scholarly journals Genomic epidemiology identifies emergence and rapid transmission of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 in the United States

Author(s):  
Nicole L. Washington ◽  
Karthik Gangavarapu ◽  
Mark Zeller ◽  
Alexandre Bolze ◽  
Elizabeth T. Cirulli ◽  
...  

SummaryAs of January of 2021, the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2, which was first identified in the United Kingdom (U.K.), has gained a strong foothold across the world. Because of the sudden and rapid rise of B.1.1.7, we investigated the prevalence and growth dynamics of this variant in the United States (U.S.), tracking it back to its early emergence and onward local transmission. We found that the RT-qPCR testing anomaly of S gene target failure (SGTF), first observed in the U.K., was a reliable proxy for B.1.1.7 detection. We sequenced 212 B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected from testing facilities in the U.S. from December 2020 to January 2021. We found that while the fraction of B.1.1.7 among SGTF samples varied by state, detection of the variant increased at a logistic rate similar to those observed elsewhere, with a doubling rate of a little over a week and an increased transmission rate of 35-45%. By performing time-aware Bayesian phylodynamic analyses, we revealed several independent introductions of B.1.1.7 into the U.S. as early as late November 2020, with onward community transmission enabling the variant to spread to at least 30 states as of January 2021. Our study shows that the U.S. is on a similar trajectory as other countries where B.1.1.7 rapidly became the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant, requiring immediate and decisive action to minimize COVID-19 morbidity and mortality.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Sharif Uddin

Andrade and James Hartshorn (2019) surrounds the transition that international students encounter when they attend universities in developed countries in pursuit of higher education. Andrade and James Hartshorn (2019) describe how some countries like Australia and the United Kingdom host more international students than the United States (U.S.) and provides some guidelines for the U.S. higher education institutions to follow to host more international students. This book contains seven chapters.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phyllis A. Cummins ◽  
Takashi Yamashita ◽  
Roberto J. Millar ◽  
Shalini Sahoo

Automation and advanced technologies have increased the need for a better understanding of the skills necessary to have a globally competitive workforce. This study used data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies to compare problem-solving skills in technology-rich environments among adults in South Korea, Germany, Singapore, Japan, Canada, Estonia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. Overall, the United States had the lowest scores among all countries, and in all countries scores declined with age. The United States had higher proportions of survey participants in the lowest skill category and lower proportions in the top-skill categories. The results of this study suggest changes in the U.S. educational and lifelong learning systems, and policies may be necessary to ensure all adults have the necessary skills in a competitive workforce.


1986 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 720-721
Author(s):  
T. M. F.

The United Nations Administrative Tribunal (UNAT) has elected Herbert Reis of the United States, a former Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, as its Second Vice-President for the coming year. Mr. Reis has served on the tribunal for 5 years. Samar Sen of India and Arnold Kean of the United Kingdom were elected President and First Vice-President of the tribunal, respectively.


Author(s):  
Joseph R. Fauver ◽  
Mary E. Petrone ◽  
Emma B. Hodcroft ◽  
Kayoko Shioda ◽  
Hanna Y. Ehrlich ◽  
...  

SummarySince its emergence and detection in Wuhan, China in late 2019, the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has spread to nearly every country around the world, resulting in hundreds of thousands of infections to date. The virus was first detected in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States in January, 2020, with subsequent COVID-19 outbreaks detected in all 50 states by early March. To uncover the sources of SARS-CoV-2 introductions and patterns of spread within the U.S., we sequenced nine viral genomes from early reported COVID-19 patients in Connecticut. Our phylogenetic analysis places the majority of these genomes with viruses sequenced from Washington state. By coupling our genomic data with domestic and international travel patterns, we show that early SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Connecticut was likely driven by domestic introductions. Moreover, the risk of domestic importation to Connecticut exceeded that of international importation by mid-March regardless of our estimated impacts of federal travel restrictions. This study provides evidence for widespread, sustained transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within the U.S. and highlights the critical need for local surveillance.


