Estimating the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 VOC 202012/01 in Japan using travel history information

<abstract> <p>Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly spread across the globe. The variant of concern (VOC) 202012/01 (B.1.1.7, also known as the alpha variant) bearing the N501Y mutation emerged in late 2020. VOC 202012/01 was more transmissible than existing SARS-CoV-2 variants and swiftly became dominant in many regions. More than 150 cases of VOC 202012/01 were reported in Japan by 26 February 2021. During the very early stage of introduction, only a subset arose from domestic transmission. If the reproduction number <italic>R</italic> (i.e., the average number of secondary transmission events caused by a single primary case) is greater than 1, the corresponding proportion should converge to 1 in a short period of time, and thus it is critical to understand the transmissibility of VOC 202012/01 based on travel history information. The present study aimed to estimate <italic>R</italic> of VOC 202012/01 using overseas travel history information. A mathematical model was developed to capture the relationship between travel history and <italic>R</italic>. We obtained travel history data for each confirmed case of VOC 202012/01 infection from 26 December 2020 to 26 February 2021. Maximum likelihood estimation was used to estimate <italic>R</italic>, accounting for right censoring during real-time estimation. In the baseline scenario, <italic>R</italic> was estimated at 2.11 (95% confidence interval: 1.63, 2.94). By 26 February 2021, an average of nine generations had elapsed since the first imported case. If the generation time of VOC 202012/01 was assumed to be longer, <italic>R</italic> was increased, consistent with estimates of <italic>R</italic> from case data. The estimated <italic>R</italic> of VOC 202012/01 in Japan exceeded 1 on 26 February 2021, suggesting that domestic transmission events caused a major epidemic. Moreover, because our estimate of <italic>R</italic> was dependent on generation time and ascertainment biases, continuous monitoring of contact tracing data is crucial to decipher the mechanisms of increased VOC 202012/01 transmissibility.</p> </abstract>

Local Historical E-resources in the Educational Process

Digitization and mediatization of information raise the issue of user access to electronic information resources. Given the need to form and strengthen the regional and national identity, study and promote historical and local lore information and providing access to it, the integration of such information into educational practices to master it by young people has become more important. The article is devoted to the coverage and substantiation of effective approaches to using local lore electronic resources in the educational process. During the research, the descriptive method, methods of comparison and generalization concerning the experience of use in the field of education of local lore electronic resources of libraries were used. The methods of included observation and periodic monitoring, applied during the development and maintenance of the functioning with the participation of the author of the local history resource "Kraeved" (kraeved.od.ua) (starting from 15.03.2020), proved to be effective. An analytical and survey method was used to analyse the available theoretical work on the research topic. The novelty of the obtained results lies in the coverage and substantiation of the specifics of the use of electronic local history information resources in the educational process in different countries, in particular during the study of students of historical specialties, and some countries – students majoring in cultural studies and art history. The most comprehensive electronic local history information resources are used in the United States, where their historical and local history content attracts not only teachers and students but also a wider range of users: genealogists, writers, engineers, urban planners, architects, realtors and documentary filmmakers. The obtained results of the research testified to the tendency to use library local lore electronic information resources in the educational process. Their creation, interest of users in the information presented on them and its use during training testify to the importance of local lore content designed to promote the formation of the historical and cultural identity of the region in the context of national history and the formation of national historical memory in combination with historical thought. The generalization of foreign experience and perspective domestic practices of using local library electronic resources in the educational process allows substantiating effective approaches to the organization of such activities, intensification of involvement of domestic library local lore electronic information resources in solving information problems related to educational activities. The intensive development of digital library projects in the educational environment will open additional ways to implement the tasks of libraries to ensure wide access of users to local history information sources and the maximum disclosure of their information potential.

Larval densities of the protected Striped lychnis moth Shargacucullia lychnis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Buckinghamshire

Natural history information is essential for ecologically-relevant inferences about (adaptive) responses in organismal biology. Yet, natural history data can be difficult to obtain, particularly for the developmental stages of holometabolous insects. This gap can compromise our ability to design controlled experiments that provide useful understanding of insect responses to changing environments and precludes our ability to understand how natural populations may respond to unpredictable climatic changes in their natural environment. In this study, we collated data from previous reports from the Butterfly Conservation Upper Thames Branch on the larval population density of Shargacucullia lychnis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Buckinghamshire. In the UK, S. lychnis is a protected species, for which natural history information can be invaluable for its effective conservation. We report here that the natural range of larval densities observed for S. lychnis across locations and years is 0.001 to 6.417 larvae per spike. More importantly, S. lychnis larval density has overall declined from 1996 to 2020, which could support previous reports of a contraction in population range for this species. Overall, this study provides invaluable information about larval population density for an important protected Lepidopteran species of the UK.

