Risk Evaluation Method of Import and Export Goods Based on Fuzzy Reasoning and DeepFM

At present, the inspection mode of China's import ports is generally manual based on experience, or random inspection by the document review system according to a preset random inspection ratio. In order to improve the detection rate of unqualified goods and realize the best allocation of limited human and material resources of inspection and quarantine institutions, a method composed of fuzzy reasoning, deep neural network, and factorization machine (DeepFM) was proposed for the intelligent evaluation of risk sources of imported goods. Fuzzy reasoning is used to realize the fuzzy normalization of the dataset samples, the DeepFM deep neural network is finally used for training and learning to classify and evaluate the risks of goods. Results of experimental tests on a specific customs import and export dataset verify the effectiveness of the proposed research method.

Multiplex and on-site PCR detection of swine diseases based on the microfluidic chip system

Background At present, the process of inspection and quarantine starts with sampling at the customs port, continues with transporting the samples to the central laboratory for inspection experiments, and ends with the inspected results being fed back to the port. This process had the risks of degradation of biological samples and generation of pathogenic microorganisms and did not meet the rapid on-site detection demand because it took a rather long time. Therefore, it is urgently needed to develop a rapid and high-throughput detection assay of pathogenic microorganisms at the customs port. The aim of this study was to develop a microfluidic chip to rapidly detect swine pathogenic microorganisms with high-throughput and higher accuracy. Moreover, this chip will decrease the risk of spreading infection during transportation. Results A series of experiments were performed to establish a microfluidic chip. The resulting data showed that the positive nucleic acid of four swine viruses were detected by using a portable and rapid microfluidic PCR system, which could achieve a on-site real-time quantitative PCR detection. Furthermore, the detection results of eight clinical samples were obtained within an hour. The lowest concentration that amplified of this microfluidic PCR detection system was as low as 1 copies/μL. The results showed that the high specificity of this chip system in disease detection played an important role in customs inspection and quarantine during customs clearance. Conclusion The microfluidic PCR detection system established in this study could meet the requirement for rapid detection of samples at the customs port. This chip could avoid the risky process of transporting the samples from the sampling site to the testing lab, and drastically reduce the inspection cycle. Moreover, it would enable parallel inspections on one chip, which greatly raised the efficiency of inspection.

Predatory mites (Acari: Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae) intercepted from samples imported to Taiwan, with description of a new species

Global trade has increased the invasion risk of exotic organisms and damaged agricultural and natural ecosystems. The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) handles quarantine services of animal- and plant-associated pests and diseases in Taiwan. The predatory mite family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) is a well-known group due to the potential use of certain species as biocontrol agents for small phytophagous pests. Some species are available in commercial markets and frequently used in biological control in many agricultural systems, especially in greenhouse crops. However, exotic biological control agents may interfere with natural or naturalised populations of predatory mites and they may threaten indigenous populations via intraguild predation. The present study aims to provide a checklist of phytoseiid mite species found in plant quarantine from 2006–2013. Twenty-five species belonging to two subfamilies and eight genera were found in samples imported to Taiwan from twelve countries, including one new species Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) ueckermanni sp. nov. from South Africa. The checklist provides distribution, remarks, and also an identification key for all species.

Multiplex and On-site PCR detection of swine diseases based on the microfluidic chip system

Background: At present, the process of inspection and quarantine starts with sampling at the customs port, continues with transporting the samples to the central laboratory for inspection experiments, and ends with the inspected results being fed back to the port. This process had the risks of degradation of biological samples and generation of pathogenic microorganisms and did not meet the rapid on-site detection demand because it took a rather long time. Therefore, it is urgently needed to develop a rapid and high-throughput detection assay of pathogenic microorganisms at the customs port. The aim of this study was to develop a microfluidic chip to rapidly detect swine pathogenic microorganisms with high-throughput and higher accuracy. Moreover, this chip will decrease the risk of spreading infection during transportation.Results: A series of experiments were performed to establish a microfluidic chip. The resulting data showed that the positive nucleic acid of four swine viruses were detected by using a portable and rapid microfluidic PCR system, which could achieve a on-site real-time quantitative PCR detection. Furthermore, the detection results of eight clinical samples were obtained within an hour. The detection limit of this microfluidic PCR detection system was as low as 1 copies/μL. The results showed that the high sensitivity and specificity of this chip system in disease detection played an important role in customs inspection and quarantine during customs clearance.Conclusion: The microfluidic PCR detection system established in this study could meet the requirement for rapid detection of samples at the customs port. This chip could avoid the risky process of transporting the samples from the sampling site to the testing lab, and drastically reduce the inspection cycle. Moreover, it would enable parallel inspections on one chip, which greatly raised the efficiency of inspection.

