Exposure Factors Associated With SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence During the First Eight Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Netherlands: A Cross-sectional Study

BackgroundThe availability of valid SARS-CoV-2 serological tests overcome the problem of underestimated cumulative COVID-19 cases during the first months of the pandemic in The Netherlands. This enabled us to study a wide variety of demographic, behavioural and social exposure factors associated with seropositivity during the first eight months of the pandemic in Limburg, The Netherlands. MethodsSARS-CoV-2 point-seroprevalence was determined cross-sectionally to indicate previous infection in a convenience sample of 10,000 inhabitants of the study province. Possible exposure factors were mapped by means of an extensive questionnaire. Associated exposure factors were determined using uni- and multivariable logistic regression models.ResultsSeropositivity was established in 19.5% (n=1,948) of the 10,001 participants (on average 49 years old (SD=15; range 18-90 years), majority women (n=5,829; 58.3%). Exposure factors associated with seropositivity included current education, working in healthcare and not working from home, and being a member of three or four associations or clubs. Specifically for February-March 2020, visiting an après-ski bar during winter sports in Austria, travelling to Spain, celebrating carnival, and participating in a singing activity or ball sport were associated with seropositivity. ConclusionsOur results confirm that relevant COVID-19 exposure factors generally reflected circumstances where social distancing was impossible, and the number and duration of contacts was high, in particular for indoor activities.

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the surrounding waters of Isabel Island in western-central Mexico: unveiling a little-known wintering area

The humpback whales which breed in the Mexican Pacific represent an important fraction (~38%) of the estimated population of the North Pacific. Despite the importance of Mexican waters for the reproductive habits of this species, little is known about the ecology of these whales, along the continental coast of Mexico. We analysed the temporal variation of abundance, group types, and inter- and intra-annual recapture rates in the waters adjacent to Isabel Island National Park as well as intra- and inter-seasonal movements with Banderas Bay breeding areas. Inter- and intra-annual recapture rates in Isabel Island National Park were low (1.8%); while 34% of 222 individuals photo-identified in Isabel Island National Park were also recaptured in Banderas Bay. Groups with calves were uncommon (9.5%), while pairs (33.5%) and competitive groups (29.5%) were more common. Intense singing activity was detected in the waters adjacent to Isabel Island. These waters seem to function as a reproductive corridor for the so-called ‘coastal stock’ of humpback whales in the waters adjacent to the continental coast of the Mexican Pacific. Therefore, mid- and long-term studies are needed to understand the dynamics of these displacements. Our findings suggest that Isabel Island National Park is an important area for the mating ecology of the humpback whales of the continental waters of the Mexican coast, and support the initiative to incorporate a Marine Protected Area within the Isabel Island National Park.

Student Opinions on Psychomotor Learning Activities Used in Music Lessons

This study aims to determine the situation by examining the opinions of 8th-grade students about psycho-motor activities used within the scope of 8th-grade music lessons. Semi-structured interview technique was used as a qualitative method in the research. With this method, data were collected by conducting one-on-one interviews with 8th-grade students. The study was conducted with forty-four 8th-grade students. The obtained data were analyzed by making content analysis. According to the findings obtained from the interviews; It is understood that the psycho-motor activities used in schools are mostly similar, but there are problems in the implementation process, the activities cannot be used effectively and efficiently, and music lesson activities are not given enough importance due to the problems arising from the deficiencies in the material and learning environment. From the students' opinions, it is understood that the theoretical parts of the music lessons are long and the lessons conducted in this way are boring. Based on the students' opinions, it is understood that the singing activity is the most used psycho-motor activity, but this activity is not used to improve the musical knowledge and skills taught in the lessons, but to increase the students' interest in the lessons. It is understood that rhythm exercises, body percussion and instrument playing activities are less involved in music lessons than singing activities.

