Distributed coding of duration in rodent prefrontal cortex during time reproduction

As we interact with the external world, we judge magnitudes from sensory information. The estimation of magnitudes has been characterized in primates, yet it is largely unexplored in non-primate species. Here we use time interval reproduction to study rodent behavior and its neural correlates in the context of magnitude estimation. We show that gerbils display primate-like magnitude estimation characteristics in time reproduction. Most prominently their behavioral responses show a systematic overestimation of small stimuli and an underestimation of large stimuli, often referred to as regression effect. We investigated the underlying neural mechanisms by recording from medial prefrontal cortex and show that the majority of neurons respond either during the measurement or the reproduction of a time interval. Cells that are active during both phases display distinct response patterns. We categorize the neural responses into multiple types and demonstrate that only populations with mixed responses can encode the bias of the regression effect. These results help unveil the organizing neural principles of time reproduction and perhaps magnitude estimation in general.

Does Sound Influence Perceived Duration of Visual Motion?

Multimodal perception is a key factor in obtaining a rich and meaningful representation of the world. However, how each stimulus combines to determine the overall percept remains a matter of research. The present work investigates the effect of sound on the bimodal perception of motion. A visual moving target was presented to the participants, associated with a concurrent sound, in a time reproduction task. Particular attention was paid to the structure of both the auditory and the visual stimuli. Four different laws of motion were tested for the visual motion, one of which is biological. Nine different sound profiles were tested, from an easier constant sound to more variable and complex pitch profiles, always presented synchronously with motion. Participants’ responses show that constant sounds produce the worst duration estimation performance, even worse than the silent condition; more complex sounds, instead, guarantee significantly better performance. The structure of the visual stimulus and that of the auditory stimulus appear to condition the performance independently. Biological motion provides the best performance, while the motion featured by a constant-velocity profile provides the worst performance. Results clearly show that a concurrent sound influences the unified perception of motion; the type and magnitude of the bias depends on the structure of the sound stimulus. Contrary to expectations, the best performance is not generated by the simplest stimuli, but rather by more complex stimuli that are richer in information.

Digital past, present, and future of mining industry

The process of introducing digital technologies in mining has an evolutionary character and began with the appearance of electronic computing machines at large enterprises, design and scientific organizations. At the initial stage, solving the tasks of mining technology with the use of computers was mainly of demonstration character. Development of works in this branch has led to differentiation of the general task into separate areas: mining-geological information systems (MGIS); geomechanical safety ensuring systems; dispatching systems; programs for solving individual tasks of mining technology. One of the most important directions of digital transformation is mining-geological information systems (MGIS), the development of which went, as a rule, from solving tasks of deposit reserves estimation to modeling of mining technology objects, tools for solving surveying tasks, design and planning of mining works. Evaluating the functionality of MGIS known in the Russian market, we can state that the achieved development level generally meets the requirements of a Digital Mine - the way of representation of objects and processes of mining technology as digital models describing the properties and behaviour of real objects in a single digital space of the enterprise. The next stage of digital transformation is a Digital Twin, which can be characterized as a Digital Mine that has on-line communication links between real equipment units and their digital models. Creation of the Digital twin implies real-time reproduction of the natural-engineering system functioning, reflecting its actual or forecasted state.

COVID-19: Epidemiology and Preventive Measures in Jiangsu Province, China

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Jiangsu Province after starting level 1 response to major public health emergencies and assess the effectiveness of epidemic prevention and control measures took by the government. Methods: Individual information on all novel coronavirus pneumonia confirmed cases from January 10, 2020 to March 18th in Jiangsu was collected from the official website of Health Commission of Jiangsu province and its cities, Hubei Health Commission and the Chinese Health Commission. The trends in demographic and epidemiological characteristics of confirmed cases were estimated and the real time reproduction number (Rt) were calculated. Results: 631 COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in Jiangsu Province, covering 13 districts in Jiangsu. The confirmed cases consisted of imported cases (30.27%) and local transmitted cases (69.73%). 64.15% (238/371) local transmitted cases had reported a history of exposure to COVID-19 cases or patients with acute respiratory infection. Close contact with COVID-19 infectors in families, parties or some public places is the main transmission route for local transmission cases. The epidemic peak occurred from January 30 to February 4, then began to decline. The ratio of male to female cases was 1.22 to 1, and most patients were in the group of 30-70 years old, 49 patients (7.8%) with mild symptom and 572 patients (90.6%) with common type accounted for the majority. As of March 18, the cities with higher cumulative confirmed cases were Nanjing (93 cases, 15%), Suzhou (87 cases, 14%) and Xuzhou (79 cases, 12%). The Rt reached a peak of 4.05 (95%CI 2.27-6.34) on January 20, then began to decline. Rt was below the epidemic threshold (Rt<1) after January 31 and maintained a continuing downward trend. Conclusion: The epidemic preventive and control measures have contributed to interrupt local transmission of COVID-19 in Jiangsu Province, and the epidemic in Jiangsu Province was well under control in less than a month.

