains its own local user graph and exchanges activities through inboxes and outboxes. This makes it autonomous and decentralized. The network consists of loosely connected subgraphs. Cross-instance edges appear only through explicit follow relationships. The ActivityPub protocol does not provide a shared or complete view of the network. Measurements of the fediverse consistently show uneven connectivity between instances, clustering at the instance level, and relatively long effective path lengths across the network. Under these conditions, large cascades are uncommon.

Instance-level clustering means that in ActivityPub networks, users interact much more with others on the same server than with users on different servers. Because each instance has its own local timeline, culture, and moderation, connections form densely within instances and only sparsely across them through explicit follow relationships. This creates a network made up of tightly connected local communities linked by relatively few cross-instance ties, which slows the spread of information beyond its point of origin.

However, with the AT Protocol, global indexing and aggregation are explicitly supported. Relays and indexers can assemble near-complete views of the social graph. Applications built on top of this infrastructure operate over a graph that is denser and easier to traverse. There are fewer structural barriers between communities. The diffusion dynamics change substantially when content can move across the graph without relying on narrow federated paths.

Astroturfing depends on coordinated amplification, typically through tightly synchronized clusters of accounts intended to manufacture visibility. Work on coordinated inauthentic behavior shows that these tactics gain traction when they intersect highly connected regions of the graph or bridge otherwise separate communities. In networks with strong modularity, coordination remains local. ActivityPub’s federation model produces this kind of modularity by default. Coordinated clusters stand out clearly within instances. Their effects remain confined to those local neighborhoods.

Astroturfing on ActivityPub therefore tends to stall on its own because of the underlying graph topology. Without dense inter-instance connectivity or any form of global indexing, coordinated campaigns have a hard time moving beyond the immediate regions where they originate. Systems built on globally indexable social graphs, including those enabled by the AT Protocol, expose a much larger surface for viral spread. Network structure and connectivity account for the divergence where that is independent of moderation, cultural norms, ideology, or intent.

It’s just really funny to me how these stochastic techbro groups waste so many resources. I personally don’t want to go viral, which is why I avoid platforms where I can. The fact that it’s harder to achieve high virality on ActivityPub is exactly why I prefer the fediverse over the Atmosphere. One way to think about it is that you can change the ‘genetics’ of a system with a retrovirus, where memetic entities act as cultural retroviruses to reprogram the cultural loci of a space. That is their end goal. They are trying to hijack cultures memetically. You see this a lot with culture jamming.

Basically, the astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is designed to jam and subvert the culture. But, as I have already said, the topological structure makes memetic virality stall. They cannot achieve that kind of viral spread in the fediverse, which is why I cannot understand why they do this every year.

Astroturfing Is Pretty Pointless When Social Subgraphs Are Fragmented (e.g., the Fediverse)

I am seeing astroturfing in the fediverse again, by AT Protocol developers implicitly trying to shill their products. I think it is stochastic behavior by developers with too much time on their hands. Honestly, I do not care. I like the people on ActivityPub more, but I like the AT Protocol better, and I have developed for both. Astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is fascinating to me because it is so pointless.

I am actually a Computational Biologist and Computer Scientist whose specialty is combinatorics, social graphs, graph theory, etc. Specifically, I use this to create epidemiological models for the memetic layer of human behaviors that act as vectors for diseases, using the SIRS model. I do not just study germs; I study human behaviors.

The models I construct extend into a “memetic layer,” in which beliefs, norms, and behaviors (such as risk-taking, compliance with public health measures, or susceptibility to misinformation) spread contagiously through social networks. These behaviors function as vectors that modulate biological transmission rates. As a result, the spread of ideas can accelerate, dampen, or reshape the spread of disease. By running computational simulations and agent-based models on these graphs, I study how network structure, influential nodes, clustering, and platform-specific dynamics affect behavioral contagion. I also examine how these factors influence epidemiological outcomes.

To say it very concisely, I study how the spread of bat-shit insane beliefs, shit posts, and memes influences whether or not there is a measles outbreak in Texas. Ironically, this is an evolution of my studying semiotics, memetics, and chaos magick in high school. I got a job where I can use occult, anarchist techniques professionally.

I think a large reason why I do not care about astroturfing in the fediverse is that it’s so pointless, lol. Astroturfing to manipulate the narrative would actually work better on Bluesky to keep people there than trying to recruit from the fediverse. Furthermore, big instances are relatively small. Some people on Bluesky have follower lists larger than an entire large instance in the fediverse.