Reanalysis of the 2000 Rift Valley fever outbreak in Southwestern Arabia

The first documented Rift Valley hemorrhagic fever outbreak in the Arabian Peninsula occurred in northwestern Yemen and southwestern Saudi Arabia from August 2000 to September 2001. This Rift Valley fever outbreak is unique because the virus was introduced into Arabia during or after the 1997–1998 East African outbreak and before August 2000, either by wind-blown infected mosquitos or by infected animals, both from East Africa. A wet period from August 2000 into 2001 resulted in a large number of amplification vector mosquitoes, these mosquitos fed on infected animals, and the outbreak occurred. More than 1,500 people were diagnosed with the disease, at least 215 died, and widespread losses of domestic animals were reported. Using a combination of satellite data products, including 2 x 2 m digital elevation images derived from commercial satellite data, we show rainfall and potential areas of inundation or water impoundment were favorable for the 2000 outbreak. However, favorable conditions for subsequent outbreaks were present in 2007 and 2013, and very favorable conditions were also present in 2016–2018. The lack of subsequent Rift Valley fever outbreaks in this area suggests that Rift Valley fever has not been established in mosquito species in Southwest Arabia, or that strict animal import inspection and quarantine procedures, medical and veterinary surveillance, and mosquito control efforts put in place in Saudi Arabia following the 2000 outbreak have been successful. Any area with Rift Valley fever amplification vector mosquitos present is a potential outbreak area unless strict animal import inspection and quarantine proceedures are in place.

DETECTION OF BRUCELLOSIS IN IMPORTED DAIRY CATTLE DURING ANIMAL QUARANTINE

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease and caused by the bacterium Brucella sp. This disease is one of the infectious diseases that has spread throughout the world. Brucellosis is still an endemic disease in Indonesia with varying prevalence in various regions. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that as many as 500,000 new cases of brucellosis appear every year so that it is considered the most common zoonotic disease in the world. Transmission to humans occurs mainly through direct contact with infected animals, drinking milk from infected animals, and breathing air contaminated by bacteria that cause brucellosis. The data used for the analysis is a report on income and quarantine actions on imported Australian cattle imported through Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Quarantine measures for 200 Frisian Holstein (FH) imported dairy cows were carried out from October 16, 2018, to November 15, 2018. Based on the Certificate of Health to Accompany Animals or Animal Reproductive, all cows were vaccinated with infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and bovine viral diarrhea (BVD). On examination of brucellosis with the rose bengal test (RBT) method 3 positive samples were obtained so that the examination was continued with the complement fixation test (CFT) method. On CFT examination all samples showed negative results. Supervision and inspection of imported dairy cows against brucellosis are very important in order to anticipate the possibility of entry and spread of the disease from abroad. Animal Quarantine Technical Implementation Unit at the entrances must carry out supervision, inspection, and quarantine actions on the traffic of animals and their processed products which can act as a source of zoonotic transmission.

Report on COVID-19 Verification Case Study in Nine Countries Using the SIQR model

This report uses the SIQR model proposed by Takashi Odagaki to examine the epidemic trend of COVID-19 in nine major countries during February-May 2020, and to clarify the peculiar trend of infection in Japan. The SIQR model, which is an improvement on the conventional SIR model, is unique in that it allows us to theoretically clarify the epidemic phenomenon by separating the number of daily confirmed new cases by testing and the number of infecteds at large who remain untested, and also allows us to theoretically consider measures to control the epidemic. The infection control measures of each country were analyzed by dividing them into three groups according to the size of the decay (or growth) rate of infected at large (λ). The active group includes China and South Korea, the passive group includes the United States and Sweden, and the average group includes Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Japan. China and South Korea are the countries with the best testing and quarantine systems, and South Korea in particular having managed to contain the infection without lockdown through early quarantine by thorough testing. On the other hand, the United States and Sweden do not have a well-developed inspection and quarantine system and have shown little restraint in social distancing. In the case of Japan, the following special factors may have contributed to the extreme lack of PCR testing : (1) The “4-day fever rule” established by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare was strictly enforced. (2) Even after the decision to postpone the Olympics, the government continued to monopolize PCR testing for the sake of unified analysis of infection data, and the policy of expanding PCR testing by private companies was not implemented.

