Unique Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in the Second Large Cruise Ship Cluster in Japan

In the initial phase of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a large-scale cluster on the cruise ship Diamond Princess (DP) emerged in Japan. Genetic analysis of the DP strains has provided important information for elucidating the possible transmission process of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on a cruise ship. However, genome-based analyses of SARS-CoV-2 detected in large-scale cruise ship clusters other than the DP cluster have rarely been reported. In the present study, whole-genome sequences of 94 SARS-CoV-2 strains detected in the second large cruise ship cluster, which emerged on the Costa Atlantica (CA) in Japan, were characterized to understand the evolution of the virus in a crowded and confined place. Phylogenetic and haplotype network analysis indicated that the CA strains were derived from a common ancestral strain introduced on the CA cruise ship and spread in a superspreading event-like manner, resulting in several mutations that might have affected viral characteristics, including the P681H substitution in the spike protein. Moreover, there were significant genetic distances between CA strains and other strains isolated in different environments, such as cities under lockdown. These results provide new insights into the unique evolution patterns of SARS-CoV-2 in the CA cruise ship cluster.

Lateral Transmission of Yeast Symbionts Among Lucanid Beetle Taxa

To deepen understanding the evolutionary process of lucanid–yeast association, the lateral transmission process of yeast symbionts among stag beetle genera Platycerus and Prismognathus around the border between Japan and South Korea was estimated based on molecular analyses and species distribution modelings. Phylogenetic analyses were based on yeast ITS and IGS sequences and beetle COI sequences using Prismognathus dauricus from the Tsushima Islands and Pr. angularis from Kyushu, Japan, as well as other sequence data from our previous studies. The range overlap based on the species distribution model (SDM) and differentiation in ecological space were analyzed. Based on the IGS sequences, Clade II yeast symbionts were shared by Platycerus hongwonpyoi and Pr. dauricus in South Korea and the Tsushima Islands, and Platycerus viridicuprus in Japan. Clade III yeasts were shared by Pr. dauricus from the Tsushima Islands and Pr. angularis in Japan. During the Last Interglacial period when the land bridge between Japan and the Korean Peninsula existed, range overlap was predicted to occur between Pl. viridicuprus and Pr. dauricus in Kyushu and between Pr. dauricus and Pr. angularis in Kyushu and the Tsushima Islands. The ecological space of Pl. hongwonpyoi was differentiated from that of Pl. viridicuprus and Pr. angularis. We demonstrated the paleogeographical lateral transmission process of Scheffersomyces yeast symbionts among lucanid genera and species: putative transmission of yeasts from Pr. dauricus to Pl. viridicuprus in Kyushu and from Pr. angularis to Pr. dauricus in Kyushu or the Tsushima Islands. We also found that the yeast symbionts are likely being replaced in Pr. dauricus on the Tsushima Islands. We present novel estimates of the lateral transmission process of microbial symbionts based on phylogenetic, SDM and environmental analyses among lucanid beetles.

From Lyons to Antwerp

This article examines the multilingual transmission of the late medieval idyllic romance Paris et Vienne. The genealogy of incunabula editions of this pan-European bestseller is obscured by an unsettled bibliographical record. The little-known first French edition printed circa 1480 is likely the first printing in any language. The analysis highlights textual and paratextual transformations from the French editio princeps to Gheraert Leeu’s illustrated edition of 1487. I argue that the second Lyons imprint is the source of Leeu’s edition or that they share a common source. Identification and collation of French sources brings into focus the transmission process and illuminates the ways in which the illustrated editions published in Antwerp accelerated circulation across Europe. Leeu’s multilingual adaptation offers a rare example of triangulated cross-cultural transfers, in which translations of French-language texts were produced with an eye on the Anglophone print marketplace.

Cartography Theory and Map Service Model Based on Constructivism

Map is not only the result of geospatial environment cognition, but also a tool for geospatial environment cognition. The new concept advocated by Constructivist cognitive theory is highly consistent with the concept of map service in the era of Internet plus space-time big data. This paper analyzes the geographic information transmission process from the perspective of constructivism, and constructs the geographic information transmission process model. Based on the traditional map cognitive process model, a map cognitive process model based on constructivism is constructed. According to the four elements of “situation, cooperation, communication and meaning construction” advocated by Constructivist cognitive theory, a map service function model based on constructivism is constructed.

