scholarly journals COVID-19 RISK EVALUATION AND TESTING STRATEGIES BASED ON CONTACT TRACING NETWORK AND INFORMATION ANALYSIS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankush Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Risk Profile ◽  
General Information ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Generating Sets ◽  
Testing Strategies ◽  
Administrative Planning ◽  
Systematic Strategy ◽  
The Right ◽  
Test Outcomes ◽  
Safe Zones

AbstractContact tracing and efficient testing can have an imperative part in mitigating the COVID-19 spread, with minimal social and economic disruption. Testing serves many purposes: isolating the COVID-19 positive tested individuals, identifying the contacts at the risk, and locating the hotspots and safe zones for administrative planning. However, it is a challenging task to identify the right individuals for the test in view of the high COVID -19 spread, a large number of presymptomatic and asymptomatic cases, and limited testing capabilities. The individuals for COVID -19 are currently identified based on direct-contact, travel history, and symptoms, which are more individualized and do not explicitly include a group risk assessment, and in turn, do not preclude the transmission from the superspreaders. Policymakers need to limit testing in the shortage of test resources, and focus on gaining the most information from the tests performed. In this work, we introduce a protocol for the identification of the group of individuals to be tested for acquiring maximum risk information of a community with minimum individual tests performed. Firstly, an algorithm is proposed to determine the risk profile of all the individuals in the community by incorporating serial and parallel pathways of the infection transmission considering multiple steps of transmission. Next, we consider several potential groups that could be tested from the community, and analyze them one by one for their comparison. In a group, few individuals can be positive, and the remaining few can be negative, generating sets of several test-outcomes with unequal probabilities. The protocol involves the probability calculation and reassessment of the network’s risk profile in all the test output cases. Finally, the best group is identified in all the groups studied, in which risk profiles between post and pre-test are maximally different. The analysis shows that in general, information increases with an increase in the group size. Notably, a strategically chosen small group may provide more information from the test results, than a standard larger group. The proposed systematic strategy would help in the selection of the right individuals for the testing, and in extracting far more information from the minimum samples, to effectively aid the epidemic mitigation. The protocol is generic, and can also be applied to any other epidemic spread in the future.

scholarly journals Assessing testing strategies and duration of quarantine in contact tracing for SARS-CoV-2: a retrospective study of San Francisco’s COVID-19 contact tracing program, June- August, 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J A Reid ◽  
P Prado ◽  
H Brosnan ◽  
A Ernst ◽  
H Spindler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retrospective Study ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Testing Strategies ◽  
Close Contacts

Abstract We sought to assess the proportion of elicited close contacts diagnosed with COVID-19 at the start, and before exiting quarantine, in San Francisco, USA. From June 8th to August 31st, 6946 contacts were identified; 3008 (46.3%) tested, 940 (13.5%) tested positive; 90% tested positive in first 9 days of quarantine.

scholarly journals What do users think of the UK’s three COVID-19 contact-tracing apps? A comparative analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. e100320
Author(s):  
Vahid Garousi ◽  
David Cutting
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
End Users ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
User Reviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
Engineering Teams ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Right

ObjectivesOur goal was to gain insights into the user reviews of the three COVID-19 contact-tracing mobile apps, developed for the different regions of the UK: ‘NHS COVID-19’ for England and Wales, ‘StopCOVID NI’ for Northern Ireland and ‘Protect Scotland’ for Scotland. Our two research questions are (1) what are the users’ experience and satisfaction levels with the three apps? and (2) what are the main issues (problems) that users have reported about the apps?MethodsWe assess the popularity of the apps and end users’ perceptions based on user reviews in app stores. We conduct three types of analysis (data mining, sentiment analysis and topic modelling) to derive insights from the combined set of 25 583 user reviews of the aforementioned three apps (submitted by users until the end of 2020).ResultsResults show that end users have been generally dissatisfied with the apps under study, except the Scottish app. Some of the major issues that users have reported are high battery drainage and doubts on whether apps are really working.DiscussionTowards the end of 2020, the much-awaited COVID-19 vaccines started to be available, but still, analysing the users’ feedback and technical issues of these apps, in retrospective, is valuable to learn the right lessons to be ready for similar circumstances in future.ConclusionOur results show that more work is needed by the stakeholders behind the apps (eg, apps’ software engineering teams, public-health experts and decision makers) to improve the software quality and, as a result, the public adoption of these apps. For example, they should be designed to be as simple as possible to operate (need for usability).