Within ActivityPub networks, astroturfing rarely propagates far, because whether information spreads depends on properties of the social graph itself. Dense connectivity, short paths between communities, and a sufficient number of cross-cutting ties support diffusion. ActivityPub’s architecture tends to produce graphs that are fragmented and highly modular. This limits the reach of coordinated activity.

ActivityPub is a system where each instance maintains its own local user graph and exchanges activities through inboxes and outboxes. This makes it autonomous and decentralized. The network consists of loosely connected subgraphs. Cross-instance edges appear only through explicit follow relationships. The ActivityPub protocol does not provide a shared or complete view of the network. Measurements of the fediverse consistently show uneven connectivity between instances, clustering at the instance level, and relatively long effective path lengths across the network. Under these conditions, large cascades are uncommon.

Instance-level clustering means that in ActivityPub networks, users interact much more with others on the same server than with users on different servers. Because each instance has its own local timeline, culture, and moderation, connections form densely within instances and only sparsely across them through explicit follow relationships. This creates a network made up of tightly connected local communities linked by relatively few cross-instance ties, which slows the spread of information beyond its point of origin.

However, with the AT Protocol, global indexing and aggregation are explicitly supported. Relays and indexers can assemble near-complete views of the social graph. Applications built on top of this infrastructure operate over a graph that is denser and easier to traverse. There are fewer structural barriers between communities. The diffusion dynamics change substantially when content can move across the graph without relying on narrow federated paths.

Astroturfing depends on coordinated amplification, typically through tightly synchronized clusters of accounts intended to manufacture visibility. Work on coordinated inauthentic behavior shows that these tactics gain traction when they intersect highly connected regions of the graph or bridge otherwise separate communities. In networks with strong modularity, coordination remains local. ActivityPub’s federation model produces this kind of modularity by default. Coordinated clusters stand out clearly within instances. Their effects remain confined to those local neighborhoods.

Astroturfing on ActivityPub therefore tends to stall on its own because of the underlying graph topology. Without dense inter-instance connectivity or any form of global indexing, coordinated campaigns have a hard time moving beyond the immediate regions where they originate. Systems built on globally indexable social graphs, including those enabled by the AT Protocol, expose a much larger surface for viral spread. Network structure and connectivity account for the divergence where that is independent of moderation, cultural norms, ideology, or intent.

It’s just really funny to me how these stochastic techbro groups waste so many resources. I personally don’t want to go viral, which is why I avoid platforms where I can. The fact that it’s harder to achieve high virality on ActivityPub is exactly why I prefer the fediverse over the Atmosphere. One way to think about it is that you can change the ‘genetics’ of a system with a retrovirus, where memetic entities act as cultural retroviruses to reprogram the cultural loci of a space. That is their end goal. They are trying to hijack cultures memetically. You see this a lot with culture jamming.

Basically, the astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is designed to jam and subvert the culture. But, as I have already said, the topological structure makes memetic virality stall. They cannot achieve that kind of viral spread in the fediverse, which is why I cannot understand why they do this every year.

Astroturfing Is Pretty Pointless When Social Subgraphs Are Fragmented (e.g., the Fediverse)

I am seeing astroturfing in the fediverse again, by AT Protocol developers implicitly trying to shill their products. I think it is stochastic behavior by developers with too much time on their hands. Honestly, I do not care. I like the people on ActivityPub more, but I like the AT Protocol better, and I have developed for both. Astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is fascinating to me because it is so pointless.

I am actually a Computational Biologist and Computer Scientist whose specialty is combinatorics, social graphs, graph theory, etc. Specifically, I use this to create epidemiological models for the memetic layer of human behaviors that act as vectors for diseases, using the SIRS model. I do not just study germs; I study human behaviors.

The models I construct extend into a “memetic layer,” in which beliefs, norms, and behaviors (such as risk-taking, compliance with public health measures, or susceptibility to misinformation) spread contagiously through social networks. These behaviors function as vectors that modulate biological transmission rates. As a result, the spread of ideas can accelerate, dampen, or reshape the spread of disease. By running computational simulations and agent-based models on these graphs, I study how network structure, influential nodes, clustering, and platform-specific dynamics affect behavioral contagion. I also examine how these factors influence epidemiological outcomes.