AJIL Unbound ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 107 ◽  
pp. 30-36
Author(s):  
Mahdev Mohan

Anxieties about the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. should not eclipse the fact that redress can, and at times should, be secured elsewhere. Amajor effect of Kiobel is to adjust the aperture of transnational corporate accountability away from the United States–which generally has been the default venue–and toward regional and foreign jurisdictions where violations occur or where responsible beneficiaries of the wrongdoings reside or conduct their businesses.


1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
David F. Gordon

Despite continued American insistence that a negotiating impasse had not been reached, by the final months of 1982 it seemed clear that internationally-recognized independence for Namibia would not soon be achieved. While Washington claimed that negotiations between South Africa, Angola, and the Southwest African Peoples Organization (SWAPO) (with the U.S. as mediator) remain meaningful, there appears to have been a decisive move away from settlement. The latest round of negotiations, spearheaded by the United States as the leading element of the Western Contact Group (the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, and Canada), has attempted to move South African-controlled Namibia to independence on the basis of Security Council Resolution 435 of September 1978.


1956 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-176
Author(s):  
G. M. Clemence ◽  
D. H. Sadler

Announcement. As from the editions for the year 1958 the Abridged Nautical Almanac and the American Nautical Almanac will become identical in content, and will be reproduced from identical material, apart from the title pages and covers; they will for the time being retain their present titles, and will continue to be printed and published separately in the United Kingdom and the United States. The unified Almanac will be produced jointly by H.M. Nautical Almanac Office of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, Herstmonceux, and the Nautical Almanac Office of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, to meet the general requirements for surface navigation in the two countries.Unification became a possibility with the decision to prepare copy for the Abridged Nautical Almanac on the card-controlled typewriter in H.M. Nautical Almanac Office; this machine is identical with that at the U.S. Naval Observatory, which has been used to prepare copy for the American Nautical Almanac since 1950. A large number of arrangements were tried for the daily pages, some with one day to the page or two days to the opening, and others with three days to the opening. The consensus of opinion in the United Kingdom favoured the latter form, which is already in use in the American Nautical Almanac. This opened the way to a detailed investigation into an arrangement that would prove acceptable to users and producers in both countries. The unified Almanac is the result of this collaboration.


2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Piketty ◽  
Emmanuel Saez

This paper provides estimates of federal tax rates by income groups in the United States since 1960, with special emphasis on very top income groups. We include individual and corporate income taxes, payroll taxes, and estate and gift taxes. The progressivity of the U.S. federal tax system at the top of the income distribution has declined dramatically since the 1960s. This dramatic drop in progressivity is due primarily to a drop in corporate taxes and in estate and gift taxes combined with a sharp change in the composition of top incomes away from capital income and toward labor income. The sharp drop in statutory top marginal individual income tax rates has contributed only moderately to the decline in tax progressivity. International comparisons confirm that is it critical to take into account other taxes than the individual income tax to properly assess the extent of overall tax progressivity, both for time trends and for cross-country comparisons. The pattern for the United Kingdom is similar to the U.S. pattern. France had less progressive taxes than the United States or the United Kingdom in 1970 but has experienced an increase in tax progressivity and has now a more progressive tax system than the United States or the United Kingdom.


2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 72-73
Author(s):  
Maria Ferguson

Seismic shifts in both the United States and the United Kingdom during the 2016 elections have introduced changes in the education space as well. Worries about jobs, immigration, and shifting demographics underlie policy proposals in both countries. Where the U.S. is trying to drive change to the state and local level, however, Britain is moving toward centralization.


2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence M. Kaye

AbstractSome countries' laws favoring good-faith purchasers over the victims of theft make it difficult to recover stolen artworks. Nonetheless, the loan of such artworks for exhibition abroad may create opportunities to utilize the host country's legal system for recovery. This article examines representative cases illustrating legal options available to plaintiffs in the United States and the United Kingdom. In the United States, laws at the federal and state level may prevent the seizure of artworks loaned for temporary exhibition, but recent cases show that immunity is not absolute and that such artworks may be subject to suit in the United States. The United Kingdom recently enacted a similar law. That law, however, has been criticized, and future interpretations by U.K. courts will be needed before its true affect can be seen. The article also discusses the backgrounds against which the U.S. and U.K. laws were enacted, illustrating the link between the laws and Russian concerns about protecting cultural artifacts that were nationalized after the Russian Revolution or taken by Soviet troops during World War II.


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