Peningkatan Kecerdasan Verbal Linguistik Melalui Kegiatan Bernyanyi

Increasing Verbal Linguistic Intelligence through Singing Activity( An Action Research in TK Kemala Bhayangkari Kota Ternate). The aims of this research were: the process of increasing Verbal Linguistic through Singing Activity; the result of increasing Verbal Linguistic intelligences through singing activity. This research was applied in TK B Kemala Bhayangkari Kota Ternate, Respondents of this research were 20 childreen with two collaborators. The action research employed Kemmis and Taggart Procedures which consisted four process : Planning, Act; observing and Reflection. The collecting data used qualitative analyses and quantitative analyses. The result of this reseacrh showed that Using Singing activity can increase verbal Linguistic intelligence in early childhood, especially the students’ of TK B Kemala Bhayangkari Kota Ternate.

Lesions of abdominal connectives reveal a conserved organization of the calling song central pattern generator (CPG) network in different cricket species

Although crickets move their front wings for sound production, the abdominal ganglia house the network of the singing central pattern generator. We compared the effects of specific lesions to the connectives of the abdominal ganglion chain on calling song activity in four different species of crickets, generating very different pulse patterns in their calling songs. In all species, singing activity was abolished after the connectives between the metathoracic ganglion complex and the first abdominal ganglion A3 were severed. The song structure was lost and males generated only single sound pulses when connectives between A3 and A4 were cut. Severing connectives between A4 and A5 had no effect in the trilling species, it led to an extension of chirps in a chirping species and to a loss of the phrase structure in two Teleogryllus species. Cutting the connectives between A5 and A6 caused no or minor changes in singing activity. In spite of the species-specific pulse patterns of calling songs, our data indicate a conserved organisation of the calling song motor pattern generating network. The generation of pulses is controlled by ganglia A3 and A4 while A4 and A5 provide the timing information for the chirp and/or phrase structure of the song.

Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Song on a Subarctic Feeding Ground

Male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are known to produce long complex sequences of structured vocalizations called song. Singing behavior has traditionally been associated with low latitude breeding grounds but is increasingly reported outside these areas. This study provides the first report of humpback whale songs in the subarctic waters of Northern Norway using a long-term bottom-moored hydrophone. Data processed included the months January–June 2018 and December 2018–January 2019. Out of 189 days with recordings, humpback whale singing was heard on 79 days. Singing was first detected beginning of January 2018 with a peak in February and was heard until mid-April. No singing activity was found during the summer months and was heard again in December 2018, continuing over January 2019. A total of 131 song sessions, including 35 full sessions, were identified throughout the study period. The longest and shortest complete sessions lasted 815 and 13 min, respectively. The results confirm that singing can be heard over several months in winter and spring on a high latitude feeding ground. This provides additional evidence to the growing literature that singing is not an explicit behavior confined to low latitude breeding grounds. The peak of song occurrence in February appears to coincide with the reproductive cycle of humpback whales. Finally, this study indicates that song occurrence on a subarctic feeding ground likely aids the cultural transmission for the North Atlantic humpback whale population.

Povezivanje životnog okruženja dece i njihovog uključivanja u horove

Many studies have been conducted in the field of research on the stimulating domestic music environment, which show that the decision to engage children in music, in addition to internal factors in the family, can be influenced by external factors, such as the environment in which families live, too. Active inclusion of Slovenes in choirs is one of the most widespread free activities in the Republic of Slovenia, because according to the Public Fund of the Republic of Slovenia for Culture, more than 64.000 people sing in choirs. However, given that Slovenia is a very diverse country, especially in geographical terms, the mentality of people in different environments is very different, although in Slovenia creative people live in both rural and urban areas. Since in the article we discover, whether singing activity is higher in rural than in urban areas, we will define what both is and what are the characteristics of choirs in Slovenia, and then explore the differences between the above activities of parents and children in both areas. In this paper, we find that there are more active singing groups in urban areas, which include families, where both – children and parents – sing in a choir, than in rural areas, which we attribute to “rurbanization”, which blurs the boundaries between rural and urban settlements and their functions. The paper also confirms the assumption that the stimulating domestic music environment (singing at home, attending concerts with parents and parents' opinion that the stimulating musical environment offered to children at home strongly influences their participation in choirs) is related children's singing in choirs.