To say it very concisely, I study how the spread of bat-shit insane beliefs, shit posts, and memes influences whether or not there is a measles outbreak in Texas. Ironically, this is an evolution of my studying semiotics, memetics, and chaos magick in high school. I got a job where I can use occult, anarchist techniques professionally.

I think a large reason why I do not care about astroturfing in the fediverse is that it’s so pointless, lol. Astroturfing to manipulate the narrative would actually work better on Bluesky to keep people there than trying to recruit from the fediverse. Furthermore, big instances are relatively small. Some people on Bluesky have follower lists larger than an entire large instance in the fediverse.

Within ActivityPub networks, astroturfing rarely propagates far, because whether information spreads depends on properties of the social graph itself. Dense connectivity, short paths between communities, and a sufficient number of cross-cutting ties support diffusion. ActivityPub’s architecture tends to produce graphs that are fragmented and highly modular. This limits the reach of coordinated activity.

ActivityPub is a system where each instance maintains its own local user graph and exchanges activities through inboxes and outboxes. This makes it autonomous and decentralized. The network consists of loosely connected subgraphs. Cross-instance edges appear only through explicit follow relationships. The ActivityPub protocol does not provide a shared or complete view of the network. Measurements of the fediverse consistently show uneven connectivity between instances, clustering at the instance level, and relatively long effective path lengths across the network. Under these conditions, large cascades are uncommon.

Instance-level clustering means that in ActivityPub networks, users interact much more with others on the same server than with users on different servers. Because each instance has its own local timeline, culture, and moderation, connections form densely within instances and only sparsely across them through explicit follow relationships. This creates a network made up of tightly connected local communities linked by relatively few cross-instance ties, which slows the spread of information beyond its point of origin.

However, with the AT Protocol, global indexing and aggregation are explicitly supported. Relays and indexers can assemble near-complete views of the social graph. Applications built on top of this infrastructure operate over a graph that is denser and easier to traverse. There are fewer structural barriers between communities. The diffusion dynamics change substantially when content can move across the graph without relying on narrow federated paths.

Astroturfing depends on coordinated amplification, typically through tightly synchronized clusters of accounts intended to manufacture visibility. Work on coordinated inauthentic behavior shows that these tactics gain traction when they intersect highly connected regions of the graph or bridge otherwise separate communities. In networks with strong modularity, coordination remains local. ActivityPub’s federation model produces this kind of modularity by default. Coordinated clusters stand out clearly within instances. Their effects remain confined to those local neighborhoods.

Astroturfing on ActivityPub therefore tends to stall on its own because of the underlying graph topology. Without dense inter-instance connectivity or any form of global indexing, coordinated campaigns have a hard time moving beyond the immediate regions where they originate. Systems built on globally indexable social graphs, including those enabled by the AT Protocol, expose a much larger surface for viral spread. Network structure and connectivity account for the divergence where that is independent of moderation, cultural norms, ideology, or intent.

It’s just really funny to me how these stochastic techbro groups waste so many resources. I personally don’t want to go viral, which is why I avoid platforms where I can. The fact that it’s harder to achieve high virality on ActivityPub is exactly why I prefer the fediverse over the Atmosphere. One way to think about it is that you can change the ‘genetics’ of a system with a retrovirus, where memetic entities act as cultural retroviruses to reprogram the cultural loci of a space. That is their end goal. They are trying to hijack cultures memetically. You see this a lot with culture jamming.

Basically, the astroturfing on ActivityPub networks is designed to jam and subvert the culture. But, as I have already said, the topological structure makes memetic virality stall. They cannot achieve that kind of viral spread in the fediverse, which is why I cannot understand why they do this every year.

Reposting this as the US breaks 2,000 measles cases for 2025, the highest recorded domestically since 1992. On the accelerating crisis of #vaccine preventable disease, the significance of the drop in #vaccination rates, and how this relates to differing responses across the US. This week, an entire school district in Iowa closed to stop a #measles #outbreak, while hundreds are in quarantine in South Carolina.

#PublicHealth #Epidemiology #Pertussis #Disinformation #InfectiousDisease #WhoopingCough #HHS #CDC #influenza

https://jessk.org/blog/the-signal-in-the-noise

Reposting this as the US breaks 2,000 measles cases for 2025, the highest recorded domestically since 1992. On the accelerating crisis of #vaccine preventable disease, the significance of the drop in #vaccination rates, and how this relates to differing responses across the US. This week, an entire school district in Iowa closed to stop a #measles #outbreak, while hundreds are in quarantine in South Carolina.

