Application of Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM) to Determine Port Waste Management Strategies for African Swine Fever (ASF) Prevention at Tanjung Priok Port

African Swine Fever (ASF) is one of the infectious diseases affecting swine with high mortality rate. Disease transmission occurs direct and indirect. Indirect transmission through feed, virus contaminated object and swill feeding produced by ships. Ships berthing in the port of Tanjung Priok mostly comes or transits from a country which ASF exist. Among those ships, some discharge their garbage and take over into the final dumping site without any further treatment. There are many institution and a third parties involved in garbage management in the port of Tanjung Priok. This research aims is to identify an obstacle, actors and strategies in managing garbage from the ships to prevent ASF spread in the port of Tanjung Priok using Interpretative Structural Modelling (ISM). The results of this research shows the biggest obstacle in managing garbage from the ships, in order to prevent ASF spread in the port of Tanjung Priok is the absence of standard operating procedures (SOP), The most important actor is Indonesia Port Corporation II and the most important strategy is develop an integrated SOP for ship waste management. is to develop an integrated SOP for ship waste management.

Spread of COVID-19 and Its Main Modes of Transmission

The coronaviruses group can affect mammals, including humans, causing generally mild infectious disorders, sporadically leading to severe outbreak clusters, such as those generated by SARS-CoV in 2003 and by MERS-CoV in 2012 and in 2015. The current coronavirus outbreak started December 29th, 2019 in Wuhan (Republic of China) and has progressively expanded to various parts of the world. A human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 occurs directly through individuals showing symptoms. But, recent researches support the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from persons who are asymptomatic. Indirect transmission occurs via touching infected surfaces or through inhalation of small, exhaled virus in respiratory droplets. To effectively fight the spread of COVID-19, it is vital to understand the different factors that promote superspreading of COVID-19. So, the aim of this chapter is to describe the invasion of SARS-CoV-2 in the human body and the different modes of transmission (directly and indirectly).

Investigation of Cyprinid Herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) Disease Periods and Factors Influencing CyHV-3 Transmission in A Low Stocking Density Infection Trial

Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) is the etiological agent of koi herpesvirus disease (KHVD) and important pathogen of aquaculture and wild populations of common carp worldwide. Understanding the relative contributions of direct and indirect transmission of CyHV-3 as well as the factors that drive CyHV-3 transmission can clarify the importance of environmental disease vectors and is valuable for informing disease modeling efforts. To study the mechanisms and factors driving CyHV-3 transmission we conducted infection trials that determined the kinetics of KHVD and the contributions of direct and indirect forms of CyHV-3 transmission, as well as the contributions of contact rate, viral load, pathogenicity and contact type. The incubation period of KHVD was 5.88 + 1.75 days and the symptomatic period was 5.31 + 0.87 days. Direct transmission was determined to be the primary mechanism of CyHV-3 transmission (OR = 25.08, 95%CI = 10.73–99.99, p = 4.29 × 10−18) and transmission primarily occurred during the incubation period of KHVD. Direct transmission decreased in the symptomatic period of disease. Transmissibility of CyHV-3 and indirect transmission increased during the symptomatic period of disease, correlating with increased viral loads. Additionally, potential virulence-transmission tradeoffs and disease avoidance behaviors relevant to CyHV-3 transmission were identified.

Cryptocurrency as Epidemiologically Safe Means of Transactions: Diminishing Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Spread

In comparison with other respiratory viruses, the current COVID-19 pandemic’s rapid seizing the world can be attributed to indirect (contact) way of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus in addition to the regular airborne way. A significant part of indirect transmission is made through cash bank notes. SARS-CoV-2 remains on cash paper money for period around four times larger than influenza A virus and is absorbed by cash notes two and a half times more effectively than influenza A (our model). During the pandemic, cryptocurrencies have gained attractiveness as an “epidemiologically safe” means of transactions. On the basis of the authors’ gallop polls performed online with social networks users in 44 countries in 2020–2021 (the total number of clear responses after the set repair 32,115), around 14.7% of surveyed participants engaged in cryptocurrency-based transactions during the pandemic. This may be one of the reasons of significant rise of cryptocurrencies rates since mid-March 2020 till the end of 2021. The paper discusses the reasons for cryptocurrency attractiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them, there are fear of SARS-CoV-2 spread via cash contacts and the ability of the general population to mine cryptocurrencies. The article also provides a breakdown of the polled audience profile to determine the nationalities that have maximal level of trust to saving and transacting money as cryptocurrencies.