Analyzing the Effectiveness of COVID-19 Lockdown Policies Using the Time-Dependent Reproduction Number and the Regression Discontinuity Framework: Comparison between Countries

This study compares the effectiveness of COVID-19 control policies on the virus’s spread and on the change of the infection dynamics in China, Germany, Austria, and the USA relying on a regression discontinuity in time and ‘earlyR’ epidemic models. The effectiveness of policies is measured by real-time reproduction number and cases counts. Comparison between the two lockdowns within each country showed the importance of people's risk perception for the effectiveness of the measures. Results suggest that restrictions applied for a long period or reintroduced later may cause at-tenuated effect on the circulation of the virus and the number of casualties.

The challenge of the time: reproduction of ‘forgotten’ traditions in the modern Kazakh culture

This paper is based on the materials on the traditional and modern Kazakh culture. The author analyzes some ritual practices of the life cycle, which are founded on the traditional scenario but understood by the modern Kazakhs at a new level and often are vested with a new sense and significance. The main sources of the con-ducted research are represented by the field observations of the author and information from the Kazakh Internet resources concerning the problems of administering principal life-cycle rituals. Regular and systematic field inves-tigations allow us to register the dynamics of formation and evolution of such practices over a fairly short time span of within 10–15 years. It is this period over which they can develop from innovation into tradition. This ap-proach provides possibility of studying the forms and the way of the transformation of a tradition from the historical perspective. The author pays special attention to the strategies of sustaining the continuity in present-day life-cycle ritualism and to the mechanisms of the formation of the local and regional identity in present-day conditions. Locally synchronous view of the tradition demonstrates the reflection of the individual on the challenge of the time, their ability to adapt to the changing external and internal conditions. This dynamic provides the very process of the transformation of the traditions, reconsideration of the ‘regional’ initiatives imposed from above and their tran-sition into local variants. Each tradition had once been an innovation; examination of the modern forms of ritua-lism over a short time span allows capturing the process of establishing new customs, behavioral stereotypes, and the ways of their preservation and propagation over several decades. Innovations appear, as a rule, in the periods of relative social and cultural instability, when a certain discontinuity occurs between the worldview and ideological norms of the generations in response to the changing conditions of their existence. In the present-day Kazakh culture, the pace of alteration of the rites is considerably higher than that in a traditional society; however, the current demand for the ritual accompaniment of the stages of the human life cycle warrants reproduction of main traditional practices and creation of new practices on the basis of rethinking of the traditional patterns.

Introduction. Contending with the Hourglass: Time, Reproduction, and the Problematization of Ageing

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Modelling the impact of the tier system on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the UK between the first and second national lockdowns

ObjectiveTo measure the effects of the tier system on the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK between the first and second national lockdowns, before the emergence of the B.1.1.7 variant of concern.DesignThis is a modelling study combining estimates of real-time reproduction number Rt (derived from UK case, death and serological survey data) with publicly available data on regional non-pharmaceutical interventions. We fit a Bayesian hierarchical model with latent factors using these quantities to account for broader national trends in addition to subnational effects from tiers.SettingThe UK at lower tier local authority (LTLA) level. 310 LTLAs were included in the analysis.Primary and secondary outcome measuresReduction in real-time reproduction number Rt.ResultsNationally, transmission increased between July and late September, regional differences notwithstanding. Immediately prior to the introduction of the tier system, Rt averaged 1.3 (0.9–1.6) across LTLAs, but declined to an average of 1.1 (0.86–1.42) 2 weeks later. Decline in transmission was not solely attributable to tiers. Tier 1 had negligible effects. Tiers 2 and 3, respectively, reduced transmission by 6% (5%–7%) and 23% (21%–25%). 288 LTLAs (93%) would have begun to suppress their epidemics if every LTLA had gone into tier 3 by the second national lockdown, whereas only 90 (29%) did so in reality.ConclusionsThe relatively small effect sizes found in this analysis demonstrate that interventions at least as stringent as tier 3 are required to suppress transmission, especially considering more transmissible variants, at least until effective vaccination is widespread or much greater population immunity has amassed.