Ichthyoplankton DNA metabarcoding: challenges and perspectives

DNA metabarcoding has been widely used to access and monitor species. However, several challenges remain open for its mainstream application in ecological studies, particularly when dealing with a quantitative approach. In a from the Cover article in this issue of Molecular Ecology, Cédric et al. (2021) report species-level ichthyoplankton dynamics for 97 fish species from two Amazon river basins using a clever quantitative metabarcoding approach employing a probe capture method. They clearly show that most species spawned during the rainy season when the floods started, but interestingly, species from the same genus reproduced in distinct periods (i.e., inverse phenology). Opportunistically, Cédric et al. (2021) reported that during an intense hydrological anomaly, several species had a sharp reduction in spawning activity, demonstrating a quick response to environmental cues. This is an interesting result since the speed at which fish species can react to environmental changes, during the spawning period, is largely unknown. Thus, this study brings remarkable insights into basic life history information that is imperative for proposing strategies that could lead to a realistic framework for sustainable fisheries management practices and conservation, fundamental for an under-studied and threatened realm, such as the Amazon River basin.

Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical ant genus Hylomyrma Forel, 1912 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae), with the description of fourteen new species

This paper provides a taxonomic revision of the Neotropical ant genus Hylomyrma Forel (1912) (Myrmicinae: Pogonomyrmecini). Morphological traits combined with geographical data and natural history information led to the recognition of 30 species, fourteen of them described here as new: Hylomyrma adelae sp. n., Hylomyrma dandarae sp. n., Hylomyrma jeronimae sp. n., Hylomyrma lispectorae sp. n., Hylomyrma lopesi sp. n., Hylomyrma macielae sp. n., Hylomyrma margaridae sp. n., Hylomyrma mariae sp. n., Hylomyrma marielleae sp. n., Hylomyrma mitiae sp. n., Hylomyrma peetersi sp. n., Hylomyrma primavesi sp. n., Hylomyrma virginiae sp. n. and Hylomyrma wachiperi sp. n. Lectotypes for H. speciosa (junior synonym of H. balzani) and H. reitteri are here designated from syntypes to improve nomenclatural stability. Except for the three species most recently described (H. montana, H. plumosa, and H. villemantae), the external morphology of workers is described or redescribed, as well as for the known males and queens, most described here for the first time. Of the 30 recognized species herein, 11 present intercastes; at least three of them present female specimens with queen-like traits that may be understood as ergatoids. An updated identification key for Hylomyrma workers is provided, as well as high resolution photographs of all known sexes and castes, species distribution maps, and a summary of what is known from the biology of all species.

Study on Life Model of MOV Based on Multiple Parameters and Surge History

With the advance of intelligent operation and maintenance in china railways, the requirement of condition monitoring and remaining life prediction for lightning protection equipment has become increasingly urgent. MOV(Metal Oxide Varistor) is the key component of railway surge protector, and it is necessary to study the description model of its degradation process. The output of the model that uses a single parameter to characterize degradation is more prone to contingency, and cannot truly and fully reflect the life state of the MOV. The degradation of MOV is a cumulative effect, and its life model should consider the surge history information. In view of the above problems, a prediction model of the residual life value of MOV is given by combining various degradation related parameters and surge history. Firstly, nine degradation related parameters are fused to construct degradation core. Then, the degradation core and surge history are fused through Markov chain to build a life model of MOV. Then, the model is calibrated with experimental data. Finally, the model is validated and analyzed by experiments. The model can describe the degradation process of MOV more comprehensively and accurately, and can predict the residual life value at the same time, and it has potential application in the life assessment of surge protective devices.