Porous surfaces: stability and recovery of coronaviruses

The role of indirect contact in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is not clear. SARS-CoV-2 persists on dry surfaces for hours to days; published studies have largely focused on hard surfaces with less research being conducted on different porous surfaces, such as textiles. Understanding the potential risks of indirect transmission of COVID-19 is useful for settings where there is close contact with textiles, including healthcare, manufacturing and retail environments. This article aims to review current research on porous surfaces in relation to their potential as fomites of coronaviruses compared to non-porous surfaces. Current methodologies for assessing the stability and recovery of coronaviruses from surfaces are also explored. Coronaviruses are often less stable on porous surfaces than non-porous surfaces, for example, SARS-CoV-2 persists for 0.5 h–5 days on paper and 3–21 days on plastic; however, stability is dependent on the type of surface. In particular, the surface properties of textiles differ widely depending on their construction, leading to variation in the stability of coronaviruses, with longer persistence on more hydrophobic materials such as polyester (1–3 days) compared to highly absorbent cotton (2 h–4 days). These findings should be considered where there is close contact with potentially contaminated textiles.

Contact transmission of SARS-CoV-2 on fomite surfaces: surface survival and risk reduction

There is an unprecedented concern regarding the viral strain SARS-CoV-2 and especially its respiratory disease more commonly known as COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 virus has the ability to survive on different surfaces for extended periods, ranging from days up to months. The new infectious properties of SARS-CoV-2 vary depending on the properties of fomite surfaces. In this review, we summarize the risk factors involved in the indirect transmission pathways of SARS-CoV-2 strains on fomite surfaces. The main mode of indirect transmission is the contamination of porous and non-porous inanimate surfaces such as textile surfaces that include clothes and most importantly personal protective equipment like personal protective equipment kits, masks, etc. In the second part of the review, we highlight materials and processes that can actively reduce the SARS-CoV-2 surface contamination pattern and the associated transmission routes. The review also focuses on some general methodologies for designing advanced and effective antiviral surfaces by physical and chemical modifications, viral inhibitors, etc.

COVID-19 PREVENTIVE BEHAVIOURS

COVID-19 is an infectious disease attributable to SARS-CoV-2, which is transmitted by direct and indirect transmission. There are some measures that have been introduced to society in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 including face masks, hand hygiene, face shields, and social distancing. Face masks have become one of the most common preventive instruments against viral spreading. The primary use of face masks is to protect or contain the viral mode of transmission such as droplets. Face masks have different types that demonstrate specific uses. Hand hygiene is an accessible method that people can follow. The benefit of hand hygiene appears to be the ability to trap germs and remove them away. In a more sophisticated use, face shields are used together with face masks in order to better the performance of protecting the virus from different directions. Social distancing is known as one of the popular measures among many countries. To decrease the rate of COVID-19 infection, standing 1-2 metres is recommended. We hope that our review paper would provide useful information for the readers, which could be applied in real life. Also, we fully appreciate being a reliable supplement for the following research.

Intergenerational Transmission of Body Mass Index and Associations with Educational Attainment

Background Individual differences in educational attainment (EA) and physical health, as indexed by body mass index (BMI), are correlated within persons and across generations. The present aim was to assess these associations while controlling for parental transmission. Methods We analyzed BMI and EA obtained for 8,866 families from the Netherlands. Data were available for 19,132 persons, including 6,901 parents (mean age 54) and 12,234 of their adult offspring (mean age 32). We employed structural equation modeling to simultaneously model the direct and indirect transmission of BMI and EA from parents to offspring, spousal correlations, and the residual within-person BMI-EA association and tested for gender differences in the transmission parameters. Results We found significant intergeneration transmission of BMI and EA from parents to their adult offspring, and substantial spousal correlations (0.23 for BMI and 0.51 for EA). Cross-trait parent to offspring transmission was weak. The strength of transmission was largely independent of parent or offspring gender. About 60% of the EA-BMI correlation in the offspring persisted after taking into account the intergeneration transmission. Conclusions The intergenerational transmission for BMI and EA is mainly predictive within traits. Significant spousal and within person correlations in the parental generation are responsible for the effect of parental EA on offspring BMI. Offspring EA and BMI are further correlated beyond parental influences.

A Mathematical Model to Control the Prevalence of a Directly and Indirectly Transmitted Disease

In this paper, a mathematical model to describe the spread of an infectious disease on a farm is developed. To analyze the evolution of the infection, the direct transmission from infected individuals and the indirect transmission from the bacteria accumulated in the enclosure are considered. A threshold value of population is obtained to assure the extinction of the disease. When this size of population is exceeded, two control procedures to apply at each time are proposed. For each of them, a maximum number of steps without control and reducing the prevalence of disease is obtained. In addition, a criterion to choose between both procedures is established. Finally, the results are numerically simulated for a hypothetical outbreak on a farm.