#PublicHealth #Epidemiology #Pertussis #Disinformation #InfectiousDisease #WhoopingCough #HHS #CDC #influenza

https://jessk.org/blog/the-signal-in-the-noise

Reposting this as the US breaks 2,000 measles cases for 2025, the highest recorded domestically since 1992. On the accelerating crisis of #vaccine preventable disease, the significance of the drop in #vaccination rates, and how this relates to differing responses across the US. This week, an entire school district in Iowa closed to stop a #measles #outbreak, while hundreds are in quarantine in South Carolina.

#PublicHealth #Epidemiology #Pertussis #Disinformation #InfectiousDisease #WhoopingCough #HHS #CDC #influenza

https://jessk.org/blog/the-signal-in-the-noise

Reposting this as the US breaks 2,000 measles cases for 2025, the highest recorded domestically since 1992. On the accelerating crisis of #vaccine preventable disease, the significance of the drop in #vaccination rates, and how this relates to differing responses across the US. This week, an entire school district in Iowa closed to stop a #measles #outbreak, while hundreds are in quarantine in South Carolina.

#PublicHealth #Epidemiology #Pertussis #Disinformation #InfectiousDisease #WhoopingCough #HHS #CDC #influenza

https://jessk.org/blog/the-signal-in-the-noise

Reposting this as the US breaks 2,000 measles cases for 2025, the highest recorded domestically since 1992. On the accelerating crisis of #vaccine preventable disease, the significance of the drop in #vaccination rates, and how this relates to differing responses across the US. This week, an entire school district in Iowa closed to stop a #measles #outbreak, while hundreds are in quarantine in South Carolina.

#PublicHealth #Epidemiology #Pertussis #Disinformation #InfectiousDisease #WhoopingCough #HHS #CDC #influenza

https://jessk.org/blog/the-signal-in-the-noise

Two articles on the role of #MedicalStatistics in #HealthSciences which are a good #CPD read for both #QuantitativeMethods experts as well as health content experts:

Medical statisticians: Always on tap, but never on top?
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/211342/

And this paper aims to provide guidance on why, when and on what to consult with statisticians when setting up a research project
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-advances/article/statistical-consulting-guidelines-for-new-researchers-in-psychiatry-and-mental-health-beyond-chatgpt/22BD35892A1760918B5BFBC0EBE5D7C4

#ECR #ProjectDesign #RCTs #Trials #Epidemiology

#Mpox #Epidemiology & #Risk #Factors, #Nigeria, 2022, Emerg Infect Dis.: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/9/24-0135_article

Odds of being mpox+ were higher for adults with #HIV & lower for those co-infected with #varicella zoster virus (VZV). No #children were HIV+; odds of being mpox+ were higher for children with VZV infection. Our findings indicate mpox affects primarily adults in Nigeria, partially driven by sexual activity; childhood cases were driven by close #contact, #animal exposure, and #VZV co-infection.

RT by @ECDC_EU: Check out our new issue

🗞️https://bit.ly/EUS_2850

#immunisation #vaccines #shingles #herpeszoster #varicella #mpox #epidemiology #outbreaks #epidemics #COVID19 #hospitals #PublicHealth #IDtwitter

🐦🔗: https://nitter.cz/Eurosurveillanc/status/1735340414528377221#m

[2023-12-14 16:46 UTC]

There is currently much interest in the role of Artifical Intelligence (AI) in medicine, particularly in specialties involving visualization such as upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, which is important in screening and diagnosis of esophageal and gastric cancer. This report provides a readable summary of the approach and recent results of its clinical application in detecting malignant and premalignant lesions.
https://www.esocan.org/ai-in-screening-and-surveillance-for-upper-gi-cancers/
#cancer #esophagus #stomach #epidemiology #AI #prevention

There is currently much interest in the role of Artifical Intelligence (AI) in medicine, particularly in specialties involving visualization such as upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, which is important in screening and diagnosis of esophageal and gastric cancer. This report provides a readable summary of the approach and recent results of its clinical application in detecting malignant and premalignant lesions.
https://www.esocan.org/ai-in-screening-and-surveillance-for-upper-gi-cancers/
#cancer #esophagus #stomach #epidemiology #AI #prevention