First report of Meris paradoxa Rindge (Geometridae: Ennominae) in the central mountains of Mexico, description of its female and a comparison of caterpillar variation among kin

Meris paradoxa Rindge, thought to be restricted to southeastern Arizona, is documented in Mexico for the first time. Previously described only from males, we provide the first description of the female from specimens collected as caterpillars and reared to adults. We find female M. paradoxa to have a normal haustellum; an external diagnostic character for this species previously only confirmed in conspecific males. Female genitalia of M. paradoxa are found similar to other Meris, but the absence of a sclerotized signum (present in congeners) may prove autapomorphic. Natural history information for the genus is discussed in light of new data reported here for Mexican M. paradoxa.

Assessment of Democracy in Library and Information Activities

The repertoire of library and information resources, the organization of information services and the acquisition of sources in the implementation of library policy are based on historical traditions. In the digital space and in the globalizing world, this process has changed both its form and its essence. It is known that throughout history, information resources have been censored and restricted. While these censorship restrictions are sometimes considered severe and sometimes insignificant, this problem arises and raises questions during the "dissemination" and "promotion" of information. The issue of limiting information and prohibiting its dissemination in the global information space remains relevant today. These restrictions can, at the request of a number of states, limit the scope of religious beliefs, as well as court decisions. Local, regional representations can also meet a number of restrictive requirements. I think that when it comes to free and democratic circulation of information products in the information space, it is necessary to define a mathematical model of how democratic it is. This article can be seen as a summary of the existing experience in this area.

Determining Medical Urgency of Voice Disorders Using Auditory-Perceptual Voice Assessments Performed by Speech-Language Pathologists

Objective: This study examined whether speech-language pathologist auditory-perceptual voice assessments can predict the medical urgency of voice disorders. Methods: Twenty speech-language pathologists (SLPs) evaluated 25 voice samples recorded during initial voice evaluations. Voice samples represented a range of dysphonia severity (mild-severe) balanced across patient diagnoses. Diagnoses included: benign lesions, laryngeal cancer, non-organic voice disorders, laryngeal edema (associated with LPR), and laryngeal paralysis or paresis. Laryngeal cancer and severe unilateral laryngeal paralysis were considered urgent disorders. While blinded to patient information, SLPs rated severity of voice quality, predicted patient diagnosis, and determined whether the patient should be seen urgently by a laryngologist. SLPs were then given basic medical history information and rated medical urgency of voice disorder a second time. Results: On average, SLPs correctly identified 65% of urgent voices and 87% of nonurgent voices when blinded to patient information. Accuracy improved significantly to 86% for urgent voices with medical history information ( P < .001) and decreased to 77% for nonurgent voices. Accuracy was better when severity of voice quality was severe for urgent voices and mild for nonurgent voices ( P < .001). SLPs indicated that patient smoking history and severity of dysphonia were most influential in their decision making. Diagnostic accuracy of auditory-perceptual assessments was poor. Conclusions: SLPs identified 86% of medically urgent voice disorders when auditory perceptual assessments were combined with medical history information. Further work is needed to determine what medical history information is most crucial to rating accuracy and what speech tasks might best separate urgent and nonurgent patients.

Synthetic data for annotation and extraction of family history information from clinical text

Background The limited availability of clinical texts for Natural Language Processing purposes is hindering the progress of the field. This article investigates the use of synthetic data for the annotation and automated extraction of family history information from Norwegian clinical text. We make use of incrementally developed synthetic clinical text describing patients’ family history relating to cases of cardiac disease and present a general methodology which integrates the synthetically produced clinical statements and annotation guideline development. The resulting synthetic corpus contains 477 sentences and 6030 tokens. In this work we experimentally assess the validity and applicability of the annotated synthetic corpus using machine learning techniques and furthermore evaluate the system trained on synthetic text on a corpus of real clinical text, consisting of de-identified records for patients with genetic heart disease. Results For entity recognition, an SVM trained on synthetic data had class weighted precision, recall and F1-scores of 0.83, 0.81 and 0.82, respectively. For relation extraction precision, recall and F1-scores were 0.74, 0.75 and 0.74. Conclusions A system for extraction of family history information developed on synthetic data generalizes well to real, clinical notes with a small loss of accuracy. The methodology outlined in this paper may be useful in other situations where limited availability of clinical text hinders NLP tasks. Both the annotation guidelines and the annotated synthetic corpus are made freely available and as such constitutes the first publicly available resource of Norwegian clinical text.