scholarly journals Challenges and Controversies in the Genetic Diagnosis of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Saputra ◽  
Kishore Raj Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diagnosis ◽  
Spastic Paraplegia ◽  
Limb Weakness ◽  
Hereditary Spastic Paraplegias ◽  
Gene Testing ◽  
Testing Strategies ◽  
Whole Exome ◽  
The Right ◽  
Gene Panels ◽  
High Degree

Abstract Purpose of Review The hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a group of disorders characterised by progressive lower limb weakness and spasticity. We address the challenges and controversies involved in the genetic diagnosis of HSP. Recent Findings There is a large and rapidly expanding list of genes implicated in HSP, making it difficult to keep gene testing panels updated. There is also a high degree of phenotypic overlap between HSP and other disorders, leading to problems in choosing the right panel to analyse. We discuss genetic testing strategies for overcoming these diagnostic hurdles, including the use of targeted sequencing gene panels, whole-exome sequencing and whole-genome sequencing. Personalised treatments for HSP are on the horizon, and a genetic diagnosis may hold the key to access these treatments. Summary Developing strategies to overcome the challenges and controversies in HSP may hold the key to a rapid and accurate genetic diagnosis.

scholarly journals The Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants in Heart Disease: Section V—Special Situations

2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (01) ◽  
pp. 014-038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaele De Caterina ◽  
Walter Ageno ◽  
Giancarlo Agnelli ◽  
Noel Chan ◽  
Hans-Christoph Diener ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Vitamin K ◽  
Oral Anticoagulants ◽  
Factor Xa ◽  
Risk Profile ◽  
Vitamin K Antagonist ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
Routine Coagulation ◽  
Inhibit Factor

AbstractNon-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) include dabigatran, which inhibits thrombin, and apixaban, betrixaban, edoxaban and rivaroxaban, which inhibit factor Xa. In large clinical trials comparing the NOACs with the vitamin K antagonist (VKA) warfarin, dabigatran, apixaban, rivaroxaban and edoxaban were at least as effective for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation and for treatment of venous thromboembolism, but were associated with less intracranial bleeding. In addition, the NOACs are more convenient to administer than VKAs because they can be given in fixed doses without routine coagulation monitoring. Consequently, the NOACs are now replacing VKAs for these indications, and their use is increasing. Although, as a class, the NOACs have a favourable benefit–risk profile compared with VKAs, choosing among them is complicated because they have not been compared in head-to-head trials. Therefore, selection depends on the results of the individual trials, renal function, the potential for drug–drug interactions and preference for once- or twice-daily dosing. In addition, several ‘special situations’ were not adequately studied in the dedicated clinical trials. For these situations, knowledge of the unique pharmacological features of the various NOACs and judicious cross-trial comparison can help inform prescription choices. The purpose of this position article is therefore to help clinicians choose the right anticoagulant for the right patient at the right dose by reviewing a variety of special situations not widely studied in clinical trials.

Discontinuous noun phrases in Ngkolmpu

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 700-721
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
General Information ◽  
The Other ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
The Right

Abstract It has been claimed that Ngkolmpu (Yam, Papuan) displays discontinuous noun phrases (Donohue 2011). However, careful textual analysis of a corpus of naturalistic language reveals that, in practice, this is highly restricted. The data shows two relatively rare constructions which give rise to limited discontinuous structures. The first is an afterthought construction involving a full co-referential nominal constituent adjacent to the clause. This co-referential constituent is both syntactically and phonetically distinct from the main utterance. The other involves a topic marking demonstrative encliticised to verbs at the right edge of the clause interacting with general information-structural conditions on word order. This is the only true discontinuity found in the corpus and is restricted to demonstratives only. This paper clarifies a claim in the literature about the empirical facts of a specific language, Ngkolmpu, and adds a nuanced discussion of nominal discontinuity in a language of New Guinea.