There is currently much interest in the role of Artifical Intelligence (AI) in medicine, particularly in specialties involving visualization such as upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, which is important in screening and diagnosis of esophageal and gastric cancer. This report provides a readable summary of the approach and recent results of its clinical application in detecting malignant and premalignant lesions.
https://www.esocan.org/ai-in-screening-and-surveillance-for-upper-gi-cancers/
#cancer #esophagus #stomach #epidemiology #AI #prevention

RT Eurosurveillance
Our new issue marking #WorldHepatitisDay2023 is out with data on #HCV and #HBV in 🇬🇪 and updated #hepatitis B prevalence estimates for the 🇪🇺🇳🇴🇮🇸 🇱🇮 🇬🇧
👉🏽https://bit.ly/EUS2830
#WHD #HepatitisDay23 #NoHep #OneLifeOneLiver #publichealth #epidemiology #SDG3

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/Eurosurveillanc/status/1684582287776555009

Our new paper on the long-term impact of opioid manufacturers' targeted marketing to docs in states with high cancer burdens in the 1990s. 25 years later: more deaths from hepatitis and infective endocarditis. #opioids #Purdue #OcyContin #HCV #HBV #endocarditis #epidemiology #causalinference

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2023.00146

This unusual review involves a qualitative analysis of professionals' views on the justification for systematic screening for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), a topic of some controversy. Professionals are increasingly supportive of targeted screening (as opposed to population screening), driven by the introduction of less invasive screening methods and the potential for effective treatment of detected neoplasia.
https://www.esocan.org/qualitative-analysis-on-professionals-views-on-screening-for-esophageal-adenocarcinoma/
.
#epidemiology #cancer #esophagus #prevention

This unusual review involves a qualitative analysis of professionals' views on the justification for systematic screening for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), a topic of some controversy. Professionals are increasingly supportive of targeted screening (as opposed to population screening), driven by the introduction of less invasive screening methods and the potential for effective treatment of detected neoplasia.
https://www.esocan.org/qualitative-analysis-on-professionals-views-on-screening-for-esophageal-adenocarcinoma/
.
#epidemiology #cancer #esophagus #prevention

This unusual review involves a qualitative analysis of professionals' views on the justification for systematic screening for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), a topic of some controversy. Professionals are increasingly supportive of targeted screening (as opposed to population screening), driven by the introduction of less invasive screening methods and the potential for effective treatment of detected neoplasia.
https://www.esocan.org/qualitative-analysis-on-professionals-views-on-screening-for-esophageal-adenocarcinoma/
.
#epidemiology #cancer #esophagus #prevention

This unusual review involves a qualitative analysis of professionals' views on the justification for systematic screening for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), a topic of some controversy. Professionals are increasingly supportive of targeted screening (as opposed to population screening), driven by the introduction of less invasive screening methods and the potential for effective treatment of detected neoplasia.
https://www.esocan.org/qualitative-analysis-on-professionals-views-on-screening-for-esophageal-adenocarcinoma/
.
#epidemiology #cancer #esophagus #prevention

New #job posting: Research Fellow in Eco-Epidemiology & Human Ecology

https://globalecologyflinders.com/2023/05/11/new-job-postingresearch-fellow-in-eco-epidemiology-human-ecology/

#jobsearch #joboffer #jobs #ecojobs #Australia #disease #epidemiology #humanEcology #Indigenous #palaeoecology #modelling #sciencejobs #researchFellow #postdoc

This study combines questionnaire data and automated cytological evaluation of sponge-collected cells to accurately identify high-risk individuals without the need for endoscopy. It uses machine learning to identify abnormal cells and create automated risk scores that are equivalent to those of experienced cytologists. This approach could potentially reduce the number of endoscopies needed to screen the population by around 90%.

https://www.esocan.org/integration-of-epidemiology-and-machine-learning/

#epidemiology #cancer #esophagus

This study combines questionnaire data and automated cytological evaluation of sponge-collected cells to accurately identify high-risk individuals without the need for endoscopy. It uses machine learning to identify abnormal cells and create automated risk scores that are equivalent to those of experienced cytologists. This approach could potentially reduce the number of endoscopies needed to screen the population by around 90%.

https://www.esocan.org/integration-of-epidemiology-and-machine-learning/

#epidemiology #cancer #esophagus

This study combines questionnaire data and automated cytological evaluation of sponge-collected cells to accurately identify high-risk individuals without the need for endoscopy. It uses machine learning to identify abnormal cells and create automated risk scores that are equivalent to those of experienced cytologists. This approach could potentially reduce the number of endoscopies needed to screen the population by around 90%.