Abstraction of Minahasan folklore in food tradition

The main purpose of folklore is to convey present useful information and everyday life lessons in an easy way for the common people to understand. "The transmission process of folklore is still largely undocumented." Minahasan people still believe that Folklore become a philosophy in life. That philosophy never changes although time is changed until era 0.5. This research is entitled “Abstraction of Minahasan Folklore in Food”. The problems are the form and meaning of abstraction of Minahasan folklore in food. The method used is a qualitative method through an ethnography at the level of descriptive synchronic linguistics. An ethnographic approach was applied in data collection so that the form and meaning of Minahasan traditional food are in line with the concept of people’s of Minahasa. This research uses the Gastronomy linguistics approach and purposive sampling. The theory of Syntax by Givon (1994) and theory of meaning by Leech (1981) are used to analyze the data. The results showed that Minahasan Folklore consist of several titles are as follow: I royor si koki’ ,Toar Lumimuut, Si Naa en Jaa,Tumideng (Tumileng), Lingkambene (padi yang melambai), Wuwun Sewe, Tjarema, Sisil an dumoro’ in tjinamualian in tama i Maesa tanu in and Panagian.

Design of Digital Pulse-Position Modulation System

Pulse-Position Modulation (PPM) is a modulation method that only makes every pulse in the carrier pulse sequence change with time but without changing the shape and amplitude of the pulse signal. In this paper, a PPM system is designed. Firstly, an appropriate mathematical model is established to represent PPM transmission, and the shape of the pulse signal is designed. After that, we write the code and add a white Gaussian noise channel. Then the transmission process is simulated and visualized. At last, the error rate of the scheme is analyzed and discussed through MATLAB simulation then compared with other modulation methods. The goal of this paper is to study PPM by designing a PPM system fully. Besides, our method is compared with other modulation methods to understand the advantages and disadvantages of PPM. This may help other scholars to design and research the PPM system.

Being Easy to Communicate Might Make Verdicts Based on Confessions More Legitimate

In many judicial systems, confessions are a requirement for criminal conviction. Even if confessions are intrinsically convincing, this might not entirely explain why they play such a paramount role. In addition, it has been suggested that confessions owe their importance to their legitimizing role, explaining why they could be required even when other evidence has convinced a judge. But why would confessions be particularly suited to justify verdicts? One possibility is that they can be more easily transmitted from one individual to the next, and thus spread in the population without losing their convincingness. 360 English-speaking participants were asked to evaluate the convincingness of one of three justifications for a verdict, grounded either in a confession, eyewitnesses, or circumstantial evidence, and to pass on that justification to another participant, who performed the same task. Then, 240 English-speaking participants evaluated the convincingness of some of the justifications produced by the first group of participants. Compared to the other justifications, justifications based on confessions lost less of their convincingness in the transmission process (small to medium effect sizes). Modeling pointed to the most common forms the justifications would take as they are transmitted, and results showed that the most common variant of the justification based on a confession was more convincing (small to medium effect sizes).

On instantaneous propagation of low-frequency signals in short transmission lines

One of the basic assumptions of physics is that information cannot be transferred more rapidly than light. If one equates information with data, then information transfer is a process in which data are transmitted between two remote locations. According to this basic principle, the transmission process should require an appropriate amount of time so that the distance between these locations divided by the needed time does not exceed the speed of light in a vacuum. However, it is technologically feasible to transmit a voice message, music, or any bit sequence at a low bit rate between locations separated by hundreds of meters, with almost no loss of time. Herein, we demonstrate that this behavior most likely does not contradict special relativity, and we explain this phenomenon based on a model of a superconducting cable.

On instantaneous propagation of low-frequency signals in short transmission lines

One of the basic assumptions of physics is that information cannot be transferred more rapidly than light. If one equates information with data, then information transfer is a process in which data are transmitted between two remote locations. According to this basic principle, the transmission process should require an appropriate amount of time so that the distance between these locations divided by the needed time does not exceed the speed of light in a vacuum. However, it is technologically feasible to transmit a voice message, music, or any bit sequence at a low bit rate between locations separated by hundreds of meters, with almost no loss of time. Herein, we demonstrate that this behavior most likely does not contradict special relativity, and we explain this phenomenon based on a model of a superconducting cable.

Advances in the Study of the Tick Cattle Microbiota and the Influence on Vectorial Capacity

The information from the tick cattle microbiota suggests that the microbial populations may modulate a successful infection process of the tick-borne pathogens. Therefore, there is a need to know the microbial population and their interactions. In this mini-review, we present several examples of how microbiota regulates the survival of pathogens inside the tick and contributes to fitness, adaptation, and tick immunity, among others. The communication between the tick microbiota and the host microbiota is vital to understanding the pathogen transmission process. As part of the tick microbiota, the pathogen interacts with different microbial populations, including the microorganisms of the host microbiota. These interactions comprise a microsystem that regulates the vectorial capacity involved in tick-borne diseases. The knowledge we have about the vectorial capacity contributes to a better understanding of tick-borne pathogens. Additionally, using approaches based on multi-omics strategies applied to studying the microbiota and its microbiome allows the development of strategies to control ticks. The results derived from those studies reveal the dynamics of the microbiota and potential targets for anti-tick vaccine development. In this context, the anti-microbiota vaccines have emerged as an alternative with a good prognosis. Some strategies developed to control other arthropods vectors, such as paratransgenesis, could control ticks and tick-borne diseases.