scholarly journals What people share about the COVID-19 outbreak on Twitter? An exploratory analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. e100133
Author(s):  
Dhivya Karmegam ◽  
Bagavandas Mapillairaju
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
General Information ◽  
Exploratory Analysis ◽  
Outbreak Management ◽  
The People ◽  
Recent Outbreak ◽  
The Right

BackgroundThe recent outbreak of respiratory illness caused by COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, has received global attention as it has infected thousands of individuals there, and later it has also been reported from other countries internationally. This study aims at performing an exploratory study on Twitter to understand the information shared among the community regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.MethodsCOVID-19 related tweets were collected from Twitter using keywords from 18 January to 25 January 2020. Top-ranking tweets were taken as samples and then categorised based on the content. Expressions or opinion tweets were analysed qualitatively to understand the mindset of the people regarding the outbreak. Theme wise reachability evaluation of the messages was also performed.ResultsBased on the content of the tweets, five themes were evolved: (1) general information; (2) health information; (3) expressions; (4) humour and (5) others. 57.42% of messages are general information followed by expressive tweets (24.12%). Humorous messages were liked the most, whereas health information tweets were retweeted the maximum. Fear was the predominant emotion expressed in the messages.ConclusionThe results of the study would be useful to focus on the dissemination of the right information and effective communication on Twitter related to health and outbreak management.

scholarly journals The timing of COVID-19 transmission

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Ferretti ◽  
Alice Ledda ◽  
Chris Wymant ◽  
Lele Zhao ◽  
Virginia Ledda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Infectious Period ◽  
Contextual Risk ◽  
Home Testing ◽  
Behavioural Factors ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

The timing of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is a critical factor to understand the epidemic trajectory and the impact of isolation, contact tracing and other non- pharmaceutical interventions on the spread of COVID-19 epidemics. We examined the distribution of transmission events with respect to exposure and onset of symptoms. We show that for symptomatic individuals, the timing of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is more strongly linked to the onset of clinical symptoms of COVID-19 than to the time since infection. We found that it was approximately centered and symmetric around the onset of symptoms, with three quarters of events occurring in the window from 2-3 days before to 2-3 days after. However, we caution against overinterpretation of the right tail of the distribution, due to its dependence on behavioural factors and interventions. We also found that the pre-symptomatic infectious period extended further back in time for individuals with longer incubation periods. This strongly suggests that information about when a case was infected should be collected where possible, in order to assess how far into the past their contacts should be traced. Overall, the fraction of transmission from strictly pre-symptomatic infections was high (41%; 95%CI 31-50%), which limits the efficacy of symptom-based interventions, and the large fraction of transmissions (35%; 95%CI 26-45%) that occur on the same day or the day after onset of symptoms underlines the critical importance of individuals distancing themselves from others as soon as they notice any symptoms, even if they are mild. Rapid or at-home testing and contextual risk information would greatly facilitate efficient early isolation.

scholarly journals Perangkat Lunak Pencarian Apotek Menggunakan Metode Item Based Collaborative Filltering Dan Algoritma Floyd Warshall

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 122-133
Author(s):  
Andri Wijaya ◽  
Ari Muzakir ◽  
R.M Nasrul Halim
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
System Development ◽  
General Information ◽  
Shortest Path Algorithm ◽  
Development Method ◽  
Filtering Method ◽  
Other Information ◽  
The Right ◽  
Alternative Routes ◽  
The City

Pharmacy is a health service that is very important for the community, this means that this is very much related to public health. To facilitate the community in finding the right and fast pharmacy with the best recommendations and shortest routes and several alternatives to the location of the pharmacy. This study aims to create software that makes it easier for people to find pharmacies based on alternative routes and other information related to the pharmacy located in the city of Palembang. This software uses the Floyd Warshall Algorithm as the shortest path algorithm and the Item-based collaborative filtering method for selecting items based on the rating given by the user. The system development method used is the prototype method. This research produces pharmacy location search software with alternative routes along with general information related to the pharmacy

scholarly journals Analisis Framing Pemberitaan Generasi Milenial dan Pemerintah Terkait Covid-19 di Media Online

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-104
Author(s):  
Kheyene Molekandella Boer ◽  
Mutia Rahmi Pratiwi ◽  
Nalal Muna
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Treatment Recommendations ◽  
General Information ◽  
Treatment Recommendation ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Framing Analysis ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right