https://www.esocan.org/integration-of-epidemiology-and-machine-learning/

#epidemiology #cancer #esophagus

This study combines questionnaire data and automated cytological evaluation of sponge-collected cells to accurately identify high-risk individuals without the need for endoscopy. It uses machine learning to identify abnormal cells and create automated risk scores that are equivalent to those of experienced cytologists. This approach could potentially reduce the number of endoscopies needed to screen the population by around 90%.

https://www.esocan.org/integration-of-epidemiology-and-machine-learning/

#epidemiology #cancer #esophagus

This summer program is taught by some of the most wonderful faculty ⁦@YaleSPH‬⁩ has to offer. It’s a whirlwind introduction to mathematical modeling, decision science and cost effectiveness. A superb opportunity to learn from the best. #epidemiology #modeling #decisionscience #publicheath #epiverse https://ysph.yale.edu/school-of-public-health/continuing-education/public-health-modeling/

Radio frequency ablation (RFA) has become a standard of care for persons with advanced dysplasia in Barrett's, but little is known regarding the occurrence and predictors of post-procedure symptoms. This study found that RFA treatment caused considerable post-procedural symptoms of significant duration in the vast majority of patients, with almost all patients experiencing pain and dysphagia after the procedure.

https://www.esocan.org/post-rfa-symptoms/

#epidemiology #cancer #esophageal #esophagus #Barretts

Radio frequency ablation (RFA) has become a standard of care for persons with advanced dysplasia in Barrett's, but little is known regarding the occurrence and predictors of post-procedure symptoms. This study found that RFA treatment caused considerable post-procedural symptoms of significant duration in the vast majority of patients, with almost all patients experiencing pain and dysphagia after the procedure.

https://www.esocan.org/post-rfa-symptoms/

#epidemiology #cancer #esophageal #esophagus #Barretts

Radio frequency ablation (RFA) has become a standard of care for persons with advanced dysplasia in Barrett's, but little is known regarding the occurrence and predictors of post-procedure symptoms. This study found that RFA treatment caused considerable post-procedural symptoms of significant duration in the vast majority of patients, with almost all patients experiencing pain and dysphagia after the procedure.

https://www.esocan.org/post-rfa-symptoms/

#epidemiology #cancer #esophageal #esophagus #Barretts

Radio frequency ablation (RFA) has become a standard of care for persons with advanced dysplasia in Barrett's, but little is known regarding the occurrence and predictors of post-procedure symptoms. This study found that RFA treatment caused considerable post-procedural symptoms of significant duration in the vast majority of patients, with almost all patients experiencing pain and dysphagia after the procedure.

https://www.esocan.org/post-rfa-symptoms/

#epidemiology #cancer #esophageal #esophagus #Barretts

In acknowledgement of #WorldTBDay, I wanted to share this article I enjoyed:

https://harvardpublichealth.org/disease/tb-not-covid-19-is-the-plague-of-the-century

For those in more privileged parts of the world, tuberculosis (TB) might not be so visible, but TB remains one of the most deadly infectious diseases worldwide.

Especially with drug resistant TB strains constantly evolving, mitigating further TB burden should be an urgent priority.

#Epidemiology #InfectiousDiseases #PublicHealth

RT @Eurosurveillanc: Our new issue is available

📰 https://bit.ly/EUS286

#Hepatitis #HBV #HCV #surveillance
#AMR #parasites #foodsafety #animalhealth #AntimicrobialResistance #IDTwitter #epidemiology #publichealth

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/ECDC_EU/status/1623707509105086469

We are so excited! Carlos del Rio, MD & leading authority in the field of #GlobalHealth and #Epidemiology, will be joining the upcoming #ECCMID2023 for a #KeynoteScientificInterview on “Structural determinants of health”.

#Copenhagen (15–18 April 2023)
http://ow.ly/7R7450Mw8Ex

The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma rose rapidly for over 40 years before leveling off after the turn of the century. The highest incidence is in white males, who experienced a 10-fold increase. Recent data from NCI's SEER registry system suggest that rates may be starting to climb again in this demographic group.
https://www.esocan.org/ea-rates-increasing/

#cancer #esophagus #epidemiology