A new species of subgenus Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) De Leon (Acari: Phytoseiidae), and phytoseiid mites intercepted in samples imported from 12 different countries to Taiwan

Global trade has increased the invasion risk of exotic organisms and damaged agricultural and natural ecosystems. The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) handles quarantine services of animal- and plant-associated pests and diseases in Taiwan. The predatory mite family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) is a well-known group due to the potential use of certain species as biocontrol agents for small phytophagous pests. Some species are available in commercial markets and frequently used in biological control in many agricultural systems especially in greenhouse crops. However, exotic biological control agents may interfere with native or naturalized populations of predatory mites and they may threaten indigenous populations via intraguild predation. The present study aims to provide the phytoseiid mite species found in plant quarantine from 2006–2013. Twenty-five species belonging two subfamilies and eight genera were found in samples imported to Tawan from twelve countries, including one new species Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) ueckermannisp. nov. from South Africa. The checklist provides distribution, remarks, and also an identification key for all species.

Multiplex and On-site PCR detection of swine diseases based on the microfluidic chip system

Background： At present, the process of inspection and quarantine starts with sampling at the customs port, continues with transporting the samples to the central laboratory for inspection experiments, and ends with the inspected results being fed back to the port. This process had the risks of degradation of biological samples and generation of pathogenic microorganisms and did not meet the rapid on-site detection demand because it took a rather long time. Therefore, it is urgently needed to develop a rapid and high-throughput detection assay of pathogenic microorganisms at the customs port. The aim of this study was to develop a microfluidic chip to rapidly detect swine pathogenic microorganisms with high-throughput and higher accuracy. Moreover, this chip will decrease the risk of spreading infection during transportation.Results: A series of experiments were performed to establish a microfluidic chip. The resulting data showed that the positive nucleic acid of four swine viruses were detected by using a portable and rapid microfluidic PCR system, which could achieve a on-site real-time quantitative PCR detection. Furthermore, the detection results of eight clinical samples were obtained within an hour. The detection limit of this microfluidic PCR detection system was as low as 1 copies/μL. The results showed that the high sensitivity and specificity of this chip system in disease detection played an important role in customs inspection and quarantine during customs clearance.Conclusion: The microfluidic PCR detection system established in this study could meet the requirement for rapid detection of samples at the customs port. This chip could avoid the risky process of transporting the samples from the sampling site to the testing lab, and drastically reduce the inspection cycle. Moreover, it would enable parallel inspections on one chip, which greatly raised the efficiency of inspection.

Multiplex and On-site PCR detection of swine diseases based on the microfluidic chip system

Background： At present, the process of inspection and quarantine starts with sampling at the customs port, continues with transporting the samples to the central laboratory for inspection experiments, and ends with the inspected results being fed back to the port. This process had the risks of degradation of biological samples and generation of pathogenic microorganisms and did not meet the rapid on-site detection demand because it took a rather long time. Therefore, it is urgently needed to develop a rapid and high-throughput detection assay of pathogenic microorganisms at the customs port. The aim of this study was to develop a microfluidic chip to rapidly detect swine pathogenic microorganisms with high-throughput and higher accuracy. Moreover, this chip will decrease the risk of spreading infection during transportation. Results: A series of experiments were performed to establish a microfluidic chip. The resulting data showed that the positive nucleic acid of four swine viruses were detected by using a portable and rapid microfluidic PCR system, which could achieve a on-site real-time quantitative PCR detection. Furthermore, the detection results of eight clinical samples were obtained within an hour. The detection limit of this microfluidic PCR detection system was as low as 1 copies/μL. The results showed that the high sensitivity and specificity of this chip system in disease detection played an important role in customs inspection and quarantine during customs clearance. Conclusion: The microfluidic PCR detection system established in this study could meet the requirement for rapid detection of samples at the customs port. This chip could avoid the risky process of transporting the samples from the sampling site to the testing lab, and drastically reduce the inspection cycle. Moreover, it would enable parallel inspections on one chip, which greatly raised the efficiency of inspection.