This study aims to identify the coverage of the Covid-19 Task Force in the three online editions of March 20-23, 2020. The four stages of Framing Entmant include: Define Problem, Diagnose Cause, Make moral judgment, and Treatment recommendations. This research uses Robert N. Entman's framing analysis method with a qualitative approach. The results showed that Define Problem in reporting related to government policy in cooperating with influencers was considered not the right choice, the diagnosis cause was shown in the form of indifference to millennials in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Make a moral judgment in the form of an assertion that influencers were not paid in this program as a form of their contribution to the country, and the treatment recommendations offered are that the government equip influencers with a strong understanding of COVID-19 before becoming a mediator in delivering messages to millennials. Online media is a public space that is considered important as a reference in increasing general information literacy so that the news is expected to be more objective and educational.Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi pemberitaan mengenai Gugus Tugas penanganan Covid-19 di ketiga media online tersebut edisi 20-23 Maret 2020. Empat tahap Framing Entmant mencakup: Define Problem, Diagnose Cause, Make moral judgment dan Treatment recommendation. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode analisis framing Robert N. Entman dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa Define Problem dalam pemberitaan berkaitan dengan kebijakan pemerintah dalam menggandeng para influencer dinilai bukan pilihan yang tepat, Diagnose cause ditunjukkan dalam bentuk sikap acuh para generasi milenial dalam menanggapi pandemi Covid-19, Make moral judgment dalam bentuk penegasan bahwa para influencer tidak dibayar dalam program ini sebagai bentuk kontribusi mereka kepada negara, dan treatment recommendation yang ditawarkan adalah pemerintah membekali influencer pemahaman yang kuat terkait covid-19 sebelum menjadi mediator penyampai pesan bagi milenial. Media online merupakan ruang publik yang dianggap penting sebagai rujukan dalam meningkatkan literasi informasi masyarakat, sehingga pemberitaannya diharapkan agar lebih objektif dan mendidik.

scholarly journals Optimal COVID-19 quarantine and testing strategies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad R. Wells ◽  
Jeffrey P. Townsend ◽  
Abhishek Pandey ◽  
Seyed M. Moghadas ◽  
Gary Krieger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
Entry And Exit ◽  
Prolonged Stay ◽  
Molecular Tests ◽  
Testing Strategies ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Oil Rig ◽  
Offshore Oil

AbstractAs economic woes of the COVID-19 pandemic deepen, strategies are being formulated to avoid the need for prolonged stay-at-home orders, while implementing risk-based quarantine, testing, contact tracing and surveillance protocols. Given limited resources and the significant economic, public health, and operational challenges of the current 14-day quarantine recommendation, it is vital to understand if shorter but equally effective quarantine and testing strategies can be deployed. To quantify the probability of post-quarantine transmission upon isolation of a positive test, we developed a mathematical model in which we varied quarantine duration and the timing of molecular tests for three scenarios of entry into quarantine. Specifically, we consider travel quarantine, quarantine of traced contacts with an unknown time if infection, and quarantine of cases with a known time of exposure. With a one-day delay between test and result, we found that testing on exit (or entry and exit) can reduce the duration of a 14-day quarantine by 50%, while testing on entry shortened quarantine by at most one day. Testing on exit more effectively reduces post-quarantine transmission than testing upon entry. Furthermore, we identified the optimal testing date within quarantines of varying duration, finding that testing on exit was most effective for quarantines lasting up to seven days. As a real-world validation of these principles, we analyzed the results of 4,040 SARS CoV-2 RT-PCR tests administered to offshore oil rig employees. Among the 47 positives obtained with a testing on entry and exit strategy, 16 cases that previously tested negative at entry were identified, with no further cases detected among employees following quarantine exit. Moreover, this strategy successfully prevented an expected nine offshore transmission events stemming from cases who had tested negative on the entry test, each one a serious concern for initiating rapid spread and a disabling outbreak in the close quarters of an offshore rig. This successful outcome highlights that appropriately timed testing can make shorter quarantines more effective, thereby minimizing economic impacts, disruptions to operational integrity, and COVID-related public health risks.

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